The Mets and Phillies match up for the last time in the regular season tonight, with the Mets looking to take the four game series from the Phillies. It’s been a weekend that has seen the Mets score 10 runs in the series opener, the Phillies with a rout on Friday and a close game Saturday afternoon. The Phillies have their ace on the mound tonight trying to clinch the NL East title – something they would love to celebrate in Queens tonight. The Mets are looking to keep their breathing room in the NL wild card race heading into their three game series with the Braves. It’s practically play-off baseball tonight!
Tylor Megill makes his fifth start of the season tonight since rejoining the rotation after the Paul Blackburn injury. Over 14 games this season he has pitched 68 1/3 innings with a 4.08 ERA, 3.46 FIP (career best), 1.259 WHIP and a 97 ERA+ (also a career best). In his last four games he’s had a 1.69 ERA, 2.09 FIP over 21 1/3 innings. In his last two starts he has allowed only one unearned run, no earned runs from three hits over 12 innings while striking out 13. The Phillies have the following career numbers against Megill:
- Alec Bohm 2-7, 2B, K
- Nick Castellanos 1-7, 2B, K
- Bryce Harper 2-10, BB, 3 K
- Brandon Marsh 2-7, HR, 3 K
- J.T. Realmuto 4-12, 2B, HR, 6 K
- Johan Rojas 0-2
- Kyle Schwarber 1-7, 2B, 3 BB, K
- Edmundo Sosa 1-5, K
- Bryson Stott 0-8, 3 K
- Trea Turner 1-4, BB
- Weston Wilson 1-3, K
Zack Wheeler is wrapping up another dominant season, possibly his best of his career. Over 186 2/3 innings he has a 2.56 ERA (career best), 3.14 FIP, 0.954 WHIP (career best and league leading) and a 158 ERA+ (career best). He’s also leading the league in hits per nine innings at 6.2 (also a career best). In his last four starts he has allowed only four runs from 14 hits and four walks while striking out 29 batters over 26 innings. The Mets have and Wheeler are matching up for the first time in 2024 tonight. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Pete Alonso 10-31, 2 2B, 2 BB, 6 K
- José Iglesias 3-8, 2B
- Francisco Lindor 8-29, 2B, 3B, HR, 6 K
- Starling Marte 7-20, 2B, 3B, BB, 3 K
- Brandon Nimmo 12-41, 3 2B, 3B, HR, BB, 7 K
- Tyrone Taylor 0-3, K
- Mark Vientos 1-3
- Jesse Winker 0-7, 2 BB
Three Things To Watch For:
- Pete Alonso. There is a possibility that Pete Alonso’s last home game as a Met happens tonight. Pete Alonso has been a home run hitting machine for the Mets, hitting 226 so far in his Mets career. He has four All-Star game appearances. While he’s having a down year, he still has a .808 OPS and 128 OPS+ (which is not actually his lowest career OPS+). Alonso has powered the 2022 Mets with a league leading 131 RBI’s. Tonight the Mets are going to need a slugger in the lineup.
- Iglesias and Acuña. The Mets have been carrying the team over the last week. Iglesias added to his hitting streak yesterday going 2-for-5 with a double. Over his last 15 games he has gone 24-for-58 slashing .414/.443/.535. More recently he’s been getting extra-base hits on top of just getting on base. Meanwhile, Acuña continued his meteoric rise on Saturday going 2-for-3 with a double and homer. He is hitting .385/.407/.885 over his first eight games of his career with six extra-base hits.
- The Standings. The Braves won a back-and-forth game with the Marlins today, so the Mets need the win against them to keep their two game lead, critical before heading into a three game series with them. The Diamondbacks had an 8-0 lead today and somehow the Brewers completed a massive comeback. With a win tonight, the Mets would pull back into a tie with the Diamondbacks, which is really a one game lead thanks to the tie-breaker.
Let’s Go Mets!
