The Phillies arrive in Chicago for a four game set against the National League leading Cubs on Thursday back to a half game behind the New York Mets for first place in the East. The Phillies and Mets split a short two game series at Citizen’s Bank Park, the last of the year in Philadelphia.

It was an exciting series to be sure, involving two come from behind wins, perhaps giving us a sneak preview for the kind of baseball we can expect in the final month or so of the season.

The Phillies now have to turn their attention to perhaps their toughest series yet. The Cubs boast the best record in the major leagues, including an astounding 49-19 record at home. They are 8-2 in their last ten games, including a current five-game winning streak.

The series opens up on Thursday with Cole Hamels (11-8, 3.20) and Ryan Dempster (15-5, 2.85) on the mound. Dempster has arguably been the Cubs best pitcher this season, and is without a doubt the biggest surprise on the team. He is looking for his career high 16th win Thursday, coming off a great outing against the Nationals in which he gave up only one run in 7 1/3 innings. He has 18 quality starts this season and also leads the league in sacrifice bunts with 16 this season.

Hamels finally received some run support on Sunday after receiving an average of just two runs a game in his previous four starts. He went seven innings against the Dodgers, allowing just two runs on five hits. Despite a mediocre record, Hamels continues to be one of the best pitchers in the majors this season. In four career starts against the Cubs, Hamels is 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA.

Friday night showcases two pitchers who were teammates on the Oakland Athletics just two months ago, Joe Blanton (6-12, 4.75) and Rich Harden (9-2, 2.00). Harden has been everything short of spectacular since coming over to Chicago this season, striking out 11 in his last outing against Washington. He now has seven double-digit-strikeout games in his career, five of them coming as a member of the Cubs. He gave up one run and has an 0.47 ERA in his last three starts. He also did not walk a single batter in his last start, the sixth time he’s avoided that in a start in his career.

Despite a record that indicates a really tough year, Blanton has pitched pretty well since joining the Phillies before the trade deadline. On Sunday night, Blanton turned in his third quality start in seven outings since the trade. He gave up just one run on six hits in six innings against the Dodgers and has a 3.00 ERA in his last five starts.

Saturday pits Brett Myers (7-10, 4.49) against Ted Lilly (1307, 4.23). Lilly is perhaps the Cubs weakest starter this season, and he still has 13 wins. His last time out against the Pirates he went seven innings and gave up only two painful hits, both homeruns. Historically, Lilly presents the best chance for the Phillies to pull out a win as he 1-2 with a 5.19 ERA against in his career against them.

Myers, however, has been on a tear since spending three weeks in the minors in the middle of the season. Since returning Myers is 4-1 with a 1.66 ERA, which includes a current streak of 16 scoreless innings, which started with a complete game shutout against the Nationals and continued with seven scoreless innings against the Dodgers. In eight career starts against the Cubs, Myers is 6-3 with a 2.63 ERA.

Jamie Moyer (11-7, 3.81) and Carlos Zambrano (13-5, 3.53) face off in the series finale on Sunday. Big-Z has struggled mightily in August, with a 7.43 ERA in five starts this month. In his last outing Zambrano was only able to get through 4 1/3 innings. He is 3-3 with a 3.38 ERA in his career against the Phillies.

Moyer came into his last game riding a league leading 14-game streak of outings in which he did not allow more than three runs. That streak came to an abrupt end against the Mets when he gave up six runs on nine hits in just three innings. Like Zambrano, Moyer looks to rebound against the team in which he broke into the majors in 1986. His other outing against them this season, Moyer allowed four runs on nine hits in five innings on his way to a no decision.

This is an incredibly tough weekend for the Phillies and they need to at least split the series with the Cubs as they continue to battle the Mets for first place. The Wild Card is going to come out of the Central division this year with either the Cardinals, or more likely the Brewers, and if the Phillies hope to make the playoffs this season they are going to have to win their division. That means keeping pace with the Mets and winning as many series as they can. This weekend could perhaps preview the National League Penant Series and will certainly be an exciting one to watch.