As the Major League Baseball season trudges on, the Philadelphia Phillies find themselves in a tight race for the National League East with the division foe New York Mets.
The two teams faced off earlier in the season and it did not go according to plan for the Phillies. The Mets swept the series at Citi Field. This weekend, Philadelphia will look to return the favor as the two teams will battle it out at Citizens Bank Park.
All three games will be televised nationally, with Friday night's contest streaming on Apple TV+, Saturday's game will be broadcast on FOX, and the series finale will be aired on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.
Phillies need to take advantage of wide-open NL East versus struggling Mets
With potentially big implications looming, here are three things to watch out for during this series.
Starting pitching trends
Both the Phillies and Mets boast solid starting pitching staffs. The latter's rotation currently holds the best ERA (3.05) in MLB entering the three game series. However, they have scuffled entering the weekend.
While the Phillies' rotation's combined overall season stats don't quite match up with New York's, it is difficult to overlook how talented the battery of Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez, and Jesús Luzardo have been for the majority of the season. Throw in Mick Abel's contributions and you get one daunting starting staff.
Recently, however, the Phillies have been pitching very well. Over the last week the rotation headed by Wheeler has posted a 2.61 ERA, and a 1.02 WHIP while opposing hitters are batting just .211 against them.
The division rivals, on the other hand, have seen their rotation skid a bit in the same span. The Mets starting staff has pitched to a 5.98 ERA with a 1.69 WHIP and have a batting average against of .269 over the last week.
It is worth noting that four of the Phillies games have come against the Miami Marlins, but still, they have posted impressive numbers.
Friday features Zack Wheeler versus Mets Triple-A call-up Blade Tidwell. Saturday will see Mick Abel face Griffin Canning. Sunday's finale pits Jesus Luzardo against David Peterson.
The starting pitching of both clubs will play a huge role in the outcome of the series.
How much of a role will momentum play?
On June 12, the Mets held a 5.5 game lead in the National League East. Since then, they have dropped six straight after being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays and the Atlanta Braves. Concurrently, the Phillies have gotten a bit hot. After coming off a sweep in Toronto, the club took three of four games in their series in Miami.
The timing is right for the Phillies to gain some ground in the division. Momentum in baseball is a very real thing and coming off two straight series wins gives the Rob Thomson-led club an edge in that category.
Mets still 15 over .500 but it feels like a crisis point after losing 6 straight, outplayed in all phases, as they head to Philly. Starting pitching has regressed, complicated by injuries. Bullpen suddenly has very few trust guys. And the RISP struggles are catching up with them.
— John Harper (@NYNJHarper) June 20, 2025
Entering the weekend, both teams are tied atop the NL East. The Phillies will take the momentum into the series, but can they carry it against a potent offense and solid pitching staff?
Could this series be a preview of another potential playoff matchup?
The events surrounding the Phillies early-round exit from the 2024 postseason are still engrained in many fan's memories. Losing in an embarrassing fashion to a detested rival is never a fun experience.
This series could be a preview of another National League postseason showdown. It's evident that there is still quite a bit of time remaining in the regular season and both teams are likely to make moves prior to the trade deadline, but the core of both clubs should remain the same.
Watching for how these two foes play each other after a lopsided initial regular season series will be a good litmus test to see how the two clubs stack up in a potential postseason series rematch.