Aaron Harang (3-2, 2.35 ERA) and the Philadelphia Phillies (11-19) take on Jon Niese (2-2, 2.40 ERA) and the New York Mets (18-11) in a game that has the potential to be low scoring. This is the second of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies won the last game 3-1 and Philadelphia leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 7:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, May. 9 and can be seen on PIX11 and CSN-PHI.
Harang is 6-6 with a 4.06 ERA in his appearances against the Mets, and goes up against a below-average New York offense which is batting just .233 this season. Freddy Galvis (.351, 10 Rs, 1 HR, 8 RBIs, 2 SBs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 3 for 3 with one run and two stolen bases. Niese is 9-6 with a 2.92 ERA when pitching against the Phillies. He is up against a below-average Philadelphia offense which is hitting just .228 this season. Michael Cuddyer (.238, 16 Rs, 3 HRs, 12 RBIs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run.
New York takes on Philadelphia as a -122 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at seven runs. The Phillies have recorded an overall money line of -654 and have shown a weak performance as an underdog this season with a record of 9-17. Philadelphia has recorded a disappointing 3-7 record as the underdog over its last 10 games. The Phillies are the fifth-best team in the NL at limiting hits during home games, allowing only 8.2 hits per game to their opponents this season.
Over in the other dugout, New York is coming in with an overall money line of +885 and an impressive record of 13-2 as the favorite. They played solid baseball as the favorite over their last 10 games with a 3-1 record, and a 4-6 record SU. Offensively, the Mets have really sputtered in the last 10 games. They have decreased their season average of 3.9 runs per game by averaging 2.7 during that stretch. New York is excellent at not striking out with just 6.9 per game, ranking third in the NL. New York’s pitching staff is one of the top in the NL, with a 2.90 ERA. When it comes to preventing batters from getting on base, the Mets are one of the best in the league with a WHIP of 1.11 for the season.
The Mets lead the season series, 3-1. Harang (RHP) will be on the hill against the Mets, who have a 3-6 record on the road against right-handed starting pitchers. Their overall record against righties isn’t as positive at 15-8.
Predictions: SU Winner – NYM, O/U – Under
Notes
Philadelphia has won 47% (8-9) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, New York has won 77% (10-3) of its games when taking a late lead.
Having scored one run 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 4-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Phillies are 8-1. The Mets have a 9-1 record when outhitting opponents.
Philadelphia and New York both rank near the bottom of the league in runs. Philadelphia sits at 29th with 85 runs this season and New York ranks 21st with 110.
Ranking 23rd, Philadelphia is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 71 this season. New York ranks in the bottom half at 17th with 85.
When the Phillies hit at least one home run, they are 4-8. When the Mets hit at least one homer, they have a 10-3 record.
