The Mets travel home to play a crucial three game set against the Phillies tonight at Shea Stadium. Gametime is slated for 7:10 EST and can be seen on SNY. Johan Santana will make his third start versus the Phillies this year, and will be opposed by the Phillies newest player, Joe Blanton.

Keys to the Game:

• More of the same from Johan: Santana has pitched very well against the Phillies so far this year,  with seven and eight inning performances under his belt. Both of these games were at the bandbox in Philly, so Johan can only benefit from pitcher friendly Shea.

• What if Billy Can’t Go?: If Billy Wagner can’t go, i’d imagine Jerry Manuel would go to Duaner Sanchez, who has been close to untouchable since Manuel took the reigns of the team. Sanchez’s only real blip over the last month was against the Phillies, when he gave up the game winning hit to Shane Victorino July 4th. Sanchez’s changeup had great downward movement on Sunday and if he were to close that’d be the stuff he would need to bring to the table.

As always, to chat during the game head to The Hot Foot Bleachers.

For a lineup, head to John Delcos’s blog for the Journal News.