Mets at Phillies
Jason Vargas found himself in the headlines recently for his actions off the field as opposed to those on it. After reportedly threatening a beat reporter, Vargas will bid to give the press something positive to print on Wednesday when he takes the mound for the New York Mets in their third contest of a four-game series against the host Philadelphia Phillies.
Vargas will need to take his aggressive approach out of the clubhouse and onto the diamond when he faces Philadelphia, which belted four homers for the second straight game in Tuesday's 7-5 victory. Maikel Franco launched a go-ahead, two-run homer for the second consecutive contest and Rhys Hoskins went deep for the second time this series and fourth time against New York this season. Jeff McNeil had four hits in Tuesday's tilt -- marking his sixth multi-hit performance in eight games -- although his final blast landed inches of clearing the wall as he settled for a double as opposed a game tying two-run homer. The 27-year-old has flustered the Phillies to the tune of going 15-for-32 with a homer heading into a meeting with starter Nick Pivetta, against whom he is 2-for-5.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), NBCS Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets LH Jason Vargas (3-3, 3.75 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Nick Pivetta (4-2, 5.54)
Vargas answered a two-start winning streak with back-to-back no-decisions, including his stint on Friday in which he allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings at the Chicago Cubs. The 36-year-old sustained a hard-luck loss against Philadelphia on April 24 despite permitting one run on three hits in 4 2/3 innings. Bryce Harper ripped an RBI double in the first inning of that contest for his lone hit in eight at-bats versus Vargas.
Pivetta was pierced for six runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 7-4 setback at Washington on Thursday to fall to 2-1 with a 3.94 ERA in five starts since being promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 26-year-old British Columbia native was taken deep twice versus the Nationals and has surrendered five homers in his last two starts. Pivetta also gave up a pair of long balls on April 16, but he improved to 3-2 in six career starts versus the Mets after yielding three runs over five innings in a 14-3 romp over New York.
WALK-OFFS
1. New York rookie 1B Pete Alonso has hit safely in 12 of his last 14 games, recording six homers, 15 RBIs and 15 runs in that stretch.
2. Philadelphia 2B Cesar Hernandez has multi-hit performances in five straight games and scored a run in four consecutive contests.
3. Mets SS Amed Rosario has hit safely in eight of his last nine contests.