Game Chat: Mets vs Phillies, 4:05 PM

Saturday, September 14, 2024 • 4:10 PM
Citizens Bank Park • Philadelphia, PA
RHP Luis Severino (10-6, 3.74) vs. LHP Kolby Allard (2-0, 3.50)
SNY

On Wednesday the Mets bats finally woke up from their slumber in the ninth inning and exploded for six runs. That continued Friday night in Philadelphia. After being shut down for the first few innings of the game the Mets bats roared to life hitting three, three-run homers on their way to beating the Phillies 11-3. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks lost, so the Mets are now only 1.5 games behind the Padres for the first wild card spot, one game behind the Diamondbacks for the second spot, and have a one-game lead over the Braves for the last spot (entering play today).

On the negative side, Francisco Lindor was removed with lower back soreness and is out of the lineup for the first time since May 1. Luisangel Acuña, who was promoted today and making his major league debut, takes his place at shortstop.

Mets Lineup

1. Jose Iglesias – 2B
2. Mark Vientos – 3B
3. Brandon Nimmo – LF
4. Pete Alonso – 1B
5. J.D. Martinez – DH
6. Starling Marte – RF
7. Francisco Alvarez – C
8. Harrison Bader – CF
9. Luisangel Acuña – SS

Luis Severino has a 3.74 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 1.247 WHIP, and 104 ERA+ over 166 innings this season. In his last five starts, he has a 1.95 ERA (2.83 FIP) over 32 1/3 innings where has struck out 35 batters. He’s only allowed two home runs in that stretch, both in his worst start where he allowed four runs over 4 2/3 innings in Arizona. This will be a tougher challenge today with the Phillies’ strength and the CBP field dimensions. The Phillies have the following career numbers against him:

• Nick Castellanos 6-15, BB, 3 K
• Kody Clemens 0-2
• Kyle Schwarber 2-4, 2 2B, K

Opposing Lineup

1. Kyle Schwarber – DH
2. Trea Turner – SS
3. Bryce Harper – 1B
4. Nick Castellanos – RF
5. Bryson Stott – 2B
6. J.T. Realmuto – C
7. Brandon Marsh – LF
8. Kody Clemens – 3B
9. Cal Stevenson – CF

The Mets will face Kolby Allard who is trying to save the back of the Phillies rotation. Old friend Taijuan Walker has struggled for the Phillies when healthy this season, his original replacement Spencer Turnbull got hurt and Seth Johnson had a poor outing with the team last week. So Allard gets the call for the second time this season.

Allard pitched in four games between the end of July and the start of August totaling 18 innings with a 3.50 ERA, 5.67 FIP, 1.333 WHIP, and 118 ERA+. Across the minors this season he has a 5.66 ERA over 90 2/3 innings. A few Mets have seen Allard throughout his career:

• Harrison Bader 0-1
• Jose Iglesias 1-4
• Starling Marte 1-3
• J.D. Martinez 1-5, K
• DJ Stewart 0-1
• Luis Torrens 2-8, 2B, 2 K

Game Notes

• Luisangel Acuña is set to become the fifth Mets player this year to make their major league debut this year joining Tyler Jay, Dedniel, Núñez, Eric Orze, and Christian Scott.
• Paul Blackburn has a spinal fluid lead, Mendoza told media pregame. The righty’s injury isn’t “as serious as it sounds” and has no timetable for a return.
• Francisco Lindor is out of the lineup for the Mets. The last time he was left out of the lineup was May 1 against the Cubs, but still recorded an at-bat.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Francisco Lindor. Lindor left Friday’s game in the in the seventh inning with lower back soreness. After the game, Carlos Mendoza said that if the game was closer, Lindor would still be playing. He’s considered day-to-day right now. Lindor has been the Mets hitter all season and is in the running for the National League MVP. If he plays, how much plays, how he plays, how he sits on the bench – all of that will be overly scrutinized today.
2. Luisangel Acuña. One of the Mets top prospects is expected to join the active roster today! Acuña came to the Mets as part of the Max Scherzer trade during the 2023 MLB trade deadline. While his offense has left a bit to be desired this season (69 wRC+), he provides the Mets middle infield depth. It was wildly wondered after the Jeff McNeil injury if Acuña would get the call. Acuña is also a machine at stealing bases. Across two teams in 2023 he stole 57 bases. In Syracuse he stole 40. If he can get three stolen bases this year in the majors, he’ll have 100 total stolen bases across MiLB-MLB play!
3. Hit Parade. After struggling for a week the Mets offense recorded 14 hits on Friday night. Lindor, Alonso, Iglesias, Francisco Alvarez and Bader each had two-hits in the game. Nimmo only had one hit, but it was a massive three-run bomb. Hopefully this is what the offense needs as a spark to keep the momentum going through this final stretch of the season!

Let’s go Mets!

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