The Phillies, winners of four straight and fresh off a sweep of the Colorado Rockies, will begin a three-game series against the hated New York Mets beginning tonight with the first pitch scheduled for 7:10 PM EST. The Phillies are 10-10 overall and the Mets are 14-6. New York has started the season red hot in large part thanks to their outstanding pitching. Their starters have a 10-3 record featuring three wins from Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, and Tyllor Megill. They have fared extremely well without Jacob deGrom, the best pitcher in baseball. They have a 2.93 ERA as a staff and are absolutely buzzing right now.
The Phillies are a different story. They have finally begun to out-hit their opponents like we knew they would have to do. They are up to .256 as a team and getting on base at a .325 clip. The average is fourth-best in the National League and the OBP slots as fifth-best in the senior circuit. For them to get over .500, the pitching staff needs to limit the number of baserunners they allow each inning.
Pitching matchups for the weekend series in New York will feature Aaron Nola vs. Tylor Megill tonight, Kyle Gibson and Taijuan Walker tomorrow night, and wrap up with Zach Eflin against Max Scherzer on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. With Nola on the hill tonight, the offense is going to have to get going early. Nola is very suspect to allowing home runs in big spots, and with the Mets having a loaded lineup, he needs to find a way to keep the ball in the park.
If the Phillies can steal two of the three games in this series, they will be in great shape heading into Texas on Monday. Look for the young guys to play a big role in this series. Alec Bohm and Matt Vierling do not have much experience playing in rivalry series like this one, so they need to be on their game. Bohm has been lighting it up at the plate and that should continue into this weekend.
