Another Battle in the East—Series Preview: Mets at Phillies, June 23 – 25

To say the very least, the Phillies’ unexpectedly short series with the Braves was a weird one. Aside from the rainout on Wednesday, Rob Thomson made some unforeseen bullpen decisions, and what many are considering to be a poorly-constructed lineup struggled against the Braves’ pitching.

However, with the Phillies preparing to face the struggling Mets while the Braves face off with the red-hot Reds (pun intended), the Phillies have another opportunity to do what they failed to do earlier in the week—gain some ground in the National League East. Right now, the Phillies are ten games out of first place in the NL East and are three games back from having a national league wild card spot.

Last Time They Met

When the two teams met at the end of May, it was not at all pretty.

In three games at Citi Field, the Phillies were swept out of New York City, having scored just three runs in the series. In game one, Kodai Senga narrowly outdueled Ranger Suarez, and Brandon Nimmo found himself on the highlight reels after robbing Nick Castellanos of a home run that would have given the Phillies an early lead.

In games two and three, Phillie killer Mark Canha racked up six RBI to lead the Mets to the sweep behind strong pitching performances from Carlos Carrasco and Max Scherzer.

Since, the Phillies have soared to the third place spot in the NL East, while the Mets have fallen significantly behind its division rivals. In their last seventeen games, the Mets have won just four of them, dropping them seven games behind the Dodgers for the last wild card spot and a hefty fourteen games behind the first-place Braves in the East.

Here are two keys for a successful series against the Mets:

Hitting with RISP

Driving in runs has been a problem all season for the Phillies. Other than Kyle Schwarber—who has 20 home runs—the Phils have not been a home-run-happy team; no other Phillie has more than eight home runs in the first 74 regular season games. As a team, the Phillies rank 21st in home runs per at-bats with 32.63. Against right-handed pitchers, specifically, the Phillies have just 45 home runs all year; only the Nationals and Guardians have fewer. Inconveniently, the Phillies will face three right-handed starters this weekend.

Obviously, if home runs won’t do the trick, resorting to old-fashioned small ball may become a necessity. The problem? Well, the Phillies can’t seem to do that either.

In the Braves series alone, the team hit .125 (2-16) with runners in scoring position, and they left fifteen stranded runners on base across both games. Following the series, the players recognized this, too: “You can’t make excuses,” Phillies’ designated hitter Bryce Harper said. “Got to keep plugging.”

A Strong Start from Cris Sanchez

Lefty Christopher Sanchez will get the ball for the Phillies in game two, which will be his third start of 2023. After being recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley on June 17, Sanchez threw four scoreless innings in his start against the A’s.

Sanchez’s time in the major leagues has been up and down, as he struggled to stay in the strike zone at times during 2022. Recent adjustments, though, have proved effective in better commanding the strike zone and getting quicker outs.

With the Phillies’ struggles to find a viable fifth starter, Christopher Sanchez stepping up for the Phillies could potentially be season-changing, given how few options they have had so far this season. Even if they are able to pick up a starting pitcher at the trade deadline, that is still over a month for Sanchez to fill a seemingly huge role for a club that will undoubtedly be fighting for a playoff spot come September.

Game Times and Broadcasts

• Friday, June 23, at 7:05pm ET on Apple TV+, WTTM 1680 (Spanish), and 94.1 WIP
• Saturday, June 24, at 4:05pm ET on Fox Sports 1, NBC Sports Philadelphia, WTTM 1680 (Spanish), and 94.1 WIP
• Sunday, June 25, at 1:35pm ET on MLB Network, NBC Sports Philadelphia, WTTM 1680 (Spanish), and 94.1 WIP

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Taijuan Walker (RHP, 7-3, 4.31 ERA) vs. Kodai Senga (RHP, 6-4, 3.53 ERA)

Game 2: Christopher Sanchez (LHP, 0-0, 8.1 IP, 3 ER) vs Carlos Carrasco (RHP, 2-3, 6.34 ERA)

Game 3: Zack Wheeler (RHP, 6-4, 3.48 ERA) vs. Max Scherzer (RHP, 6-4, 4.04 ERA)

By the Numbers

• Run Differential
• Phillies: -19
• Mets: -15

• Runs Scored Per Game
• Phillies: 4.36
• Mets: 4.55

• Runs Allowed Per Game
• Phillies: 4.62
• Mets: 4.76

Game coverage will be available on Philly Sports Reports’ Twitter page.