The Phillies look to jump back into first place this week as they take on the New York Mets in a two game mini-series here at Citizens Bank Park, the final time the Mets come to Philly this season. The Mets lead the season series 9-4, but the Phillies have managed to stay right on their heels, coming into Tuesday’s game just a half game back. Unless one team hits a major speed bump, all indications are that they will continue fighting neck and neck down to the wire, which makes this week’s series all the more important.

Tuesday night is the battle of the veterans as Phillies’ stalwart Jamie Moyer (11-7, 3.54) faces off against Pedro Martinez (4-3, 4.97). Moyer, the oldest active player in the majors, is 45 years old and Martinez is nine years his junior at 36. A surprising statistic is each player’s career win-loss record with their respective team. Moyer is 72-59 in his career with the Phillies, and Martinez is 73-59 with the Mets. Moyer has pitched in Philadelphia for just about two full seasons, while Martinez is in his fourth full season with the Mets.

Moyer, despite his age, is the icon of consistency. He has pitched at least 200 innings every season since 2000, with the exception of last year, when he pitched a meager 199.1 innings. Martinez, on the other hand, has pitched 200 innings only three times since 2000.

Martinez has started only 14 games this season, and is not expected to last more than six innings in a game the rest of the season. That being said, he can still pitch and pitch well. In his last outing, against the Atlanta Braves, he threw over 100 pitches and gave up four runs and struck out six. In his last outing against the Phillies, he only gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings and got the win.

In addition to being two of the more veteran pitchers in the major leagues, having almost identical records with their respective teams, Martinez and Moyer also share another thing in common: the number 14. Martinez has 14 starts total this season and Moyer has given up three runs or less in his last 14 starts, the best such record in the major leagues this season. His ERA over that span is 2.72, which is better than every other top pitcher in the majors with the exception of CC Sabathia.

Moyer has been just ridiculous this season as the league’s resident wily veteran, not allowing a run in three of his starts while averaging under four strikeouts per game. In Moyer’s last outing, he allowed one earned run in 6 2/3 innings on just five hits. In his last game against the Mets, Moyer gave up just three runs on seven hits.

Wednesday’s series finale pits Kyle Kendrick (11-7, 4.87) against Johan Santana (12-7, 2.64). Santana continues to be the Mets’ best pitcher despite not meeting the mile high expectations lofted upon him after he was traded to New York this past off-season. He posted seven shutout innings against the Houston Astros on Friday, which was the second start in a row in which he did not allow a run, a streak of 16 innings. He has thrown six innings or more in his last seven starts, including two complete games. He has not lost since June 28.

Kendrick showed an impressive ability to rebound from a string of rough outings in which he recorded an ERA of 6.90 in six starts on Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He gave up only one run on three hits in 5 2/3 innings. He is now tied with Moyer and Cole Hamels for the team lead in wins with 11. In three career starts against the Mets, Kendrick is 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA.

Courtesy of our friend Jeff Freier over at Hot Stove New York, here is how several key players from both teams have fared so far this season in this NL East series:

Phillies vs. Mets in 2008:

Pat Burrell: .250, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Ryan Howard: .200, 3 HR, 9 RBI

Jimmy Rollins: .229, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 3 SB

Chase Utley: .240, 5 HR, 9 RBI, 1 SB

Shane Victorino: .317, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 SB

Mets vs. Phillies in 2008:

Carlos Beltran: .154, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 4 SB

Ryan Church: .333, 0 HR, 4 RBI

Carlos Delgado: .204, 2 HR, 7 RBI

Jose Reyes: .268, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 8 SB

David Wright: .327, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 5 SB

As is evidenced by these stats, the Phillies’ offense needs to pick it up. With Shane Victorino the only Phillies player averaging above .300, or anywhere close to it, against the Mets this season, the offense has been the significant crux of their problems. Supposed “Mets Killer” Pat Burrell needs to particularly pick it up and be the hammer against this team that he usually owns, as does Jimmy Rollins, who proved Monday night that he truly is the catalyst of this offense.

Howard needs to be more willing to take pitches and be more concerned with getting on base. Once he starts being more selective again, the homeruns will continue, but he will also start drawing more walks and important base hits. Utley, despite a low average of .240 against the Mets this season, has pretty good numbers against them and if he raised that batting average he could really start putting up some numbers.

The Phillies face a critical moment in their season this week and unfortunately are facing the Mets’ two best pitchers (when healthy). Santana has really heated up the past couple months after struggling a bit the first half of the season. Despite his age and health issues, Martinez is still one of the most talented pitchers to ever play the game and has been quite good this season when he is actually on the mound. The Phillies need to remain focused and build on the momentum gained by sweeping the Dodgers. They have won their last three series, but if they are going to make the playoffs, they are going to have to help themselves by beating the Mets.

Every game is crucial, every inning matters. This is already September baseball.