Written By: The Persian
The streaking New York Mets look to make a final push into the playoffs when they battle their NL East rival in the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday night in the opener of a critical four-game set from Citi Field in Queens, New York. They toss out the first pitch at 7:15 pm.
Bookmaker has installed the Phillies - 145 on the ML.
The Phillies are on the verge of winning another NL East title, and it looked for a moment like they were going to be on the outside looking in when it came to the playoffs. They had a lousy lull and stretch about two months ago but have turned the corner.
Like most veteran teams, they know how to turn it on and rip off a bunch of wins. They have distanced themselves from the reeling Atlanta Braves and the Mets in the division but do not want to see their rivals make the playoffs.
They know they will need to get better offensive output this postseason than last season when their bats went silent. They also know they will rely on veteran arms to get them some much-needed innings on the mound.
On offense, the heartbeat of the team this season has been DH Kyle Schwarber, who has put up some monster numbers from the plate. The 31-year-old veteran slugger has ripped 35 home runs while driving in 97 runs. He is on the verge of eclipsing the 100 RBI mark for the second time in his career.
The Phillies will hand the ball over to Taijuan Walker, who has had some rough moments this season on the hill. He has not won since early May. He enters this game with a record of 3-6 and an ERA of 6.29.
Give the Mets some credit, as they looked dead in the water early this season. But they have been riding the hot bat and glove of shortstop Francisco Lindor, who might not win the NL MVP but will make it challenging for the voters.
The slick fielder has hit 31 home runs while batting .271. He has also driven in 86 runs and stolen 27 bases. With a back issue, he was out of the lineup for Tuesday's 10-1 win over the Washington Nationals. The Mets need him for this series against the Phillies.
New York's latest push has them tied with Arizona for one of the two NL Wild Card spots. They are 2 1/2 games behind the front-running San Diego Padres, who look like a lock to secure the top Wild Card spot. New York will hand the ball over to veteran hurler Luis Severino, who has a record of 10-6 in his first season with the Mets. He has won three out of his last six starts.
The Phillies are 2-3 in their last five games against the number and 34-39 in their road games against the spread too. The totals have gone over in just two out of their last five games, while the totals have gone over in three out of the Mets' last five games. The Mets are 3-2 in their last five games against the spread. They are a solid 40-35 in their road games and 80-71 overall in ATS.
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