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Phillies hope to keep rolling, hang onto NL East lead vs. Mets

Aug 27, 2008 - 10:49 AM NY Mets (73-60) at Philadelphia (73-59), 7:05 pm EDT

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia Phillies have heated up at the right time.

The Phillies seek their sixth consecutive victory and attempt to hold on to the top spot in the National League East when they host Johan Santana and the rival New York Mets on Wednesday.

Chris Coste delivered an RBI single with one out in the bottom of the 13th inning, giving Philadelphia an 8-7 comeback victory on Tuesday. Jimmy Rollins collected five hits, three RBI and three stolen bases for Philadelphia, which moved one-half game ahead of New York for first place.

Trailing, 7-0, in the fourth inning, the Phillies chipped away and cut the deficit to one before knotting the game in the ninth, when pinch hitter Eric Bruntlett plated Jayson Werth from first base with a two-out double. Shane Victorino ignited the winning rally, leading off the 13th with a triple down the right field line.

The Mets hope their ace can alleviate the sting of their latest setback. Santana (12-7, 2.64 ERA), who has not lost since June 28, has pitched 16 scoreless innings over his last two starts.

A two-time Cy Young Award winner, Santana tossed seven frames in Friday's 3-0 triumph over the Houston Astros. The Venezuelan lefthander is 3-0 with a 1.49 ERA this month.

The Phillies will counter with righthander Kyle Kendrick (11-7, 4.87), who yielded a run and three hits with two walks and three strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings during Friday's 8-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Philadelphia has won eight of its last nine.