Aaron Harang (5-14, 4.67 ERA) and Jonathon Niese (8-9, 3.80 ERA) take the hill in the last of a four-game series between the Philadelphia Phillies (50-77) and the New York Mets (70-56) at Citizens Bank Park. The Mets won the last game 9-4, continuing a six-game winning streak. New York can finish out the series sweep with a win in this game. Action begins at 7:05 p.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 27 and can be seen on CSPh and SNY.
Harang pitched 7.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering two runs, striking out three and walking four in a 4-2 defeat to the Marlins. Ryan Howard (.242, 47 Rs, 21 HRs, 72 RBIs) had another good game yesterday, going 2 for 5 with one run. Niese went 5.1 innings, surrendering seven runs, striking out three and walking two in a 14-9 win over the Rockies in his last outing. Yoenis Cespedes (.296, 80 Rs, 25 HRs, 82 RBIs, 7 SBs) has been successful at the plate for the Mets, going 2 for 5 yesterday with two runs and one RBI.
New York takes on Philadelphia as a -165 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at eight runs. The Phillies have recorded an overall money line of -513 and have shown a weak performance as an underdog this season with a record of 45-69. Philadelphia has had a discouraging season against division opponents, earning records of 18-27 and 21-29 as the underdog and SU respectively. Philadelphia’s pitchers put it all together when division rivals are on the field. Its average runs allowed per game drops to 4.3 against fellow NL East members, compared to its 5.0 season average.
Over in the other dugout, New York is coming in with an overall money line of +1,161 and an impressive record of 53-19 as the favorite. They have been playing solid baseball as favorite with a 27-9 record against fellow NL East members, and a 32-17 record SU. Offensively, the Mets have really picked up the pace in the last 10 games. They have exceeded their season average of 4.0 runs per game by averaging 7.0 during that stretch. New York’s pitching staff is one of the top in the NL, with a 3.35 ERA. When it comes to preventing batters from getting on base, the Mets are the best in the league with a WHIP of 1.17 for the season.
The Mets have controlled the season series, 11-1. The Phillies have a 12-16 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Niese takes the mound. Harang (RHP) will be on the hill against the Mets, who have a 54-44 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – NYM, O/U – Over
Notes
For the 21st time this season, the Phillies registered at least two errors in a game.
The Phillies are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Mets have a 21-41 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
The Mets are coming into the game with six consecutive wins, while the Phillies currently have a losing streak of three.
When they outhit their opponents, the Phillies are 30-12. The Mets have a 50-5 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 26th in runs, Philadelphia has earned 481 this season. New York ranks 19th with 511 runs.
Ranking 28th, Philadelphia is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 292 this season. New York ranks in the bottom half at 17th with 353.
The Phillies are 32-35 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Mets are 46-23 when they hit at least one homer.
