The Philadelphia Phillies will try to battle through injuries as they go and attempt to compete against Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets. Philadelphia is without Jay Bruce, Roman Quinn, and Rhys Hoskins while they’re all on the Injured List. J.T. Realmuto is also a question mark for the game while he is dealing with a hip injury. They look to battle against their division-rival New York Mets in their second-to-last regular season meeting.
The Mets are playing .500 ball of late and are attempting to jump a few ball clubs as they try to secure a Wild Card spot. In order to finish .500 for the season, they need to be 9-4 in their final 13 games. The Mets have been led offensively by Dominic Smith this season who is 5th in baseball with a 1.033 OPS. It always helps to have a dominant pitcher on the mound and deGrom will be on the bump.
Three’s Company?
Jacob deGrom has been one of the best pitchers of the 21st century and could find himself in unique company if he finishes the season with a third consecutive NL Cy Young Award. Only Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux have won the Cy Young Award in three straight seasons. If deGrom continues to succeed this season, he has a great shot at doing so. He has a 1.67 ERA and .173 batting average against this season.
Usually the Mets struggle to give deGrom run support, but 2020 has been a different scenario as the team has won while he is pitching. Phillies’ batters aren’t having much success against him as J.T. Realmuto has a .160 batting average while both Didi Gregorius and Jean Segura have .200 averages. The only Phillies player with good numbers against him is Bryce Harper, who is 10-for-34 with a pair of homers off him.
Phillies Lineup Hopes to Carry Bullpen
The Phillies have been struggling as they have an unfair September schedule. They are in the midst of playing 27 games in 24 days, including 11 games in nine days and will need their bullpen to step up. Unfortunately for them, the Phillies have a 7.18 ERA from their bullpen this season entering this series with the Mets.
There’s one reason the Phillies hold a playoff spot and that’s because of their offense. Rhys Hoskins has been their hottest hitter in the last 30 days but is heading to the IL with a UCL injury. J.T. Realmuto also was one of their better hitters but is dealing with a hip issue. Alec Bohm has also been thriving in that timespan with a .330 average with 18 RBI. The Phillies are averaging 4.6 runs per game in September coming into the series.
Notable Trends
From Covers.com
- Philadelphia is 2-5 in their last 7 games
- Philadelphia is 1-5 in their last 6 games vs a starting RHP
- New York is 7-2 in games deGrom pitches in 2020 New York is 12-5 in their last 17 games as a road favorite
