Phils, Mets to battle again at Citizens Bank Park

The Phillies were sparked yesterday by the return of one player from the disabled list. Philadelphia will hope the same thing happens tonight when they play the second of four straight games against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park.

All-Star second baseman Chase Utley returned to the Phillies lineup on Monday after missing 28 games due to a broken bone in his right hand and went 3-for-5 with a home run and two runs batted in to help his club to a big 9-2 victory over the Mets.

The victory pulled the Phillies to within five games of the National League- leading Mets and also helped the club keep pace in the wild card race. Philadelphia is three games behind San Diego for that spot.

Pat Burrell added a two-run homer, while Jayson Werth went 4-for-4 to give him nine hits in his last nine at-bats. He is just one hit shy of the NL record of hits  in 10 straight at-bats, held by 10 different players including Philadelphia's Ed Delahanty, who turned the trick way back in 1897.

The major league record is 12, held by Detroit's Walt Dropo and Boston's Pinky Higgins.

Tadahito Iguchi, who the Phillies acquired from the White Sox to replace Utley at second short term, hit a pinch-hit homer.

Starting pitcher J.D. Durbin (6-3) got the win, allowing two runs on six hits with six strikeouts over 6 1/3 frames. The Phils improved to 3-4 on their current 10-game homestand.

Now Philadelphia will hope to receive a spark from Adam Eaton, who will return from the disabled list to start tonight's game. Eaton has struggled this year, going 9-8 with an eye-popping 6.36 earned run average before landing on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation on August 12.

Eaton, who threw a 40-pitch rehab outing with Double-A Reading on Friday, is pitching to an even worse 8.79 ERA over his last six starts, going 1-3 in that span. In his last start before landing on the DL, the right-hander was rocked for six runs on eight hits over just three innings of a loss to Atlanta.

However, if Eaton is ever going to get back on track, the Mets would be the likely place to start. He has won each of his five lifetime starts against New York while pitching to a 1.89 ERA against them. Eaton has beaten the Mets twice this year, yielding four earned runs over 13 total innings.

Tom Glavine will shoot for career win number 302 with tonight's start for the Mets. Glavine is 4-0 over his last nine starts, but was rocked for six runs and 11 hits in just five innings against San Diego on Thursday. The left- hander got a no-decision however, and is 11-6 this year with a 4.32 ERA.

The 41-year-old is 28-17 with a 3.78 ERA in 62 career starts versus the Phillies, including 2-0 in three starts against them this season with a 2.84 ERA.

Glavine will try to fare batter than yesterday's starter, Brian Lawrence (1-2). Lawrence was tagged for five runs on 10 hits in 4 2/3 frames as the Mets kicked off a big 10-game road trip that also features a stop in Atlanta.

New York also had a key starter come off the DL and produce in his first game back yesterday. Paul Lo Duca, who was out since August 12 with a right hamstring injury, went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Carlos Beltran ended 1-for-4 for New York, which also lost a game in the division to the third-place Braves. Atlanta beat Florida, 13-2, on Monday night to draw within six games.

New York and Philadelphia have now split 12 meetings this year, though the Mets have still won four of six in the City of Brotherly Love. The Mets are 28-21 against the Phils since the start of the 2005 season and hold a 14-10 mark in Philly over that span.