Lefty Cliff Lee tries again for a first win since before the All-Star break when the Philadelphia Phillies visit Citi Field for the first game of a four-game series with the New York Mets.
A 17-game winner in 2011 before plummeting to just six wins in 30 starts last season, Lee was 10-2 after a 5-4 defeat of the Atlanta Braves on July 5. He went 6 1/3 innings in that game and gave up four runs, then dropped a 5-1 verdict to Washington in his final pre-break appearance five days later.
The Mets beat him, 5-0, in his first start after the break on July 21, and Lee has gone 0-2 in four more starts since while allowing 12 runs on 29 hits in 26 innings of work.
He's 5-2 in 10 career starts against the Mets.
For New York, righty Zack Wheeler faces the Phillies for the second time in his 13th career start.
Wheeler took a no-decision upon meeting Philadelphia for the first time on July 20 at home, where he allowed seven hits and two runs in 4 2/3 innings while walking two and striking out five.
He won his next start against Atlanta five days later and has won three of four overall, including a 5-3 defeat of the Braves in his most recent appearance on Aug. 20.
In that game, the 23-year-old worked 6 2/3 innings, allowed three runs, walked two batters and struck out five.
On Sunday in Philadelphia, Roy Halladay returned to action for the first time in three months and he helped the Phillies take a 9-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks to wrap up a three-game set.
Halladay (3-4) last pitched on May 5 and has been out since having right shoulder surgery on May 16. He was expected to pitch another rehab assignment on Sunday, but was pressed into action after scheduled starter Tyler Cloyd was used in a relief role in Saturday's 18-inning loss.
The righty had struggled in his first seven starts of the season prior to the surgery, going 2-4 with an 8.65 earned run average, but he gave up just two runs on four hits with a pair of walks and strikeouts over six innings to earn his first win since April 19.
John Mayberry hit a two-run home run while Roger Bernadina and Cody Asche each drove in a pair of runs for the Phillies, who have won six of their past eight games.
In New York, Miguel Cabrera and Andy Dirks each had two-run home runs and the Detroit Tigers swept a three-game series against the Mets with an 11-3 victory.
Travis d'Arnaud hit a two-run shot for his first career home run and Daniel Murphy drove in the other run for the Mets, who have lost four straight.
Dillon Gee (9-9) allowed four runs on 10 hits and a pair of walks in six frames, taking his first loss since July 27.
The Phillies won seven of the first 12 games with the Mets in 2013, though New York won two of three at Citi Field from July 19-21.
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