Phillies Mets Series Preview
The Philadelphia Phillies will come back home to Citizens Bank Park to partake in 3-game series against division rivals the New York Mets. After a brief road trip in St. Louis, the Phillies are coming home, where they split the series 2-2. The Phillies currently sit in second place in the National League East Division, just a half of a game behind the Atlanta Braves.
Just like the Phillies, the Mets have seen early-season struggles at the start of this season. The race for the National League East is a tight one, and this is an important series for the Phillies to win.
The Phillies will not see Degrom at all this series, which is nice because the Phillies have seen Degrom every series they have played so far. Degrom is one of the best pitchers in the Major Leagues, and the Phillies will get a break from seeing him for one game.
The Phillies will have Chase Anderson start the first game, and he is struggling to start the season; he has an 0-3 record with a 6.48 Earned run Average. Anderson has been a disappointment so far for the Phillies. Hopefully, he can get back on track against the Mets. Harper may or may not be in the lineup on Friday; he got drilled by a 97 mile per hour fastball to the nose.
Zack Wheeler will start in the second game of the series; he is off to a hot start so far, having a 2-2 record with a 3.13 earned run average. Wheeler has had some good starts so far this season. He did give up six runs in one start, but either that, he has looked good as the number 2 so far for the Phillies.
Finally, Zach Eflin will get the start in the third game of the series. He has a 1-1 record with a 3.58 earned run average. Zach has had a decent start to the season. He struggled badly with location on his pitches in his last start. Too many of his pitches broke towards the middle of the plate, and it doesn't take much for a hitter to see the ball down the middle.
Rhys Hoskins is scorching hot at the plate right now; he leads the league in home runs. Maton has looked good since his call-up as well. However, he has cooled off slightly, but I think he will have an excellent series against the Mets.
Center Field is still a problem for the Phillies. Odubel Herrera, since being called up to the Phillies, is 0 for 12 at the plate. Phillies Center Fielders are hitting a combined .095 so far this season. That is abysmal. It is honestly a situation that needs to get fixed now because if this team makes a playoff run, they need a Center Fielder.
Overall I feel the Phillies will take 2 of three games in this series. I think Chase Anderson will struggle again, and the Phillies will lose that game. Wheeler and Eflin will have an excellent start for the Phillies on their respective pitching days.
How to catch the game:
WATCH: NBCS Philly/ My Teams App
LISTEN: 94.1 WIP
FOLLOW: @PHISportsToday