The Phillies were in dire need of some positive karma before heading to New York to begin a three-game series against the Mets, and the offense arrived in Monday's series finale against the Reds at Great American Ball Park.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was confident that his club would break out of its early-season slump.

"I know [Ryan] Howard's going to hit, Jimmy Rollins is going to hit," said Manuel. "With our lineup, we're supposed to score runs. I don't know any reason why we won't. In the first six games, we've been inconsistent scoring runs. Going from Florida, then to the east because of the weather, it's hard to get going."

Chase Utley and Pat Burrell, in particular, started well, but the rest of the Phillies' hitters did not.

"Some guys come out hot, other guys struggled," said Manuel. "Cold weather is never fun to hit in.

"You have to start the season somewhere. Other teams have the same thing. That's just an adjustment you have to make. That's what baseball is all about. It's an everyday thing. You have to deal with stuff like that."

Manuel said part of the Phillies' early offensive struggles can be attributed to the good pitchers they've faced, namely the Reds' 24-year-old right-hander Edinson Volquez, who beat them on Sunday.

"He was good," Manuel said. "We saw him in Spring Training, and he was good. He has a good fastball, changeup and slider. [On Sunday], he used all three."

More challenges await Phillies batters in New York, where they'll face tough lefty Oliver Perez in the historic final Opening Day at Shea Stadium. Left-hander Jamie Moyer will take the mound for Philadelphia.

Pitching matchup
PHI: LHP Jamie Moyer (0-0, 7.36 ERA)
Moyer had a rough outing to begin the season, allowing six runs, three earned, on nine hits over 3 2/3 innings. The Phillies' veteran left-hander will look to rebound against the Mets, a team he's 6-3 against in his career with a 2.87 ERA in 14 appearances. At Shea Stadium, Moyer is 3-3 with a 2.59 ERA in eight outings.

NYM: LHP Oliver Perez (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
A tough lefty such as Perez might not be a welcome sight for the Phillies' inconsistent offense, which showed signs of life in Monday's series finale against the Reds. Perez allowed just five hits and no runs in his first start in Florida. He walked one and struck out eight over six innings.

Tidbits
The Phillies are in a stretch of four consecutive day games. Last year, the Phillies were 27-23 during the day, the third-most daytime victories in the National League behind the Cubs and Mets. They also ranked second in the NL with a .285 batting average under the sun.

On the Internet
 MLB.TV
 Gameday Audio
•  Gameday
•  Official game notes

On television
• CSN

On radio
• WPHT 1210, WUBA 1480 (Español)

Up next
• Wednesday: Phillies (Kyle Kendrick, 1-0, 7.20) at Mets (Mike Pelfrey, 0-0, -.--), 7:10 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Phillies (Adam Eaton, 0-0, 3.52) at Mets (John Maine, 0-1, 9.00), 7:10 p.m. ET
• Friday: Cubs (Jason Marquis, 0-0, 6.75) at Phillies (TBD), 7:05 p.m. ET