Friday, October 5, 2024 • 4:08 PM
Citizens Bank Park • Philadelphia, PA
RHP Kodai Senga (1-0, 3.38) vs. RHP Zack Wheeler (16-7, 2.57)
FOX Sports 1 (FS1)

The New York Mets look to continue their incredible run in Philadelphia this afternoon! On Thursday night, the Mets did the improbable. Pete Alonso launched a three-run home run in the top of the ninth to take the Mets from losses to wins. For the Mets, it has become their calling card: their ability to turn the momentum of a game around in an instant.

Now the Mets return to Citizens Bank Park, a park where they just dropped a three-game series in mid-September but came out strong in the first game, beating the Phillies 11-3. Get the rally pumpkins ready, it’s October baseball time!

Kodai Senga. Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Mets lineup

1. Francisco Lindor – SS
2. Mark Vientos – 3B
3. Brandon Nimmo – L.F
4. Pete Alonso – 1B
5. Jose Iglesias – 2B
6. Jesse Winker – DH
7. Starling Marte – RF
8. Tyrone Taylor – C.F
9. Francisco Alvarez -C

What a surprise for the New York Mets tonight! Kodai Senga was recovering from a calf injury after starting in July. He suffered a setback in September that changed his status to “maybe in the postseason?”. He’s ready to go this afternoon and he says he can throw between 10 and 200 pitches. In his lone start this season, he allowed just two runs on two hits against the Braves over 5 1/3 innings while striking out nine batters. Last season, Senga had a spectacular start (seven innings, one hit, no runs) and a not-so-spectacular start (four runs, two earned, 5 1/3 innings) against the Phillies. The Phillies have the following career marks against him:

• Alec Bohm 1-5, K
• Nick Castellanos 1-6, 2 K
• Kody Clemens 1-2 C
• Bryce Harper 1-2, BB, K
• Brandon Marsh 1-4, 2B, K
• JT Realmuto 0-4, BB, 2 K
• Kyle Schwarber 0-6, 4 K
• Edmundo Sosa 0-2
• Bryson Stott 1-5, K
• Trea Turner 0-5, BB, K

Opposite arrangement

1. Kyle Schwarber – DH
2. Trea Turner – SS
3. Bryce Harper – 1B
4. Nick Castellanos – RF
5. Alec Bohm – 3B
6. Bryson Stott – 2B
7. JT Realmuto-C
8. Brandon Marsh – LF
9. Johan Rojas – CF

The Mets will take on an old friend tonight in Zack Wheeler. Over 32 games this season, his third in his last four in which he started 32 games, he threw 200 innings with a 2.57 ERA, 3.13 FIP, 0.955 WHIP (league-leading) and a 158 ERA+. He has been his excellent self in his last four starts, allowing seven runs in 26 1/3 innings (2.39 ERA, 2.75 FIP). This includes a start against the Mets, where he allowed two runs over seven innings on September 22, a game the Mets won 2-1. The Mets have the following career numbers against Wheeler:

• Luisangel Acuna 1-3
• Pete Alonso 10-34, 2 2B, 2 BB, 9 K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-2, BB, K
• José Iglesias 5-12, 2B, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 8-29, 2B, 3B, HR, 6 K
• Starling Marte 7-23, 2B, 3B, BB, 4 K
• Brandon Nimmo 13-44, 3 2B, 3B, 2 HR, BB, 7 K
• Tyrone Taylor 2-6, 2B, K
• Mark Vientos 2-6, 2B, K
• Jesse Winker 0-10, 2 BB

Game notes

• The Mets are playing in the Division Series for the first time since 2015. In total, it is their ninth appearance in the series. The Mets are 12-4 all-time in the series.
• The Mets will face the Phillies in the Postseason for the first time in franchise history. The Mets are 2-4 against the NL East in the Postseason. The last time the Mets faced a division opponent was in 1999, when they faced the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS.
• Kodai Senga will take on the challenge for the second time this season. He made one start on July 26 vs. Atlanta and allowed two earned runs on two hits with one walk and struck out nine in 5.1 innings. At the end of the start he strained his left calf and has been on the 60-Day IL ever since. He has made 30 career MLB starts, going 13-7 with a 2.99 ERA (57 ER/171.2 IP) with 78 walks and 211 strikeouts. He is 1-1 with a 1.46 ERA (2 ER/12.1 IP) in two career starts against the Phillies.

Three things to pay attention to

1. Rest versus momentum. Last season, three 100-win teams were all eliminated in the divisional round, leading to a fight over the extra rest the division winners got, which could leave them rusty against the teams that advanced through the wild-card round. The Phillies have had plenty of time since last Sunday to rest, reset their lineup, etc. The Mets had an extra doubleheader and were the only team to play a wild card series up to three games. If the Phillies are rusty, the Mets will have to jump on it early. If the Mets are tired, the Phillies will have to rob the Mets of their momentum early.
2. Mets pitching. We assume Senga will have a short outing, followed by Peterson or Megill. Peterson had a great start late in the season against the Brewers, holding them to one run over seven innings, and finished the game Thursday, allowing one hit and nothing more than one inning. His two starts for the Brewers came against the Phillies, where he allowed five runs over 3 2/3 innings at Citi Field, and held the Phillies to one run over 7 2/3 innings at CBP. Tylor hasn’t pitched since Monday’s doubleheader, in which he allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings. Before that, he allowed one run over four innings against the Phillies.
3. Big hits from the Big Bats. Both the Mets and Phillies have hitters who can change a game right then and there. For the Phillies, Kyle Schwarber is a lead-off home run hitting machine. Between Nick Castellanos and Bryce Harper, there is strength in the lineup. The Mets have their own lead-off home run power in Francisco Lindor. Pete Alonso is coming off the biggest swing of his life. Mark Vientos has been a revelation. In the regular season, the Mets hit 207 home runs and the Phillies 198 (6th and 7th in the league, respectively).

Let’s go Mets!