The rest of baseball is still enjoying the extra day of rest that comes on the back end of the All-Star break, but the New York Mets will return to the City of Brotherly Love to open the second half against the Philadelphia Phillies at 7 PM EST.
The Mets will take a three-game losing streak into the series opener, courtesy of a sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox last week. Before that, though, the Mets had actually won four of five, so they’ll be looking to get back on track.
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New York will send Christian Scott to the mound, with Scott posting a strong season as he returns from Tommy John surgery. He currently has a 3.17 ERA in 54 innings, and Scott’s outing against the Kansas City Royals last week was one of his best of the season.
The right-hander spent time on the IL due to a hip impingement, but he was able to a full five innings for the first time since his return as he shut out the Royals on three hits to go with a walk and five strikeouts.
The Mets would love to see more of the same from Scott tonight, and his mound opponent will be Aaron Nola. The Phillies right-hander has been scuffling so far this season with an ERA of 5.75 and a 3-6 record, so this could be an advantageous pitching matchup for the Mets. Nola has been slightly better in his last two starts, though, as he gave up five runs in 12 innings against the Detroit Tigers and the Royals, respectively.
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The power hitters will be featured in this one as well. Philly has Kyle Schwarber, who leads MLB in homers with 32, and Bryce Harper is having a strong season as well. The Mets, meanwhile, will counter with Juan Soto, who had a quiet series against Boston but was on a home run tear before that. Soto currently has 21 homers, and it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see him face off in a home run derby against Schwarber this weekend.
The Phillies currently lead the season series, 4-2, so this represents an opportunity to make up ground in that department as well. The Mets enter the game 16 games out of first in the NL East, but they’re expected to be sellers at the deadline, so relievers like Brooks Raley and A.J. Minter will be closely watched in this series as the pivotal Aug. 3 date approaches.
