Mets at Phillies Series Preview 4/5-4/7

Hey all – Steve here. We did these over at the old site, so I figured we would bring them over here! I will do my absolute best to get these out before each series, but you know – life happens – so if I miss a series or 7 just take it easy on me! I had this article written for the “real” opening series against the gnats and we try it again here with the filthies! Let’s get to this thang!

Game 1

Jacob deGrom vs Matt Moore

Based on what happened with the opening series for the Mets and gnats, this one looks a little odd for an “Opening Day”. The Mets delayed Opening Day includes the best pitcher in baseball against the filthies #4 and someone who hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2019 in Detroit. While Moore had a nice spring, he is really no match for deGrom who is starting his 3rd consecutive Opening Day, matching Johan Santana for 3rd longest streak in team history. Here are some notable players in the filthies lineup against deGrom:

Didi Gregorius – 17 AB .176 0 HR 1 RBI

Bryce Harper – 20 AB .200 1 HR 1 RBI

Rhys Hoskins – 16 AB .188 0 HR 0 RBI

Andrew McCutchen – 17 AB .118 0 HR 1 RBI

J.T. Realmuto – 22 AB .136 0 HR 0 RBI

Jean Segura – 10 AB .200 0 HR 0 RBI

I won’t list the Mets because nobody really has a nice sample size, but Lindor is 6 for 10 with 1 HR and 2 RBI.

Game 2

Marcus Stroman vs Chase Anderson

Speaking of players that didn’t play in the Majors in 2020, Marcus Stroman goes for the Mets in game 2 of the series and he will battle a guy playing for his 4th team in Chase Anderson. Anderson had one great season and that was in 2017 with the Brewers when he went 12-4 with a 2.74 ERA. Outside of that, there is a lot of mediocrity as his ERA has landed anywhere between 3.93 (2018) and 7.22 (2020). Stroman missed 2020, so it will be interesting to see how he begins his 2021 campaign. For some reason, people forget that he has a sub-4.00 ERA playing most of his career in the tough AL East. I’m really happy he signed the 1 yr deal, now it is just time for him to show us that was the right move. Gregorius (.259), Brad Miller (.219), and Segura (.308) are the only 3 guys to have more than 10 AB against Stroman and the only Met with 10+ ABs against Anderson is Michael Conforto and he’s hitting .231 with 3 HR and 5 RBI in 13 AB.

Game 3

David Peterson vs Aaron Nola

This is the game that is likely to stand in the way of a Mets sweep. Nola went 6 2/3 against the Braves and took a no-decision as he gave up the game-tying homer to Pablo Sandoval (yes, he is still playing). There is no doubt that he is a true ace and he has left the Mets bats relatively quiet during his career, with the exception of The Polar Bear/Squirrel/Dom:

Alonso – 20 AB .250 3 HR 4 RBI

McNeil – 22 AB .273 1 HR 3 RBI

Dom – 27 AB .296 1 HR 4 RBI

Conforto – 35 AB .171 0 HR 0 RBI

Davis – 12 AB .167 0 HR 0 RBI

Nimmo – 21 AB .190 0 HR 0 RBI

That being said, you might see Nimmo get a day off as Pillar has had more success against Nola, albeit with much smaller sample size. Interesting to see how Rojas is going to handle this one as Conforto has struggled mightily against Nola.

Predictions for the series