Phillies at Mets
The Philadelphia Phillies answered a season-high seven-game losing streak before briefly getting healthy at the expense of the New York Mets, against whom they recorded a four-game sweep on June 24-27 after overcoming multi-run deficits in each contest. The visiting Phillies have since lost four of six heading into Friday's opener of a three-game series against Jacob deGrom and the Mets.
Bryce Harper ignited a four-run first inning with an RBI single before the bottom fell out on Thursday, as Philadelphia squandered the early advantage and slipped into third place in the National League East following a 12-6 loss to Atlanta. Harper has struck out a staggering 15 times in 35 at-bats versus the Mets this season, although the former NL Most Valuable Player is 10-for-31 with a pair of solo homers in his career against deGrom. Jeff McNeil went deep to lead off the first inning on Wednesday before the offense fell silent as the Mets sustained their eighth loss in 10 outings with a 5-1 setback versus the New York Yankees. The 27-year-old is a robust 17-for-39 with five extra-base hits (two homers, three doubles) against Philadelphia this season and 3-for-6 in his career versus Friday starter Vince Velasquez.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, SNY (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Vince Velasquez (2-5, 4.73 ERA) vs. Mets RH Jacob deGrom (4-7, 3.32)
Velasquez hasn't put his best foot forward in his bid to become the team's No. 5 starter, as he fell to 0-2 with a 6.94 ERA in three starts since being shuffled from the bullpen. The 27-year-old surrendered four runs for the second time in those three starts in a 6-2 setback at Miami last Friday. Velasquez, however, improved to 2-4 with a 4.04 ERA in nine career starts versus the Mets after scattering three hits and striking out six in five innings in a 6-0 romp on April 24.
DeGrom rebounded from a three-start losing skid to record a 2.81 ERA with 85 strikeouts in his last 12 outings (77 innings), although the reigning NL Cy Young Award recipient only has a 2-4 mark to show for it. The familiar refrain of a lack of run support reared its ugly head for deGrom, who fell to Atlanta on Friday despite posting his 11th quality start of the season. DeGrom aims to pick himself up versus Philadelphia, against which he owns a sterling 7-1 mark with a 2.20 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 14 career starts.
WALK-OFFS
1. New York rookie 1B Pete Alonso has just one of his team-leading 28 homers in his last nine games overall and has yet to go deep versus Philadelphia this season.
2. Phillies SS Jean Segura, who has seven hits and five runs scored in his last four games overall, went 7-for-20 with three homers and eight RBIs in the previous series with the Mets.
3. New York SS Amed Rosario answered an 0-for-12 stretch by going 6-for-14 with three runs scored during his four-game hitting streak.