Game Preview: Mets @ Phillies

The Mets looked like a team that hadn’t played in a week last night. They also haven’t played a real game in a week.

Let’s get the good out of the way first – deGrom was deGrom, which is to say, amazing. He coasted through 6 innings, throwing only 77 pitches and was taken out of the game earlier. Whether we agree with that or not (and I think the major consensus is – don’t do that, it’s deGrom!) I think we’ll see managers pulling pitchers early often this month as baseball revs back up after a short season. Jacob also had two hits on the night too. Just a normal legendary performance.

If you’re going to pull pitchers earlier then the bullpen has to hold it together. That was true for the Phillies. Not so much for the Mets who melted down in the 8th inning and allowed 5 runs. The Mets offense also looked rusty over the first few innings. I’m hoping that both the bullpen and the bats issue is a product of not playing for a week while the Phillies have already swept the Braves to start the season. We’ll find out tonight!

Marcus Stroman will make his first start since 2019 today. Stroman opted out of the 2020 season and was one of the first major signings for the Mets this off-season when he accepted the qualifying offer to come back on a one year deal. In 2019, Marcus pitched in 32 games and 184.1 innings with a 3.22 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 1.307 WHIP and a 137 ERA+. Over 5 games and 18.1 innings this spring he has posted a 3.44 ERA and a 1.091 WHIP. He did not have fun facing the Phillies in 2019, allowing 7 runs, 6 earned over 10.0 innings from 17 hits while striking out 12 batters. The Phillies have the following numbers against him:

Adam Haseley 2-4, 2B, BB
Andrew McCutchen 1-2, 2B
J.T. Realmuto 3-5, BB
Didi Gregorius 8-31, 2 2B, 3B, 2 BB, 2 K
Jean Segura 4-13, 3 K
Rhys Hoskins 1-6, 2 K
Bryce Harper 0-3, 2 K

For a second day in a row – the Mets will see a veteran starting pitcher make their Phillies debut. Chase Anderson made his debut with Arizona and pitched from 2014-15 for the Diamondbacks before being part of a trade to the Brewers. for (now teammate) Jean Segura. He was traded again a few years later to the Blue Jays. Chase Anderson has a career 4.06 ERA and 4.60 FIP. Last year was a tremendously off year of him posting a 7.20 ERA, 6.16 FIP, 1.634 WHIP and 61 ERA+ over 10 games and 33.2 innings. This includes a start against he Mets where he allowed 4 runs from 4 hits and 3 walks in 2.2 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Chase: