Mets at Phillies: April 29th to April 30th

Tuesday and Wednesday 7:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Mets 14-11, 2nd Place in the N.L. East, 3 1/2 games behind the Braves
Phillies 13-12, 4th Place in the N.L. East, 4 1/2 games behind the Braves

Mets Probables:  Jon Niese (1-2, 2.45), Bartolo Colon (2-3, 4.50)
Phillies Probables:  Cole Hamels (0-1, 3.00), Kyle Kendrick (0-2, 3.52)

At the Ballpark:  It's another Dollar Dog night at the ballpark tonight.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Chase Utley - .360

Runs:  Carlos Ruiz - 18

Home Runs:  Ryan Howard - 5

RBIs:  Marlon Byrd - 16

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 9

Wins:  Antonio Bastardo and Cliff Lee - 3

ERA:  A.J. Burnett - 2.15

Strikeouts:  Cliff Lee - 40

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 8

1988 Topps #355, #655 and #705

1988 Topps Appreciation:  If you've been a Phillies or a Mets fan for the past 25 years or so, you should probably realize how these guys fit together.  On June 18, 1989, the Phillies traded Juan Samuel to the Mets for Lenny Dykstra, Roger McDowell and a player to be named later (Tom Edens).  Samuel, who is now the Phillies first base coach, lasted only half a season with the Mets before being traded to the Dodgers that December.  Playing exclusively in center field for the Mets, Samuel hit just .228 in 86 games but still managed to steal 31 bases.

McDowell immediately settled into the closer's role for the Phillies, and he'd go on to save 44 games over 2 1/2 seasons with the club.  He and Samuel would actually be teammates for two seasons with the Dodgers in 1991 and 1992.

Dykstra played the last eight seasons of his 12-year career with the Phillies, providing the spark the team needed in 1993 to reach the World Series.  He was a two-time All-Star with the Phils, but a bad back shortened his career and he played in his last game in May 1996.  Dude has had his share of troubles over the past decade or so, but he's recently resurfaced on local sports talk radio stations.  No disrespect but . . . I won't be listening.