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Mets-Phillies Preview

May 2, 2009 - 3:46 AM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

New York (9-12) at Philadelphia (11-9), 3:40 p.m. EDT

Oliver Perez is scheduled to take the mound for the New York Mets against the Philadelphia Phillies in his next two starts. If he doesn't show some signs of improvement in his first one, however, the second may never come.

The unpredictable Perez will essentially be pitching to keep his spot in New York's rotation on Saturday as the teams continue their three-game set in Philadelphia, but he'll do so with an excellent recent track record against the Phillies on his side.

Perez was excellent in his first full season with the Mets (10-12), going 15-10 with a 3.56 ERA in 2007 and looking like a top-of-the-line starter. His ERA rose to 4.22 last season and he won five fewer games, but was signed to a three-year, $36 million contract in the offseason.

So far, Perez (1-2, 9.31 ERA) is hardly living up to his end of the deal.

The left-hander has failed to make it out of the fifth inning in three of his four starts, and has 15 walks in 19 1-3 innings. After he allowed seven runs, nine hits and three walks in 4 1-3 innings in an 8-1 loss to woeful Washington on Sunday, manager Jerry Manuel voiced his displeasure.

"I'm really concerned about him at this point. I don't know what we do," he said. "The thing that concerns me is I don't see Ollie's stuff like I saw before. I don't know if he's going through a dead arm period or whatever, I don't know.

"If you see stuff and no command, that's one thing. If it's no stuff or command, that's a recipe for disaster."

Manuel eventually decided to give Perez another shot in the Mets' rotation due to the southpaw's past performances against the Phillies (11-10), who he's also due to face on Thursday at Citi Field. Perez started four games against Philadelphia in 2008, allowing one earned run in 26 innings while striking out 27.

Lefties Ryan Howard and Chase Utley are a combined 5-for-38 (.131) with 18 strikeouts against Perez.

Howard, Utley and the rest of the Phillies' offense faced a deficit before they even came to bat on Friday after Mets outfielder David Murphy hit a two-run homer in the first inning. New York added two more runs in the second and one in the third on its way to a 7-4 win.

Jamie Moyer (3-1, 5.09) will get the ball for Philadelphia as he looks for a fourth straight win. Moyer, though, was hardly excellent in the first two, allowing four runs in six innings. He then surrendered just a run to Florida over six frames and struck out six, moving to 12-1 in his career against the Marlins after a 13-2 victory.

"Let me tell you something," manager Charlie Manuel told the team's official Web site. "As long as we get pitching, we're going to win games."

The Phillies, however, haven't pitched well at all. After Chan Ho Park allowed seven runs in 4 2-3 innings on Friday, Philadelphia's five starters have a major league-worst 6.65 ERA.

Moyer started six games against the Mets last season and went 2-1 with a 3.53 ERA. He shut out New York on two hits over seven innings at Shea Stadium on Sept. 7 after allowing six runs in three innings at Citizens Bank Park on Aug. 26.

Carlos Delgado, who's missed four straight games with a sore right hip and is questionable for Saturday, is hitting .383 (31-for-81) with eight homers against Moyer.