In the second of a three-game series between the New York Mets (72-58) and the Philadelphia Phillies (52-79) at Citi Field, Jonathon Niese (8-9, 3.95 ERA) and Aaron Harang (5-14, 4.79 ERA) get the start. The Mets won the last game 3-1 and New York leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 7:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Sep. 1 and will air on CSPh and SNY.
In his most recent outing, Niese pitched 6.0 innings, allowing five runs, striking out five and walking five in a 9-5 loss to the Phillies. Lucas Duda (.247, 57 Rs, 21 HRs, 56 RBIs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one RBI. The Phillies were unsuccessful to the Mets 9-5 the last time Harang pitched. He went 6.0 innings, giving up five runs and walking three.
New York is a considerable -221 favorite at home and the Over/Under (O/U) for this matchup is set at eight runs. The Mets have a winning record of 56-21 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of +1,076. Over the last 10 games, they have a very good record when playing as the favorite (7-2). New York has averaged 8.3 runs per game over the last 10 games, higher than its season average of 4.1. The Mets typically don’t swing at bad pitches, which has led to an impressive 3.1 walks per home game. Transitioning to the pitching staff, the Mets rank third in the NL in ERA with a 3.37 team average. The Mets lead the league in WHIP at 1.16.
On the other side, the Phillies have a subpar record of 47-72 when they are the underdog and are -552 overall with the money line. Against divisional rivals, they are 21-31 SU and have played poorly as the underdog with an 18-29 record. During the last 10 games, they averaged 4.9 runs per game, above their 3.8 season average. Playing against NL East foes really brings the best out of the Philadelphia pitchers. They allow 4.5 runs per game against teams within their division, which is lower than their season average of 5.1.
The Mets have gotten the best of the Phillies in head-to-head matchups this season, going 13-1. This game will feature Harang (RHP) on the mound against the Mets, who have a 56-45 record when they take on a right-handed starter. Taking the hill against the Phillies will be the left-hander Niese. They sport a 12-17 record against southpaws.
Predictions: SU Winner – NYM, O/U – Over
Notes
New York won its last game in a shutout, its 11th of the season. Philadelphia has been shut out 11 times this season.
Having scored zero runs in their last game, the Mets are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Phillies have a 5-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs.
When they are outhit, the Phillies are 17-61. The Mets have a 14-48 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 27th in home runs, Philadelphia has hit 103 this season. New York ranks 13th with 132 home runs.
Ranking 12th, New York is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 8.31 per game. Philadelphia ranks in the top five at fifth with 8.67.
New York and Philadelphia both rank near the bottom of the league for their on-base plus slugging percentage. New York sits at 24th with an OPS of .700 and Philadelphia ranks 26th with an OPS of .692.
When the Phillies allow at least one home run, they are 24-58. When the Mets allow one or more homers, they have a 34-42 record.
