Phillies Opposition Roadblock: New York Mets
The Phillies have a ton of offensive momentum after a series sweep against the Nationals. Can they carry it into this set with the New York Mets?
The Phillies are coming off a big, early season series win against the NL East favorite Washington Nationals. Not far behind the Nats in those predictions loom the New York Mets. Philadelphia starts their series with that division rival Monday night. Let’s take a look at who the Phillies need to key on to win the upcoming series.
The Phillies took two out of three from the Nationals in their first series of 2017. As you know, I chose Max Scherzer and Trea Turner as the roadblock duo for Washington. Below, you will find their stats for the series.
Scherzer (6.2 IP, four hits, two runs, two walks, and seven strikeouts) seemed as though he was just toying with the Phillies during their first trip through the order. He was throwing whatever pitch he felt like at any time. A young Phillies lineup was way out in front of changeups in fastball counts and caught staring at fastballs in breaking ball counts.
He was able to scatter four hits and two walks over the 6.2 innings he pitched. With two outs in the seventh, Dusty Baker lifted his ace after back-to-back walks. One of them would cross the plate. The Phils struggled with Scherzer but were able to get him out of the game in enough time to make a convincing comeback against a weak Washington bullpen.
Phils Grade: C-
Turner’s series did not go as well as the Nationals would have hoped. Not only did the 23-year-old shortstop go 0-5 with three strikeouts on Friday, but was lifted from the Saturday’s game with a hamstring strain. He will be out for a minimum of ten games before the Nats make a decision on how they will proceed. Oddly enough, the only appearance he made, and it was a pretty awful day for him, was the game the Nationals won.
Phils Grade: N/A due to injury
The Team: New York Mets
The Phillies were not granted any gifts here early in the season. Sure, the Reds were not a difficult start to their campaign. However, twelve straight games against arguably the NL East’s two best teams is not a fun start. After taking two out of three from the defending division champion, Washington Nationals, the Phils welcome another bitter division rival.
The New York Mets come into Citizen’s Bank Part tonight looking to continue their dominance over the Phillies. Over the course of the last three seasons, it feels as though the Phils can’t get out of their own way against the Mets. Last year alone, the Mets were 12-7 against the Phils.
This is a different Phillies team, however. Over the last two days, the Phils outscored the Nationals 21-6 (27-13 in the series). The Phils will have to get through some pretty tough arms in order to do so.
More from That Balls Outta Here
- Phillies-Mets owners’ rivalry grows after shocking Carlos Correa deal
- Could Rich Hill become ‘Jamie Moyer 2.0’ in Phillies rotation?
- Does Bailey Falter have a future in Phillies’ rotation?
- Prospect Andrew Baker could help Phillies bullpen in 2023
- Bryce Harper’s absence should lead to Phillies lineup tinkering
The Mets are coming in with an equal 3-3 record. They saved themselves from a weekend series sweep against the Miami Marlins behind a dominant Noah Syndergaard start on Sunday night. The Phils will have the luxury of avoiding the dominant right-hander.
On the other hand, they afforded themselves the chance to step in the box against the trio of Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, and Zack Wheeler. The first two had promising first starts, but Wheeler gave up five earned over four innings. He did turn the radar gun up to 97 on a few occasions though. He will be looking to turn it around on Wednesday night.
Offensively, the Mets were struggling at home, producing only 21 runs over their first six games. Coming to CBP may be just what the doctor ordered though. They will need more production out of Yoenis Cespedes, Curtis Granderson, and Jose Reyes to help jumpstart their offense.
The Position Player: Jay Bruce
It is always difficult this early in the year when some guys are struggling right out of the gate. When I look at the Mets lineup, I tend to shrug with indifference. There are definitely some threatening pieces, but none that scare me as much as the likes of Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy. There are ways to get these guys out, and with Jerad Eickhoff leading the way, the Phils will need to attack this lineup to keep them struggling the way they have through their first six.
One guy to keep an eye on this week is Jay Bruce. He is going to be my pick in the first Mets-Phils meeting of 2017. I would love to pick Cespedes, but the outfielder is struggling beyond words early on (.182/.308/.364 with one homer and 5 strikeouts).
More from Phillies News
- Phillies-Mets owners’ rivalry grows after shocking Carlos Correa deal
- Could Rich Hill become ‘Jamie Moyer 2.0’ in Phillies rotation?
- Does Bailey Falter have a future in Phillies’ rotation?
- Bryce Harper’s absence should lead to Phillies lineup tinkering
- Pirates’ bizarre Vince Velasquez hype video will make Phillies fans laugh
On the other hand, Bruce has been the Mets best offensive weapon thus far. He is the team leader in homers (two) and on-base percentage (.400) after six games. His .600 slugging percentage is obviously inflated because of it being so early, but in a struggling offense, it is obvious that he presents the biggest threat.
The Phillies are slated to start three righties: the aforementioned Eickhoff, Clay Buckholz, and Vince Velasquez.
Bruce has shown much more power against righties over the last three seasons (61 homers to 16). Even more terrifying are his numbers at Citizen’s Bank Park (.407/.556/.556, one dinger, 3 RBI, and 9 Ks).
In order to slow him, the Phils will want to rely on offspeed and breaking stuff in the zone. He is not a guy who has much luck away from the fastball. He loves to extend his arms when a pitcher does make the mistake of a fastball in the middle part of the zone. The Phillies pitchers are going to work to make him hook balls into the shift consistently over the next few days.
In a lineup full of guys struggling early in the season, a staff has to find ways to make it difficult to get going. By putting a stranglehold on perhaps the only bat really working right now, the Phils could really do some damage to a reeling Mets offense.
The Pitcher: Jacob deGrom
The New York Mets may not have an offense that is on fire early this season, but their arms are fierce. The Phillies are coming into this series with a ton of offensive momentum. The additions have made an impact and their new approach (when used correctly) produces runs in bunches.
The Phils have had pretty good luck against Harvey in the past and Wheeler is coming back after missing two seasons. They should be able to at least put together some innings against both righties. The problem is in order to continue the momentum, they have to deal with the 6’4” deGrom who was dominant the first time out against Atlanta (0 runs in six innings with six strikeouts, a walk, and one hit).
Against the Phils in his career, the 28-year-old deGrom has had little struggle. He has never lost in his seven starts (4-0, including a complete game) and has allowed 34 hits in 44.2 innings. The powerful righty sits consistently around 94 MPH and that led to 44 Ks against Philly’s hitters over the last three seasons.
At CBP, he has felt pretty comfortable, pitching to a .188 batting average against with 21 strikeouts. He has only allowed four homers in his 18 innings in South Philly. He is in the year following a cleanup style elbow surgery, and this new look Phillies lineup hopes to take advantage, putting an end to the favorable numbers.
With a look at deGrom’s pitch usage, there is not a huge disparity between his putaway pitch. Sure he loves his fastball, using it to strike out 67 batters last season. His four other pitches combined to fan for 56 more hitters in 2016. The Phils will want to avoid the slider, not only for his ability to strike batters out with it, but the 88 MPH pitch is one that guys only put in play for a hit 17% of the time.
Next: Phillies Featured Player: LF Howie Kendrick
The Phils are looking to continue momentum on a beautiful Monday night. A long haired, hard-throwing deGrom is looking to halt it over the course of the next nine innings. Can he continue his dominance over the Phillies?