The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies conclude a three-game weekend series on Sunday Night Baseball. New York has taken the first two games in the series, with both teams fighting to get closer to the Wild Card spots in the National League.
Road Warriors
The Mets are currently 69-66, sitting in fourth place in the National League East, 13 games behind the Atlanta Braves. They are on the road for this series where they are 32-39 this season.
As a team, the Mets are batting .257 with 192 home runs. They have a team ERA of 4.34, and they currently have four players on the IL, including second baseman Robinson Cano.
Marcus Stroman will be getting the start in this game. In his last start, Stroman allowed four runs over six innings and took a loss against the Cubs. That brought his record to 7-12 this season with a 3.29 ERA and 124 strikeouts.
Stroman has put together a good season for the Mets so far, although he has not been able to pick up a win since Aug. 15, despite the Mets being hot up until their last series against the Cubs.
New York’s 24-year-old rookie sensation, Pete Alonso, has set a home run record for the Mets. He currently has 42 home runs, a .263 average, and 101 runs batted in. Leftfielder Jeff McNeil leads the Mets with his .326 batting average.
Needing A Win
The Phillies are 69-65, sitting in third place in the NL East, 12.5 games behind the Braves. They are at home for this series where they are 40-31 this season.
The Phillies are carrying a team batting average of .248 with 169 home runs. They have a combined ERA of 4.64, and the Phillies have four pitchers on the IL, including Jake Arrieta.
Zach Eflin will be getting the start for the Phillies in this game. Eflin got the win in his last outing last Saturday, allowing two runs over six innings. Eflin is now 8-11 this season with a 4.50 ERA and 103 strikeouts.
Eflin will have plenty of rest after the pitchers were shuffled around in Philadelphia due to all their injuries. He would like to pick up another win in this game after just getting one in August.
Leading for the Phillies have been Bryce Harper and Jean Segura. Segura has a .287 batting average with 11 home runs and 53 runs batted in, while Harper leads the team with 29 home runs and 97 runs batted in to go along with a .257 average.
What To Expect
The Mets were on a hot streak for a while in August until running into the Braves and Cubs, who handed them a combined six straight losses. They have won their last two straight, though, beating the Phillies each time.
Philadelphia has been unable to get much of any rhythm going as it has dropped three of its last four.
With the Phillies being so short on pitching and Stroman on the mound, I like the Mets to take this game as well in a low-scoring contest.
