A pair of teams from the NL East continue a weekend series on the diamond in the City of Brotherly Love. The New York Mets are on the road as they play the second game of a doubleheader and the third game of a four-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies Saturday night. New York dropped three of four on the road against Atlanta as they were beaten 3-2 in the finale of the set Thursday night. Philadelphia won two of three on the road against the Reds though they dropped the finale of the set, losing 1-0 Wednesday afternoon in walk-off fashion. This article was published prior to the conclusion of the opener at Citizens Bank Park Friday night, not to mention the first game of the doubleheader Saturday afternoon.
New York dropped three of four to Atlanta on the road after falling Thursday night, tightening up the NL East a bit. The Mets entered Friday night with a 3.5-game lead over the Braves in the division race. In Thursday’s game, New York finished with six hits with Mark Canha (run, two RBI) the lone player for the team with two. Canha hit his eighth homer of the season in the game for the Mets. Jacob deGrom (2-1) took the loss on the mound as he threw 6.2 innings, allowing three runs on five hits with no walks and nine strikeouts before departing. He left after giving up an infield hit to Vaughn Grissom, who scored on a Michael Harris II double off Seth Lugo.
Trevor Williams is expected to get the start in the second game of the doubleheader and make his 23rd appearance and ninth start of the year for the Mets here. He comes in 2-5 with one save, a 3.02 ERA, a 1.157 WHIP, 17 walks and 58 strikeouts over 65.2 innings of work on the year. Williams didn’t factor in the decision in his most recent appearance, which came at home against the Phillies in relief Sunday. He threw two innings, allowing no runs on two hits with no walks and one strikeout in a 6-0 Mets triumph. Williams has no record, a 0.00 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, two walks and three strikeouts over seven innings in his last three appearances, which all came in relief. This marks Williams’ sixth career appearance and fourth start against the Phillies. He comes in 0-2 with a 5.95 ERA, a 1.424 WHIP, 10 walks and 11 strikeouts over 19.2 innings of work against them. Williams didn’t factor in the decision in his lone career start at Citizens Bank Park, which came with the Pirates on April 22, 2018. He threw six innings, allowing two runs on one hit with five walks and seven strikeouts in a game the Pirates eventually dropped 3-2 in 11 innings.