Game Chat: Phillies vs Mets, 7:10 P.M.

Monday, May 13, 2024 • 7:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
LHP Cristopher Sánchez (2-3, 3.22) vs. LHP Sean Manaea (2-1, 3.31)
SNY • MLBN

Do you feel that vibe in the air? That feeling of swagger after a big win. The longing for another baseball game after the Mets play a fun one.

On Sunday night, the Mets beat the Braves thanks to a walk-off homer from Brandon Nimmo. The Mets were down one, with one on, and Nimmo came to the plate. He didn’t start in the game due to concerns about tweaking his intercostal the game before. Nimmo made solid content, prevented the Braves from sweeping the Mets, and sent the Mets home with high hopes.

Now, the Mets welcome one of the hottest teams in baseball to Citi Field. The Phillies have been on a roll recently, winning eight of their last ten games with the best record in baseball. Their run differential of +62 only trails the Dodgers. The series will be a tough test for a Mets team that has struggled over the last few weeks.

Mets Lineup

1. Brandon Nimmo, LF
2. Starling Marte, RF
3. Francisco Lindor, SS
4. Pete Alonso, 1B
5. J.D. Martinez, DH
6. Brett Baty, 3B
7. Harrison Bader, CF
8. Jeff McNeil, 2B
9. Tomás Nido, C

Sean Manaea makes his eighth start of the season tonight. Over 35 1/3 innings, he has a 3.31 ERA, 3.53 FIP, 1.387 WHIP and 116 ERA+. Manaea comes off an average start where he allowed three runs over six innings from six hits and a walk. Since his only terrible start of the season against the Royals, he has allowed only six runs on 17 hits over 20 2/3 innings (2.61 ERA, 3.62 FIP). In his only outing against the Phillies last season, he allowed three runs from three hits and two walks over 2 2/3 innings. The Phillies have the following numbers against him:

• Alec Bohm 1-2, HR, K
• Nick Castellanos 5-8, 2B, 2 HR, K
• Kody Clemens 0-1
• Bryce Harper 1-3, 2B
• Brandon Marsh 0-2, 2 K
• Whit Merrifield 4-8, 2 2B, BB, 2 K
• J.T. Realmuto 0-2, BB, K
• Johan Rojas 0-1
• Kyle Schwarber 0-0, 2 BB
• Edmundo Sosa 2-2, 3B, HR
• Bryson Stott 2-3, HR, BB

Opposing Lineup

1. Whit Merrifield, LF
2. Alec Bohm, 3B
3. Bryce Harper, 1B
4. Nick Castellanos, DH
5. Bryson Stott, 2B
6. Edmundo Sosa, SS
7. Brandon Marsh, RF
8. Johan Rojas, CF
9. Garrett Stubbs, C

Cristopher Sánchez is also making his 8th start of the season tonight. Over 36 1/3 innings, he has a 3.22 ERA, 2.86 FIP, 1.459 WHIP and a 126 ERA+. Sánchez is coming off a strong start against the Blue Jays, allowing only one run from six hits while striking out five. Before that, he had a rough start against the Angels, where he allowed four earned runs, and a start against the Reds, where he allowed five runs, but only one earned. Sánchez pitched against the Mets three times last year (two starts), totaling 13 innings with a 3.46 ERA. The Mets whiffed a whopping 15 times against him. The Mets have the following career numbers against Sánchez:

• Pete Alonso 1-9, HR, 4 K
• Brett Baty 0-2, K
• Francisco Lindor 2-6, BB
• Starling Marte 2-6, HR
• J.D. Martinez 0-1, K
• Jeff McNeil 1-5, 2B, K
• Omar Narváez 0-1
• Tomás Nido 0-2, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 3-5, BB, K
• DJ Stewart 1-3, K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2
• Joey Wendle 1-1

Game Notes

• The Mets made it official today, with Double-A Binghamton announcing the promotions of both #4 prospect, Ryan Clifford and #13 prospect, Brandon Sproat.
• RHP Drew Smith completed his rehab assignment and could be activated as early as Tuesday.
• LHP David Peterson continues his rehab program with a start in Binghamton on Tuesday. In three rehab starts with St. Lucie, he went 8.2 innings, allowing two hits, zero runs, one walk and 16 strikeouts. The southpaw began the season on the IL after hip surgery in the offseason.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Brandon Nimmo: Nimmo was healthy enough to come off the bench on Sunday night and made an immediate impact. Over his last five games, he has gone 5-for-15 at the plate with three home runs, which is half his total for the entire season. The Mets need him to keep swinging a hot bat against one of the best teams in baseball this week.
2. Mets Bullpen comes into a busy week in a good spot: No one in the Mets bullpen has pitched in back-to-back games over the last two days, meaning everyone should be available to go today if needed. The only exception might be Garrett, who tossed two crisp innings Sunday night. The Mets did use most of their higher-leverage guys in their last game (Garrett, Ottavino, Diekman, and Díaz), so using any of them tonight probably makes them unavailable on Tuesday.
3. The Mets got hits on Sunday: Overall, the Mets collected ten hits on Sunday, and while that only translated into four runs, it was nice to see them get on base, especially after Saturday’s affair. Stewart, Lindor and Alonso each collected two hits. Lindor has ten hits in his last nine games and is hitting .278/.290/.556 in that stretch. Alonso has six hits in his last four games, including four extra-base hits.

Let’s go Mets!

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