LARRY NESS

GAME: New York Mets @ Philadelphia Phillies Aug 26, 2008 7:05PM
SPORT: Major League Baseball Picks
PICK: New York Mets

REASON FOR PICK: The Mets and Phillies play a brief two-game set this week in Philadelphia, with the Mets owning a half-game lead in the NL East. The Mets took FIVE of six games with the Phillies in July, including a three-game sweep in Philadelphia. Can the Mets put last year's collapse (owned a seven-game lead with just 17 games remaining) behind them? A two-game sweep here would surely be a good start. Pedro Martinez gets the call for the New Yorkers and while he's only won two games in his last seven starts (team is 4-3), he's pitched very well. Martinez owns a 2.88 ERA over that stretch, which began with a win at Philadelphia where he went 5.1 innings while allowing five hits and two ERs on July 7. The ageless Jamie Moyer (11-7, 3.54 ERA) gets the nod for Philly and the lefty is hoping he can finally get some support from his teammates. Moyer's posted a splendid 2.66 ERA over his last 14 starts but is a modest 5-4 during that span (team is 7-7), as the Phillies have scored four runs or less in all but ONE of those 14 starts. He'll likely need some support to win here, as he's facing a New York team which has gone 26-14 vs lefties this year (averaging 4.9 YPG). However, that support may not be coming, as the Phillies are just 14-14 at home vs righties in '08, averaging a modest 3.9 RPG. Take the Mets.