The National League East should be fun all season long, with multiple teams making offseason moves to chase down the defending champion Atlanta Braves. Two of those teams meet up this week in a three-game series as the Philadelphia Phillies (2-1) host the New York Mets (3-1).
The first game of the series starts on Monday at 6:45 p.m. ET on FS1 from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Mets RHP Taijuan Walker (0-0, 0.00) takes the ball for the visitors against Phillies lefty Ranger Suarez (0-0, 0.00).
Feisty Mets Take Opening Series
The Mets opened the season, taking three-of-four on the road against the Washington Nationals. Benches cleared on Friday after Francisco Lindor was hit in the head while bunting, the fourth Mets player hit by a pitch in the first two games of the series. The Mets went 3-1 on the run line in the series and 3-1 as the favorite.
New York hit .318 in the first series with 17 runs scored and three home runs. They got home runs in the series from Jeff McNeil, Pete Alonso, and Lindor, with Alonso hitting a grand slam. Alonso and Starling Marte have four RBI each, and McNeil is batting .438 on the season.
The Mets have posted a 1.33 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP so far on the season. Relievers Adam Ottavino, Seth Lugo, and Drew Smith have pitched twice so far with no runs allowed and combined; the bullpen has allowed just two runs in 12 ⅓ innings.
Walker gets the ball on Monday for his first start of the season. Last year he started 29 games, going 7-11 with a 4.47 ERA for the Mets. He struck out 146 batters and walked 55 in 159 innings in his first season in New York.
Walker faced Philadelphia five times last year, going 0-2 with one loss in August and one in September. Overall he allowed 11 runs on 20 hits over 26 ⅓ innings. Walker gave up home runs to Jean Segura, J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm, and Bryce Harper.
Harper off to a Slow Start in Philly
The Phillies started the season with an interleague series against the Oakland A’s and won two of three. They were 2-1 on the run line in the series against Oakland and 2-0 as the favorite. Philadelphia hit five home runs in the series with four different players going deep. Segura homered twice while Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, and Rhys Hoskins each went deep once.
The Phillies hit .231 in the opening series with 14 runs scored. Hoskins led the way, batting .444, with Segura hitting .364 and Castellanos driving in three runs. Harper is just 1-for-11 so far this season with a double and three strikeouts, while Realmuto is 1-for-9.
The pitching staff, led by Kyle Gibson’s seven shutout innings, posted a 3.00 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. Corey Knebel has the lone save on the season, and he has pitched twice with a 0.00 ERA. No other reliever has pitched more than once, and overall the bullpen has a 4.50 ERA.
Philadelphia hands the ball to Suarez on Monday. Last year he pitched 39 times with 12 starts while going 8-5 and posting a 1.36 ERA. Suarez struck out 107 batters in 106 innings while walking 33.
The lefty faced the Mets as a reliever twice last season, allowing one run on three hits over two innings. He moved into the rotation and started against the Mets on August 7. In that outing, he threw 2 ⅔ shutout and hitless innings while walking three and striking out four.
Betting Analysis
- New York Mets +1.5 run line (-110). +130 Money Line
- Philadelphia Phillies -1.5 run line (-110). -150 Money Line
- Run Total: 9. Over -110. Under -110.
The Mets bullpen has already been worked hard as no starter went more than six innings in the series against Washington. Walker is, in essence, the sixth starter when Jacob deGrom is healthy, and he’s been hit hard by Phillies batters, including Schwarber, who has five career homers against the righty. Suarez held lefties to a .109 average last year and is a major breakout candidate this season.
Betting Pick: Phillies -1.5 runs (-110)
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