Bartolo Colon (0-0, 0.00 ERA) and Vince Velasquez (1-1, 4.37 ERA) are on the hill in the second of a three-game series between the New York Mets (2-1) and the Philadelphia Phillies (0-4) at Citi Field. The Mets won the last game 7-2, and New York leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 7:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Apr. 9 and can be seen on CSPh, WPIX and MLBN.
Colon pitched 1.1 innings in his most recent start, surrendering zero runs and striking out one in a 4-3 defeat to the Royals. Michael Conforto (.444 ) had a good game yesterday, going 2 for 3 with one run and three RBIs. Velasquez will get the start on the other side. Last season, he pitched 55.2 innings, going 1-1 with a 4.37 ERA 1.28 WHIP, and zero strikeouts. Maikel Franco (.300 ) went 1 for 2 yesterday with one run.
The odds for New York and Philadelphia are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. New York is one of the best in the NL in terms of walks, earning an average of 5.0 per game. Crossing over to the pitching and defensive side, it’s been a struggle for opposing teams to score runs against the Mets. The 0.0 runs that New York’s pitchers allow per game makes them the top staff in the NL. The Mets are the second-best team in the league at limiting hits and walks to their opponents, recording a WHIP of 0.885 so far this season.
The Phillies have a dynamic offense, leading the league with zero extra base hits.
The Mets have the edge in the season series, 1-0.
Predictions: SU Winner – NYM
Notes
The New York batters brought in a solid nine hits last game. Philadelphia has a record of 0-2 when their opponents get that many hits or more.
It looks like the Mets have a slight leg up on the Phillies, as the Mets have won their last two games while the Phillies have lost their last four.
Ranking 26th in home runs, New York has hit one this season. Philadelphia ranks 14th with five home runs.
Ranking 24th, Philadelphia is near the bottom of the league in hits, notching 7.00 per game. New York ranks in the bottom half at 20th with 7.33.
Both New York and Philadelphia are tied at first for their on-base plus slugging percentage of .000.
