Phillies at Mets
The Philadelphia Phillies built a big enough lead for the bullpen to handle and snapped a three-game slide on Saturday, keeping themselves in the wild card race while dealing a blow to a rival. The Phillies will try to turn the same trick and earn a series win when they visit the New York Mets in the finale of a three-game series on Sunday.
Philadelphia watched the bullpen hand the game away three days in a row before Drew Smyly turned in seven strong innings and Cole Irvin and Nick Pivetta each added a scoreless frame to give the team a 5-0 victory on Saturday. The win moved the Phillies within three games of the Chicago Cubs for the second National League wild card while the Mets stayed four games back. New York won five of its last eight games but dropped to 1-1 on a 10-game homestand that will see it host the wild-card hopeful Arizona Diamondbacks and the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. New York will try to draw even with Philadelphia in the race behind right-hander Noah Syndergaard while the Phillies try to get some length out of righty Vince Velasquez on Sunday.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, TBS, NBCS Philadelphia, SNY (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Vince Velasquez (6-7, 4.80 ERA) vs. Mets RH Noah Syndergaard (10-7, 3.97)
Velasquez held the Cincinnati Reds to one run and four hits on Tuesday but only completed three innings and was held out of the decision. The 27-year-old completed six innings once in 13 starts since returning to the rotation in mid-June and owns a 5.28 ERA in that span. Velasquez was solid in two starts against New York this season, allowing a total of two runs and striking out nine in 10 total innings.
Syndergaard bounced back from a dud against the Cubs by holding the Washington Nationals to three hits and striking out 10 in seven scoreless innings on Monday. The 27-year-old yielded two or fewer runs in six of his last seven turns, with the lone outlier the three-inning stint against Chicago on Aug. 28 in which he was ripped for 10 runs - nine earned. Syndergaard is 1-0 in two starts against Philadelphia this season despite allowing a total of nine runs and 16 hits in 10 frames.
WALK-OFFS
1. Mets INF Jed Lowrie (leg) made his season debut on Saturday and struck out in a pinch-hitting appearance.
2. Phillies RF Bryce Harper (hand) sat out Saturday after being hit by a pitch on Friday and remains day-to-day.
3. Philadelphia C J.T. Realmuto recorded multiple hits in four of his last five games.