Tonight starts the biggest series of the year for both the Phillies and the Mets, as they face off in Flushing for a pivotal three game set. They come in to tonight’s game tied for first place in the National League East with matching records of 53-46. The Mets are riding a hot streak of 8-2 in their last 10 games, while the Phillies are an uninspiring 5-5 during that span.

The winner of this series will solidify themselves atop the NL East by at least two games, if not three. The loser could ultimately find themselves in third place in the division, as the upstart Florida Marlins loom just a game back of first place. Despite being shut out last night by the fourth place Braves, the Marlins are a team that could make a run at any moment.

Pitching tonight, and making his Phillies debut, is Joe Blanton (0-0, 0.00 ERA), recently acquired from the Oakland Athletics. He will face off against Mets ace Johan Santana (8-7, 3.10 ERA). Santana’s record is not what you expected it would be when he was traded to the Mets from the Minnesota Twins this past off-season, and he has not pitched as well as expected, but that record is in large part due to a lack of run support. Over the past thirty innings, Santana has an ERA of 3.30, 25 strikeouts, and only 12 walks, but only one win.

Offense, however, has not been a problem during their recent hot streak. Over the past 10 games, the Mets have scored 52 runs, while only giving up 29. Over the past week, third baseman David Wright has two home runs and six RBIs while batting .385. First baseman Carlos Delgado is hitting at an incredible .615 clip with one home run and five RBIs.

It appears the Mets are unstoppable right now. However, if you examine the numbers a little closer, the Mets are actually human after all. Despite having a tremendous month, the Mets’ pitching has been roughed up over the past four games. Of the 29 runs given up over the past 10 games, 25 of them were given up over the last four games alone. Mike Pelfrey, who has five wins over his last 40 innings with a 2.27 ERA, gave up five runs in seven innings in his last start. John Maine only went 4.2 innings his last start, giving up five runs with five walks. In Santana’s last game he gave up five runs in only four innings, an ERA of 11.25.

Despite winning eight of their last 10 games, the Mets are beatable and if the Phils’ bats can come alive like we all know they can, then the Phillies should be able to take this series. Outfieler Pat Burrell is batting .417 over his last 12 at bats with two home runs. Chase Utley is batting .455 over his past 11 at bats and Ryan Howard is batting .308 with one home run and three RBIs over the past week.

It is going to be the pitching that decides this series. The Phillies success will hinge on the performances of Blanton and Brett Myers, who is returning from a stint in AAA to face the Mets on Wednesday. Both pitchers have struggled this year, but will be the key to the Phillies success if they hope to make the playoffs this season.

Any Phillies-Mets series is exciting and definitely worth watching, but this week’s series could set the tone for the rest of the season for both teams. Stay tuned…