=== Philadelphia Phillies Team Report - July 18 ===

(My Sportsbook) - The Philadelphia Phillies will try to knock the New York Mets even further back in the National League East race today, as the teams complete a four-game series at Shea Stadium.

The Mets won the series opener on Thursday, but the Phillies have picked up victories in the next two games. Philadelphia now holds a one-game lead over Atlanta for first place in the East, while New York and Florida find themselves three games back.

Brett Myers tries to pick up his first victory in over a month, as he heads to the mound for the Phillies today.

Myers has been terrible over the last month, going 0-3 with an 11.50 earned run average in four starts. Myers' last start came July 7 against the Mets and he was pounded for six runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings.

The 23-year-old righthander is 3-3 with a 6.26 ERA in eight career starts against the Mets.

On Saturday, Jim Thome cracked a three-run homer and Randy Wolf notched his first win in three starts to lead the Phillies to an 8-2 win.

Thome finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored and Jimmy Rollins knocked in a pair of runs for the Phillies, who have won two straight after a three-game slide.

Wolf (4-5) ended a personal two-game losing streak for his first victory since July 1 versus Montreal. The lefthander pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball and gave up six hits and walked three batters. He also struck out five.

Philadelphia is 19-23 versus NL East teams this year, while the Mets are 17-18 within the division.

New York holds a 7-5 advantage over the Phillies in the season series. However, Philadelphia has won 13 of its last 18 at Shea Stadium, dating back to the 2002 season.