Phillies look to stay hot, win third straight over Mets

It’s crazy how baseball works. Two days ago, the Philadelphia Phillies were entering a four-game series with the New York Mets after being swept by the Miami Marlins in a weekend series. Hitting coach John Mallee and manager Gabe Kapler – at least in the court of public opinion – were sitting on scalding-hot seats, as the Phillies had lost seven consecutive games.

And then the Mets came to town.

After the most lifeless offensive performance of the season Sunday, the Phillies have scored 20 runs in the first two games of their four-game series with the Mets, winning both games in come-from-behind fashion. It may just be two games against a team that’s really struggling, but the Phillies are three games above .500 again and now tied with the Colorado Rockies for the second Wild Card spot in the National League. Tonight, they’ll look to push their winning streak to three games and clinch a series win over the Mets.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of this evening’s Phillies-Mets tilt:

Phillies Lineup 

1. Scott Kingery, center field
2. Jean Segura, shortstop
3. Bryce Harper, right field
4. Rhys Hoskins, first base
5. J.T. Realmuto, catcher
6. Jay Bruce, left field
7. Cesar Hernandez, second base
8. Maikel Franco, third base
9. Nick Pivetta, pitcher

Mets Lineup 

1. Jeff McNeil, right field
2. Pete Alonso, first base
3. Robinson Cano, second base
4. Michael Conforto, center field
5. Todd Frazier, third base
6. Dominic Smith, left field
7. Amed Rosario, shortstop
8. Tomas Nido, catcher
9. Jason Vargas, pitcher

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Matchup

• Jason Vargas (3-3, 3.75 ERA and 4.48 FIP) vs. Nick Pivetta (4-2, 5.54 ERA and 5.51 FIP)
• Vargas had to be held back from fighting Tim Healey of Newsday last Sunday after Mets manager Mickey Callaway got into a verbal altercation with Healey after he dared to say “See you tomorrow, Mickey.”
• Pivetta pitched against the Mets at Citizens Bank Park on April 16, when the Phillies won 14-3. However, he gave up seven hits (two of which were home runs) and three earned runs in five innings. After the game, he was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Pregame Phillies Nuggets

1. Here’s a crazy statistic via the Phillies: Scott Kingery has seven home runs in his last 19 games. Before that stretch, he had seven home runs in his previous 99 games.
2. Robinson Cano is having a rather disastrous first season with the Mets. The eight-time All-Star is slashing just .228/.277/.369 with a -0.3 fWAR. The Mets took his contract on in a trade with the Seattle Mariners last offseason in an attempt to lessen the return they would have to send for closer Edwin Diaz (and also, ironically, to get them to take on Jay Bruce’s deal). Cano is still owed $96 million over the next four seasons.
3. Rhys Hoskins has homered in three consecutive games seven times in his career already. He’ll try to make that eight times tonight.
4. In 247 at-bats in 2019, Jeff McNeil is slashing .348/.410/.498 in 247 at-bats. It’s not just the Phillies he’s beaten up on.
5. In his last 40 at-bats, Cesar Hernandez is hitting .425.

Programming Information

• Citizens Bank Park
• 7:05 p.m. ET
• NBC Sports Philadelphia
• SportsRadio 94 WIP

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