Game Preview: Phillies vs Mets

The Mets find themselves playing another rubber game as they look to win their 7th consecutive series to start off 2022. Last night the Mets couldn’t move beyond a late Kyle Schwarber bomb, which has been the theme for the last year or so when he plays against the Mets.

Max Scherzer will make the national televised start for the Amazin’s tonight. In four games and 25 innings this season, Max has a 1.80 ERA, 2.01 FIP, 0.760 WHIP and a 206 ERA+. He also has a league leading H/9 rate at 4.0. He’s allowed a total of five runs so far this season, but only two runs in his last 19 innings of work. This includes a five inning start against the Phillies where he allowed only one run from five hits while striking out 7. The Phillies have the following numbers against him:

Odubel Herrera 16-54, 4 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 6 BB, 10 K
J.T. Realmuto 6-53, 2B, 3 BB, 16 K
Jean Segura 9-27, HR, BB, 6 K
Rhys Hoskins 1-23, 2B, BB, 12 K
Bryce Harper 3-14, 2 2B, HR, 5 BB, 8 K
Nick Castellanos 2-11, 2 2B, BB, 4 K
Didi Gregorius 1-10, 3 K
Alec Bohm 2-10, 5 K
Kyle Schwarber 1-6, 4 BB, 3 K

The Mets bats will try to wake themselves up tonight against Zach Eflin. In Eflin’s first four starts this season he has pitched 19 2/3 innings with a 3.20 ERA, 2.95 FIP, 1.119 WHIP and a 121 ERA+. It’s only one month of the season so far but those are all career bests for Eflin. Most of the runs scored on Eflin came from back to back starts in the middle of the month where he allowed 8 runs, only 6 earned, over two starts. He rebounded in his last start against the Rockies where he allowed only one run over six innings.

Last year Eflin faced the Mets twice and allowed only three runs despite the Mets recording 15 hits against him over 12 innings (that really does feel like the 2021 Mets, right?). The Mets have the following career numbers against Eflin: