Game Preview: Phillies vs Mets

The Mets put themselves in the position they needed to be in today and now they have one more step – beat Zack Wheeler in the midst of a career year and take three of the four games in the series. The Mets, off back to back wins and four wins of their last five now find themselves only 1.5 games behind the Phillies for the second automatic playoff berth in the division.

The Mets are also coming of a crucial, and interesting, game yesterday. By defeating the Phillies 14-1, the Mets have erased their run differential, putting it at +1 on the season, giving them an expected win loss record of 21-20. The first place Braves are the only other team in the division with a positive run differential.

David Peterson gets the start today for the Mets, his last outing being relief for Michael Wacha. On the season he has pitched 29.2 innings with a 3.03 ERA, 4.02 FIP, 1.213 WHIP and 141 ERA+. In his last outing he pitched 4.0 scoreless innings, holding the Orioles to 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 1 (in a hitters ballpark like Camden Yards, against a team that can hit). It was a good bounce back from his start against the Yankees where he allowed 3 runs over 4.0 innings. This will be David’s first career start against the Phillies.

The Mets draw Zack Wheeler today who is off to a career year. In 7 starts and 45.0 innings, Wheeler has a 2.20 ERA, 3.24 FIP, 1.067 WHIP and 214 ERA+. For comparison, his career numbers are: 3.68 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 1.282 WHIP and 104 ERA+. Wheeler is coming off of a 6.2 inning shutout performance against the Nationals and has steadily decreased his ERA each start from August 11th, where it hit a season high of 2.89. This includes a start against the Mets where he allowed 2 runs over 7.0 innings in Philly. The Mets have the following numbers against him: