The New York Mets have taken two of the first three games of their series against the Phillies as they go for a win.
The New York Mets have a chance to get a series win against the Philadelphia Phillies, and they’ll send Jonah Tong to the mound to try to get it done on Sunday. The Mets have taken two of the first three games, and they’ve done serious damage to Philadelphia’s playoff hopes in the process.
This series has been mostly about the Mets playing spoilers, not to mention getting past the hangover they seemed to suffer after they were swept by former first baseman Pete Alonso and the Baltimore Orioles. The Mets played poorly against Baltimore and listlessly in the first game of the Philadelphia series, but they bounced back with a pair of wins that have brought some energy back in the building at Citi Field.
The Mets’ 10-3 romp in the second game knocked the Phillies out of a three-way tie in the wild-card race, and they’re now looking up at the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs. It was a demoralizing win for the Phils, who are having serious bullpen problems that could shorten their season considerably after this week. They've already dropped a spot, and they certainly don't look like a team that's ready to finish strong.
As for Tong, he’s trying to end his season on a high note. He had an up-and-down season at Triple-A Syracuse, but Tong was one of the Mets’ few bright spots against Baltimore, as he gave up just four hits and an unearned run to go with six strikeouts. The Mets lost the game 2-1, but it was a win of sorts for Tong.
The Mets didn’t exactly do right by the right-hander this season. They kept him down in the minors for far too long given the talent level and his obvious ability to pitch in the big leagues. His midseason call-up featured Tong as a reliever, when he obviously has the talent to be a starter.
It’s also taken the Mets far too long to realize that they should have gone young with their starters as soon as they fell out of contention in June. Instead the Mets kept starting retread veterans like Sean Manaea and David Peterson, which cost them some valuable development time with pitchers like Tong.
The Phillies will send Cristopher Sanchez to the mound, and this game is close to a must win for them. The combination of Philadelphia’s loss and an Arizona Diamondbacks win allowed the Diamondbacks to pull within four games in the race for the third wild card.
