Citizens Bank Park with the Phillies are still clinging to slim playoff hopes and the Mets playing their best baseball since April.Jake Arrieta (10-9 Derek Holland Jersey , 3.66 ERA) for the Phillies and Zack Wheeler (11-7, 3.23) for the Mets will be on the mound in the series opener.Despite two consecutive losses, the Mets are 10-5 in September, and they have taken 10 of the first 16 games against the Phillies this season.Article continues below ...The Phillies, meanwhile, are 30-36 against the National League East this season, even after winning a weekend series against the Miami Marlins. Philadelphia is 6 1/2 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East and five games back in the wild-card race.Arrieta has 18 strikeouts in his last two starts (12 1/3 innings). The veteran right-hander had seven strikeouts in his last start against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday, and Arrieta gave up three runs and three hits in five innings.Arrieta got a no-decision in the game, as the Phillies coughed up a three-run lead in the ninth inning of a 7-6 loss.“It’s obviously not great, especially when we’re trying to catch the team ahead of us,” Arrieta told reporters afterward. “We got to pick it up, and if we don’t, we’re not going to be making the playoffs.”The Phillies are 2-2 since Arrieta’s last start.Arrieta has a 1.94 ERA and a 0.961 WHIP in nine career starts against the Mets. In two starts against them this year http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , he has allowed one earned run in 13 1/3 innings.Wheeler, who is 3-1 with a 3.10 ERA in nine starts against the Phillies, has faced the Mets’ divisional opponent just once this season. He gave up three runs in 4 2/3 innings on July 9, but the right-hander has been one of the best starters in the NL since then.Wheeler is 9-1 with a 1.67 ERA in his last 11 starts. Opponents are hitting just .192 against him in that span, and he has 76 strikeouts in 75 2/3 innings.He had his best start of the season last Wednesday. Wheeler threw eight scoreless innings against the Marlins. He gave up only four hits, did not walk a batter and had seven strikeouts in the 89-pitch outing.“The competitor in me wants to go out there and throw nine every game,” Wheeler told MLB.com after the start. ” … We aren’t going anywhere right now, so I want to be ready for next year and I just want to play it smart, especially with my history. If we’re contending, I’m going back out there for sure.”Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez has homered in each of his last two games and is historically successful against Wheeler. Hernandez is 7-for-11 with seven singles in his career against Wheeler. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — It may not seem right, but Charlie Blackmon will be in right field for Colorado this season.Blackmon, a four-time All-Star who has anchored center field for the Rockies since 2014 and has played more games there than anyone else in franchise history http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , said Monday he spoke to manager Bud Black about the switch and is fine with it.“He assured me this was going to help the Rockies win more games, and I’m all about that,” Blackmon said.With Ian Desmond slated to play center field, the issue became which corner spot Blackmon would fill.“If I had my choice, I would pick right,” Blackmon said.The new alignment puts David Dahl in left.Blackmon has played all three outfield spots while hitting .302 in his eight-year career with the Rockies, but he has been almost strictly a center fielder since 2015, when he made four starts in each of the corner spots. He started 64 games in right field in 2014.He has played 691 games in center.“I really enjoy playing center field,” Blackmon said. “I think you can impact the game in center field more than in either corner. There is a sense of pride in being able to play center field, especially at Coors Field. I’m not going to let that get in the way, especially if we think it is going to help us win more games.“Ian Desmond is more than capable. Super-fast. Incredible athlete. I’m sure he’ll pick up the slack just fine.”Dahl, who turns 25 on April 1, made 34 starts in left field and 30 in right last season.“It’s pretty tough in left Willie McCovey Jersey ,” Dahl said. “The ball comes off the bat a little different, especially at Coors, where the ball carries. You have to takes good angles.”There’s more ground to cover in left than in right at asymmetrical Coors Field. The distance down the lines is about the same, but the left-center field alley is 390 feet from home plate and the right-center field alley is 375.“In our park, I like right for Charlie,” Black said. “I think he is probably more comfortable in right. David might have a little more range in left. I think left field needs range in our park.”Carlos Gonzalez, currently a free agent, was the Rockies’ primary right fielder in 2018, making 117 starts there.“‘Cargo’ would give me this look when a ball gets hit in the gap that (meant), ‘You are going to get this, right?'” Blackmon said with a smile. “Hopefully I can give that look to Ian a little bit less.”