The New York Mets played spoilers against Philadelphia in the second game of their series, and they'd love to repeat.
The New York Mets were able to throw a monkey wrench into the playoff plans of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night, and they’ll be looking to do more of the same when the two teams square off in the third game of their four-game series, which is currently tied at 1-1.
This game will be yet another test of the Mets young starters, with Christian Scott taking the ball against the Phillies. Scott’s performance lately can be characterized as good but not great, although he did post a fine start against the New York Yankees last time out, giving up two runs on three hits and a pair of walks in six innings to go with seven strikeouts.
Unfortunately his mound opponent in that one was Cam Schlittler, so no further explanation is required.
The Phillies starter will be far less formidable. They pushed back Andrew Painter, who was originally scheduled to start on Friday night, and the move is more than understandable given Painter’s 5.54 ERA to go with a WHIP of 1.44.
But Painter’s last start had him giving up just a single run to the Atlanta Braves in five innings, as he somehow managed to survive six hits and four walks to post that line.
It’s hard to understate how much Philadelphia needs this game. The Phillies can’t afford a series split given where they are in the wild-card standings, which is tied with the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres at 85-69.
Both the Phillies and Cubs are at serious risk of going from all to much less, as both teams seemed solidly entrenched as wild-card teams before the surging Padres turned white hot and scrambled the race.
The ominous part of this is the Phillies’ schedule, which is brutal. The Mets are basically their cupcake series before they finish with three against the Milwaukee Brewers and three more against the Tampa Bay Rays.
It’s easy to dismiss the Brewers as playing out the string to some extent after clinching the NL Central, but that’s not how Milwaukee rolls. And Tampa Bay still has plenty to play for as they look to eliminate the New York Yankees in the AL East.
The Mets, meanwhile, have the potential to bring plenty of young energy, and when they actually do that they’re dangerous. It’s a classic matchup of a team with nothing to lose playing against an oppoenent with everything to gain, and if Scott is on his game this should be a fun watch.
