It’s safe to say that this Phillies vs Mets series hasn’t been going to plan. Aaron Nola was obliterated in a 7-2 defeat and the Phils then gave up the same amount of runs through 6 innings in the first of two games on Saturday. Is there any way back from this?
The Phillies appear to be doing everything in their power to lose all the momentum gained this summer. The Mets have clearly been the better franchise and while good luck has occasionally helped New York up to this point, the Phils haven’t made life easier on themselves at all. Whether they’re banged up or not, there’s no excuse for Aaron Nola giving up 8 hits and 5 runs.
Starting pitchers
Bailey Falter (0-3, 4.85 ERA) vs David Peterson (6-2, 3.30 ERA)
As if things couldn’t get much worse for the Phils, Bailey Falter faces David Peterson. Peterson recently made light work of the Braves. Meanwhile, Falter has allowed at least 4.8 runs in each of his last 4 starts and at least five hits. The month of July was not kind to him, but it’s hard to imagine he’s suddenly going to find a ton of success against the 7th ranked offense in all of baseball and one that has made any Phillies pitcher facing them this series look like a minor leaguer.
Betting preview
Regardless of what the line says, it’s just hard to bet the Phillies tonight. The smart money may well be on the New York Mets & the over as a parlay, given that they have been hammered once all ready and it would be hard to gain any kind of steam after such an embarassing outing. There’s no reason to believe the Phillies will keep this close, so even taking the Mets on the run line could prove to be a valuable decision.
AP Photo/Paul Vernon
