2020 Series Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (18-15) at New York Mets (17-21)

Fresh off a stretch of nine wins in their last 10 games, the Philadelphia Phillies will visit the New York Mets this weekend for a four-game series at Citi Field.

The Phillies offense has been extremely hot recently. Led by Rhys Hoskins and his six home runs in this stretch, the team is scoring an average of six runs in its last 10 games. Outside of a seven-run start from Jake Arrieta on Aug. 30, the starting pitching has been reliable, and the bullpen has seen improvements as well.

With help from the recent hot streak, the Phillies have climbed their way into sole ownership of the second-place spot in the National League East at 18-15 entering this series. They remain two-and-a-half games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves.

The Mets come into the series following two straight wins, taking Thursday’s game against the New York Yankees on a walk-off home run by Pete Alonso. They are currently in fourth place in the NL East with a record of 17-21.

Shibe Vintage Sports Probable Pitchers

• Game 1: RHP Jake Arrieta (2-4, 6.49 ERA, 4.88 FIP) vs. RHP Rick Porcello (1-4, 6.00 ERA, 3.10 FIP)
• Game 2: RHP Spencer Howard (1-1, 5.40 ERA, 6.50 FIP) vs. RHP Seth Lugo (1-2, 2.12 ERA, 2.66 FIP)
• Game 3: RHP Aaron Nola (4-2, 2.45 ERA, 3.14 FIP) vs. RHP Jacob deGrom (2-1, 1.76 ERA, 1.92 FIP)
• Game 4: RHP Zack Wheeler (4-0, 2.20 ERA, 3.22 FIP) vs. TBA

As previously mentioned, Arrieta is coming off his worst start of the season and possibly his Phillies tenure. The 34-year-old will follow up the seven-run outing on Friday against another former Cy Young Award winner who has struggled this season in Rick Porcello.

Sunday’s Game 3 is a matchup of aces. Right-hander Aaron Nola has been incredible to start this season for the Phillies. He will toe the rubber against Jacob deGrom, the winner of the last two NL Cy Young Awards.

Pregame Phillies Nuggets

• Hoskins has hit six home runs in the team’s last 10 games, even after getting a day off Wednesday. He’s posted an OPS of 1.438 in that stretch.
• Nola has a 2.87 career ERA against the Mets, but has not been quite as successful when pitching in their ballpark. He has a 4.15 ERA in six starts at Citi Field.
• No team has scored more than two earned runs in a game off deGrom this season. He did allow four runs in his last start against the Miami Marlins, but only one was earned.

Ticket IQ Programming Information

• Game 1: Friday at 7:10 on NBC Sports Philadelphia, MLB Network and SportsRadio 94WIP.
• Game 2: Saturday at 7:10 on NBC Sports Philadelphia and SportsRadio 94WIP.
• Game 3: Sunday at 1:10 on NBC Sports Philadelphia, MLB Network and SportsRadio 94WIP.
• Game 3: Monday at 1:10 on NBC Sports Philadelphia, MLB Network and SportsRadio 94WIP.

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