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Chase Utley and the Phillies could have a field day at the new Yankee Stadium.

By Steve Phillips, ESPN

If you enjoy watching baseballs leave the yard, don't miss this weekend's Phillies-Yankees matchup. It has a chance to be an absolutely dynamic series. You have the team leading the American League in home runs hosting the team leading the National League in home runs in the stadium leading the world in home runs.

Both offenses are loaded with firepower and have been leading the way for their respective teams so far this season. Recently both clubs have been playing especially well. The Yankees are red-hot, having won nine straight, while the Phillies have won six of their past seven. So there is momentum on both sides heading into the weekend.

One of the keys to the series for the Yankees is to go after Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in advance of Raul Ibanez coming to the plate. Ibanez has done serious damage with his bat this season, and the best way to limit his impact is to face him with the bases empty. In the other dugout, the Phillies are going to have to recognize that Mark Teixeira has caught fire since Alex Rodriguez rejoined the Yankees. Although A-Rod already has five homers, his batting average is just .171. So although it seems opponents have started giving Teixeira more pitches to hit with A-Rod in the lineup, it might not be the wisest game plan for the Phillies this weekend. Until A-Rod really gets his swing back, opponents should consider going back to pitching Teixeira aggressively on the corners.

Featured Series: Phillies at Yankees

FRIDAY Phillies (Brett Myers) at Yankees (A.J. Burnett), 7:05 ET

SATURDAY Phillies (J.A. Happ) at Yankees (Andy Pettitte), 4:10 ET

SUNDAY Phillies (Cole Hamels) at Yankees (CC Sabathia), 1:05 ET

The pitching matchups are quite interesting in this series as well.

The Friday game is a showdown between two veteran right-handers, with Brett Myers going for the Phillies and A.J. Burnett taking the hill for the Yankees. A lot has been asked of Myers this year because of the slow start from Cole Hamels. Myers (3-2, 4.50 ERA) has responded but has been vulnerable to the long ball. So it will be interesting how he handles the Yankee lineup. Burnett hasn't won since the first two starts of the season and has been prone to allowing big innings. Who will be able to go deeper into the game? That will be an important question for both teams to answer.

Saturday's matchup pits J.A. Happ against Andy Pettitte, a young lefty against a veteran lefty. Happ is getting the start in place of Chan Ho Park and will have his work cut out for him with New York's experienced lineup. It might appear that Pettitte has the advantage due to the perception that the Phillies are vulnerable to left-handed pitching with lefties Utley, Howard and Ibanez at the heart of their batting order. The fact is that the Phillies are 9-3 in games started by left-handed opponents. Ibanez has been arguably the best offseason move in baseball and has shown a special talent for hitting left-handed pitching. He is hitting .341 with four homers against lefties this season.

On Sunday, in what could very well end up being the rubber match of the series, we'll see a showdown of two of the game's best left-handed pitchers in Hamels and CC Sabathia. Both of these guys had shaky starts to their seasons, but they seem to be coming around lately. Hamels will need to rely on his outstanding changeup to keep the Yankees off his fastball and in the ballpark. Sabathia has seemingly recovered the feel for his great slider and curveball, pitches that made him nearly unhittable last season.

Because the starting pitching matchups are so balanced, the games might come down to the bullpen. Mariano Rivera has been nicked a couple of times already this year, while Brad Lidge, after going 41-for-41 in save opportunities a season ago, has struggled for a good part of the season as well. Both teams are going to need the pitching to continue to improve if they hope to not only win this series but to deliver on their expectations of reaching the postseason.

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TOUCH 'EM ALL

Who went deep? Keep track of all the home runs hit each day on "Baseball Tonight" and on the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page.

For more, check out the Home Run Tracker page.

Home Run Tracker
NAME	HR	OPP	PITCHER	SITUATION
D. Murphy, Tex	2	Det	Jackson	Top 1: 1-0, 1 Outs. None on.
C. Thomas, Det	1	Tex	Millwood	Bot 1: 0-0, 2 Outs. None on.
G. Dobbs, Phi	1	Cin	Owings	Top 3: 3-1, 2 Outs. None on.
C. Granderson, Det	11	Tex	Millwood	Bot 3: 2-0, 1 Outs. 1 on.
C. Utley, Phi	11	Cin	Ramirez	Top 4: 2-2, 2 Outs. None on.

The complete list of Thursday's homers

ON DECK: FRIDAY'S BEST MATCHUPS

Mets at Red Sox

Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his first start for the Red Sox in five weeks. And whom does he draw as his opponent? Johan Santana, who is 5-2 with a 1.36 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 53 innings. But Santana has been mortal in his career at Fenway: 1-3 with a 6.89 ERA.

Cubs at Padres

We could have picked another interleague series, particularly a series involving two geographic rivals. But Carlos Zambrano is back on the hill for the Cubs, and he'll face Jake Peavy, who just turned down a trade to the Cubs' crosstown rivals, the White Sox.

Angels at Dodgers

It's the battle for the Los Angeles area. And so far in 2009, all the talk has focused on the Dodgers, thanks largely to Manny Ramirez. The Dodgers are still 17-3 at home and send young Clayton Kershaw to the mound, fresh off his one-hit performance against Florida. Meanwhile, the Angels counter with Jered Weaver, who's third in the AL in ERA (2.59), but has no victories in his past two starts despite giving up only four earned runs in 14 innings.

For the rest of Friday's schedule, click here.