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Martin tries to deliver Phils series win in Flushing

Aug 29, 2013 - 1:42 PM (Sports Network) - Young right-hander Ethan Martin gets his first crack at the New York Mets on Thursday afternoon when the Philadelphia Phillies visit Citi Field to close out a four-game series.

The Phillies took a 2-1 lead in the set on Wednesday night, when Cole Hamels pitched seven solid innings in a 6-2 triumph.

Hamels struck out eight and gave up two runs on nine hits and a walk in his outing. Despite only winning twice in his last nine starts, the 29-year-old southpaw has not lost since July 26. He also performed offensively, driving in two runs.

Carlos Ruiz hit a solo shot while Jimmy Rollins. Kevin Frandsen and John Mayberry Jr. had an RBI apiece for the Phillies.

Ike Davis and Andrew Brown each drove in a run for the Mets, who have lost six of their last seven games.

Starter Daisuke Matsuzaka gave up four runs on six hits and four walks over 4 1/3 innings.

The Phillies won seven of the first 12 games with the Mets in 2013, though New York won two of three at Citi Field from July 19-21.

Martin, a 24-year-old Georgia native, was drafted 15th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008 before coming to the Phillies organization last summer in a trade that sent Shane Victorino to Los Angeles.

He finished 2012 at Double-A Reading and opened this year at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he was 11-5 with a 4.12 earned run average in 21 starts that covered 115 2/3 innings.

Martin's big league debut resulted in a 6-4 loss to Atlanta on Aug. 2, but he bounced back six days later with five innings of one-run ball in a defeat of the Chicago Cubs.

A trip to Atlanta on Aug. 13 yielded another loss to the Braves, which was followed by another win - this time 5-4 over Colorado - in which Martin went 6 2/3 innings and allowed four hits and two runs.

He was roughed up in his fifth and most recent start, retiring only two batters while giving up three hits and three runs in a game the Phillies ultimately lost, 12-7, to Arizona.

The Mets counter with 30-year-old journeyman righty Carlos Torres, who was elevated to the starting rotation to help compensate for the season-ending elbow injury suffered by Matt Harvey.

The California native has pitched in relief in 23 of 26 appearances in 2012 while compiling a 2.96 earned run average across 48 2/3 innings.

He's 0-1 in five lifetime relief outings against Philadelphia while allowing three hits and three runs in 4 2/3 innings.

The Mets are his third organization since he was drafted in the 15th round by the Chicago White Sox in 2004. He debuted in the majors in 2009, was released in 2010 and made 31 relief outings for Colorado last season and was picked up by the Mets in November after becoming a free agent.