The Mets go for the sweep tonight before the off-day against Philly! Last night the Mets fired on all cylinders as they beat the Phillies 9-0. Through the first 5 innings, the game was the Zack Wheeler show as he recorded 11 strikeouts, had 2 hits including a homer and a double and recorded 3 RBI, or 3 of the Mets 4 runs. Then in the 6th Todd Frazier hit a Grand Slam that put the game away for the Mets. Last night’s win means that no matter what happens tonight, the Mets will at least tie their season record against the Phillies.
The game also got a little chippy/chirpy last night in the 9th inning which will be something to watch for today. The Phillies were already upset about the bad umpiring from Monday night, which led to Harper being ejected and then Arrieta making comments about Harper being ejected. In the 9th inning last night, Rhame almost hit Hoskins, who took it as he was being thrown at on purpose. Benches cleared but stayed towards the dugout. Important to note: the Mets were winning 9-0, had no reason to throw at Rhys and Rhame notoriously has control issues. Ball 4 to Hoskins could also be interpreted as Rhame throwing at Rhys (if you’re a Phillies fan or Hoskins). To everyone else it looked like Rhame still demonstrating a lack of control. Maybe this is a non-issue that the Phillies use to band together tonight.
For the Mets, they send out Jason Vargas who’s a bonding moment for fans and teammates in different ways. Over 10.1 innings, 4 games and 3 starts this year he has a 9.58 ERA, 7.75 FIP, 2.323 WHIP and a 42 ERA+. His last start was a step forward – allowing 1 run over 4.0 innings against the Cardinals that lowered his ERA from 14.21 to 9.58. He did average, which is good, in his one start against the Phillies last year holding them to 2 runs over 5.1 innings. The Phillies have the following numbers against him:
- Bryce Harper 0-5, BB
- Cesar Hernandez 1-3
- Rhys Hoskins 1-3
- Scott Kingery 1-2, 2B
- J.T. Realmuto 0-2
- Nick Williams 0-2
- Maikel Franco 0-1
- Andrew McCutchen 0-1
The Mets bats will get their first look at Vince Velasquez who over his first 4 games and 3 starts this year has found his stuff compared to previous years. Last year in 31 games and 30 starts, 146.2 innings, he had a 4.85 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 1.343 WHIP and 86 ERA+. This year in 17.2 innings he has a 2.55 ERA, 4.18 FIP, 0.962 WHIP and 179 ERA+. Last year he faced the Mets twice and allowed 5 runs from 9 hits and 2 walks over 10.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Velasquez:
- Michael Conforto 6-12, 3 HR, 3 BB, 2 K
- Travis d’Arnaud 1-10, 3 K
- Amed Rosario 2-5, 3B
- Robinson Cano 0-2, 2 BB
- Jeff McNeil 2-3
- Dominic Smith 1-3, 2B
- Todd Frazier 0-1
- Brandon Nimmo 1-1, 2B, BB
- Wilson Ramos 0-2
Lets Go Mets!
