The New York Mets (15-7) started their series at home against NL East rival Philadelphia (11-11) with a combined no-hitter on Friday. Saturday. They were in a position to win Saturday as well until the bullpen gave up four late runs and the Phillies won 4-1 to even the series. The series ends Sunday on national TV with a 7:08 p.m. ET first pitch from Citi Field on ESPN.
The Mets send RHP Max Scherzer (3-0, 1.80) to the mound against Phillies RHP Zach Eflin (0-1, 3.45). The Mets lead the season series 3-2 after taking two-of-three in Philadelphia in the first week of the season. These teams will meet again in Philadelphia May 5-8 and in New York May 27-29.
Phillies Need Schwarber, Harper to Heat Up
The Phillies are 3-6 on the road this season and just 7-9 against right-handed pitchers. Philadelphia is 3-6 overall against the NL East. The Phillies scored 32 runs in a four-game sweep of Colorado before being no-hit by the Mets on Friday, and they have been shut out twice in the last seven games.
The Saturday night hero for the Phillies was Kyle Schwarber with a two-run homer in the seventh, with the Mets leading 1-0. Before that homer, Schwarber, who walked three times in the no-hitter, had been 0-for-14 against the Mets on the season. Odubel Herrera followed with a RBI double, and Rhys Hoskins homered in the eighth to finish off the win.
Alec Bohm leads the Phillies with a .308 average, while Nick Castellanos is batting .300. Schwarber leads the team with five homers but is batting just .169 overall. Bohm and Bryce Harper both have 14 RBI on the season, but Harper is just 2-for-17 against the Mets.
Eflin beat the Rockies on Tuesday, allowing one run on two hits over six innings. He is 0-1 on the road this season, allowing six runs on 14 hits in 9 ⅔ innings while striking out nine and walking one.
He has four straight no-decisions against the Mets, dating back to a win in 2019. Last year he faced them twice with a pair of quality starts, allowing three runs in 12 innings while striking out 11 and walking three. Starling Marte is 7-for-11 against Eflin with a home run, while Pete Alsonso and Robinson Cano also have homers, but Francisco Lindor is 0-for-7.
Mets Pitching Gets it Done
The Mets are 6-3 at home this season and 13-4 against starting right-handed pitchers. They have won every series they’ve played so far this season and are 6-3 against the NL East. New York is 13-2 when allowing less than five runs in a game.
The Mets have relied on great starting pitching all season, and this series is no exception, with ten shutout innings combined from Tylor Megill and Taijuan Walker. Overall the Mets starters have a combined 2.31 ERA this season with 116 strikeouts to just 28 walks in 109 innings.
The Mets had four hits on Saturday, two from Mark Canha, and Lindor had the lone RBI. Lindor and Jeff McNeil both had two hits in Friday’s 3-0 win, while Alonso homered and Canha added a double. Canha has hit safely in eight of 10 games since returning from the IL with three multi-hit games.
Lindor and Alonso both have four homers on the season, and the latter leads the team with 17 RBI. Canha is batting .345 with McNeil at .328 and Lindor batting .282.
Scherzer has ten strikeouts in two straight starts, and he’s allowed just two earned runs total in his last 19 innings. Scherzer is 4-0 with a no-decision in his last five starts against the Phillies. He struck out seven and allowed just one run on five hits over five innings in a win in Philadelphia on April 13.
Herrera is 16-for-54 (.296) with two career homers off Scherzer and Harper is 3-for-14 with a homer against his former teammate. J.T. Realmuto has three homers but is batting just .113 in 54 at-bats against Scherzer, while Castellanos is hitting .182.
Betting Analysis
- Philadelphia Phillies +1.5 run line (-140). +155 Moneyline
- New York Mets -1.5 run line (+120). -180 Moneyline
- Run Total: 6.5. Over -125. Under +105.
Scherzer has been his usual ace-self all season and has long-term success against the Phillies, including their new hitters. The Mets bullpen faltered Saturday but don’t expect that to be their norm.
Philadelphia will need Eflin to be spectacular from the get-go to have a chance against Scherzer as the Mets look to win another series.
Betting Pick: Mets -1.5 runs (+120)
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