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The Mets are the Biggest Obstacle Standing in Phillies' Way

After the first three series between the two, it's apparent that the New York Mets are the Philadelphia Phillies biggest challenge this year.

Author:
Declan Harris
May 9, 2022 2:03 PM EDT

Following the offseason additions to the Philadelphia Phillies and their rival New York Mets, there was plenty of excitement surrounding the National League East entering the 2022 MLB season.

With the two teams first meeting in early April, fans got a look at the newest chapter of the rivalry, and despite taking the first game in come-from-behind fashion, it has not favored the Phillies.

This has remained the case for the season series thus far, as the Mets have taken six games to the Phillies' three, with 10 contests still remaining between the two clubs.

The previous 10 games against New York may have been Philadelphia's best chance to catch up with the Mets in the NL East standings, they currently lead the Phillies by seven games at 20-10.

The Phillies' offense hasn't exactly come alive when facing the Mets, but outside of the Colorado Rockies, Philadelphia has struggled offensively against most teams. Battling the Mets, they've slashed just .225/.292/393. However, New York's hitting hasn't been that much better against Philadelphia, hitting just .247 with an OPS of .702.

Nevertheless, pitching has been the Mets' strongest asset so far this season, boasting one baseball's best rotations, featuring Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, Tylor Megill, Carlos Carrasco, and Taijuan Walker. They've pitched to a 3.53 ERA in 79 innings of work against the Phillies this season.

The same can't be said for Philadelphia's pitching, which has posted an ERA of 4.78 against New York, along with a WHIP of 1.317. The Miami Marlins are the only team to hit the Phillies for a higher ERA.

Six of the remaining 10 games will be played at the Mets' home Citi Field, where Philadelphia's bats are the coldest amongst the four ballparks they've played at so far in 2022, batting just .154 in Flushing.

A key to winning against the Mets has been attacking their bullpen, the avenue that led them to victory on two occasions in which they waited out Walker, before slamming the bullpen with nine runs across two outings.

The Phillies' lineup has hitters who are more than capable of doing that in Mets' killer Kyle Schwarber, who poses a career slash line of .318/.408/.738 against New York, Jean Segura at .322/.359/.522, Bryce Harper at .258/.368/.490 and J.T. Realmuto at .273/.316/.436.

With the Phillies' playoff hopes more lively than ever in recent years, they'll have to learn how to beat a bolstered Mets team if they want to break their 10-year playoff drought.