September 14 – Symbolically, the New York Mets throw the first punch in their seven-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies in September.
New York and Philadelphia will continue their three-game series on Saturday afternoon, with the visiting Mets looking to continue cutting into the Phillies’ lead in the National League East.
The Mets (81-66) closed the gap on the first-place Phillies (88-59) to seven games with an 11-3 win in the series opener on Friday. Only 15 games remain between the two teams, though the Mets have plenty of chances to close the gap — games in Philadelphia on Saturday and Sunday, then four games against the Phillies in New York next weekend.
“We’re in a great game right now,” said pitcher Jose Quintana, who got the win Friday. “We have confidence in ourselves. Every game is a new test.”
New York had a long list of players who performed well in the series opener. Quintana pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing the Mets to hit four home runs: triples by Francisco Alvarez, Brandon Nimmo and Harrison Bader, and a single by Pete Alonso.
New York holds the NFC’s third and final wild-card spot, posting a 12-2 record over its last 14 games. The Mets have a good chance to reach 90 wins for the third time since 2007.
“We played well,” head coach Carlos Mendoza said. “We know we are a good team and we do a lot of things well.”
One potential issue, however, is the injury status of star shortstop Francisco Lindor. The NFC MVP candidate missed Friday’s game with back pain, though Mendoza downplayed the injury.
“Not really (any concerns),” Mendoza said. “It’s a day-to-day thing. I’m sure he’ll tell me to put him in the lineup (Saturday). We’ll see.”
Phillies player Brandon Marsh hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning on Friday, marking the first time a runner reached third base for the home team in an entire game.
Marsh will likely return to the lineup Saturday against Mets right-hander Luis Severino (10-6, 3.74 ERA). Severino has allowed only two runs in 13 2/3 innings this month and is 3-0 with a 1.95 ERA in his last five starts.
“I think right now we don’t worry about who wins and who loses,” Severino said after the latest game. “Now we just have to win the series.”
Severino will face Philadelphia for the second time in his career. On June 26, 2018, he was a member of the New York Yankees, pitching seven scoreless innings against the Phillies.
Kolby Allard (2-0, 3.50 ERA) will be recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday to start for the Phillies. Philadelphia has struggled to find a fifth consistent starter behind Zach Wheeler, Aaron Nolan, Ranger Suarez and Christopher Sanchez.
Allard is a left-handed pitcher who has pitched over 18 innings in the major leagues this season. In his most recent major league appearance against the Kansas City Royals on August 25, he gave up two runs in five innings.
“The turnaround was really good today,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of Allard that night. “The first two guys were great in the first inning and they worked through it. That tells me something about them.”
Allard will make his first appearance against the Mets.
The Phillies have won four of seven meetings with the Mets this season. The two rivals have never met in the playoffs.
“I think this series is going to be very similar to playoff baseball,” Nimmo said.
–Visual-level media
