A NL East showdown between the division leading New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies ends the MLB betting week with two completing their fourth series of the season on Sunday Night Baseball. The Mets have led the division for all but one day since the campaign started using their success against division foes to build a 7.5-game lead entering the set, the largest of any in the league.
And the Mets are doing this without Jacob deGrom, who’s missed the entire season with an injury, and Max Scherzer, two of the top hurlers in the game. Can any team make a run before those two are scheduled to return late next month?
Phillies vs New York Mets Date and Time
The NL East showdown between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets takes place on Sunday, May 29, 2022 at 7:08 p.m. ET from Citi Field. The game will air live on ESPN.
Phillies vs New York Mets Odds
Philadelphia Phillies (Check Back Later)
New York Mets (Check Back Later)
Total (Check Back Later)
Odds Analysis
It’s been a struggle for the Phillies, who expected to compete for the division title. The good news is that there’s still plenty of season left since we’re just ending the month of May, but inconsistencies have to be ironed out. They entered this series following a 4-1 win over Atlanta on Thursday, which was just their fourth victory in 11 games. That run followed a four-game winning streak when the Phils pounded the NL-best Dodgers for 29 runs taking the first three games of a four-game set. They were then shutout twice and scored a total of three runs in their next series with San Diego.
If the Phils are to get back in the race having some success against the Mets would be a start. The teams played nine times before this series with the Phils winning just three of those matchups. The team can score and has been getting production from Bryce Harper. The former MVP is coming off a huge series against the Braves where he went 8 for 14 with three doubles a homer and four RBIs. Harper has at least one hit in nine of his last 10 games with six multi-hit games while clubbing four home runs in that span. The Phillies are 6-4 over that 10-game stretch.
The Mets are looking to regroup after a day off on Thursday. They needed it after dropping the final two games of their road trip to the Giants allowing 22 runs. They staged a huge comeback on Tuesday overcoming an 8-2 deficit to take an 11-8 lead scoring seven runs in the eighth inning. The bullpen frazzled giving up three in the bottom half of the frame and two more in the ninth after reclaiming the lead. They then dropped the finale 9-3 on Wednesday.
The pitching staff has held its own without deGrom all season and Scherzer recently going on the IL. The Mets have been buoyed by a strong offense that averages 4.83 runs with a collective batting average of .260 placing them in the top-5 in MLB in both categories. And they’ve been one of the most profitable teams up $598 on the moneyline. They are the only team in the NL East above .500 at 29-17 entering the series thanks to winning 13 of 20 matchups with division foes. Including a 6-3 mark against Philly.
Probable Pitchers
The Phillies are expected to send Zack Wheeler (3-3, 3.38 ERA) to the bump for the finale. After a rough few outings over his first three starts, Wheeler has settled into a groove going 3-0 with a nifty 1.38 ERA over his last five starts. He pitched shutout ball in three of those starts, most recently against San Diego giving up only four hits without a walk while fanning nine.
Wheeler pitched 6.2 innings with a season-high 10 strikeouts in his last outing, beating the Braves 7-3. And he feels like he’s regaining the form that helped him finish second in last year’s Cy Young voting. “Getting there, yeah,” he said. In his last four starts against the Mets, Wheeler has been sharp allowing just 12 hits and two runs over 25.2 innings. His only loss in that stretch came this season when the Phils were shutout. Wheeler gave up two hits and one run over 4.2 frames in a 2-0 setback on Apr. 12.
The Mets have worked around the absence of deGrom since he has yet to pitch this season. The loss of Scherzer and Tylor Megill threw the rotation into a mess. As a result the Mets have yet to name a starter, though several options exist. The likely candidate is lefty David Peterson, who has taken advantage of his opportunity going 2-0 with 2.16 ERA in five appearances, four of them starts. He held the Giants to two runs on three hits over 6.0 innings in a series opening win on Monday.
Phillies vs New York Mets Predictions
With their rotation in flux the Mets will have to rely on an offense that’s been pretty good all season. Though getting to Wheeler, who’s throwing as well as anybody in MLB right now, might be a chore. For that reason I have to back the visitors, but I can see enough runs scored to back the OVER.
Prediction: Philadelphia Phillies and OVER
