London is Calling — London Series Preview: Phillies vs. Mets, June 8 – 9

NL East rivals, Phillies and Mets, square off in the third edition of the London Series this weekend

The Phillies and Mets square off for the second time this season, this time with brand new settings and much more pomp. The NL East rivals take a roughly 3,500-mile journey across the Atlantic to showcase their skills for the lads and lasses inside London Stadium as part of Major League Baseball’s International Series. The Phillies were tied for the best record in baseball but now stand a game back after the Yankees beat the Twins Thursday night. The Mets currently sit 3rd in the NL East, 8 games under .500 and 16.5 games back of the Phillies. While both teams seem eager for the unique experience, the timing may not be the best for either squad.

I have felt like a spoiled writer at times because, once again, I have the privilege of writing following a Phillies sweep (their 7th in 63 games). This most recent sweep was three games over the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers and Rhys Hoskins. The offense was quiet versus Milwaukee yet the team got great starting pitching and a couple of timely hits (more on that later).

Starters Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, and Aaron Nola went twenty innings and allowed two earned runs. Before you go thinking I worded it that way to hide the bullpen numbers, six relievers pitched eight scoreless innings. Jose Alvarado locked down two saves. Jeff Hoffman held the 8th twice. Four relievers pitched a scoreless inning in game 2, allowing Seranthony Dominguez to get the win in the 10th inning, Nick Castellanos‘ walk-off double the final blow.

Speaking of Castellanos, his 5th inning 2-run home run in game 3 was one of those timely hits. Turned out, it was the only offense needed in the game. The Phillies defense and the Castellanos home run contributed in unison with Nola’s masterful pitching stat line (W, 7IP, 2H, 0R, 5K) for another Phillies win.

The Mets just completed a road sweep of the Washington Nationals Wednesday, their first sweep since April 15th-17th at home against the Pirates. Down in DC, the Mets may have finally gotten their bats going. They averaged 7.66 runs a game and pounded out 37 hits total over the three-game set. Thirteen of those hits were for extra bases, with four players (Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Harrison Bader, and Luis Torrens) contributing multiple. Starters Luis Severino and David Peterson combined to throw 14 2/3 innings while allowing 3 earned runs, though neither is scheduled to pitch in London.

No matter how someone may feel about playing games that count on foreign lands or the other arguments that can be made against the Stadium Series, it is here and the Philadelphia Phillies are playing the Mets in it this year. Philadelphia fans have shown up to England in droves and will represent the city like they always do on the road. The two rivals will step between the lines, on the converted soccer pitch, and it will be Phillies/Mets then Mets/Phillies (in the interest of fairness). It will be our hometown team on Fox Saturday baseball, playing in a foreign country, as the best team in the National League. Enjoy it for what it is, the opportunity to watch a baseball team playing great baseball against a hated rival.

Game Times and Broadcasts

Saturday, June 8, at 1:10 pm ET, 6:10 pm BST, on FOX, and 94.1 WIP

Sunday, June 9, at 10:10 pm ET, 3:10 pm BST, on ESPN, and 94.1 WIP

Probable Pitching Matchups

Game 1 (Mets home team): Ranger Suarez (LHP, 9-1, 1.70 ERA) vs Sean Manaea (LHP, 3-2, 3.63 ERA)

Game 2 (Phillies home team): Jose Quintana (LHP, 1-5, 5.17 ERA) vs Taijuan Walker (RHP, 3-1, 5.73 ERA)

By the Numbers

• Records
• Phillies: 44-19
• Mets: 27-35

• Run Differential
• Phillies: 104
• Mets: -29

• Runs Scored Per Game
• Phillies: 5.08
• Mets: 4.39

• Runs Allowed Per Game
• Phillies: 3.43
• Mets: 4.85

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