The Phillies will send Kyle Kendrick to the hill today at 1:35pm as they look for a sweep of the New York Mets. Kendrick will be filling in for Cole Hamels, who was placed on the DL yesterday, and will face frequent Phils punching bag Mike Pelfrey. The 6-7 righty is winless against Philadelphia this year with a 7.58 ERA. He has not beaten the Phillies since September of last season and in his last outing against them on July 17th, he gave up four runs in five innings of work.
In his last two starts at Citizens Bank Park, Pelfrey has surrendered 10 runs in a total of six innings.
Ryan Howard will return to the lineup this afternoon after getting a day off last night. The Big Piece has been on fire for the past month with 8 HRs and 22 RBIs in his last 27 games. Lifetime against Pelfrey he’s hit .375 with 3 HRs.
Kyle Kendrick’s last appearance came in relief of Roy Oswalt after his start was cut short due to a rain delay. KK delivered six innings of two run ball and with a fairly rested bullpen, the Phils will be happy with that effort this afternoon.