Friday, October 8, 2024 • 5:08 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
RHP Aaron Nola (14-8, 3.97) vs. LHP Sean Manaea (12-6, 3.46)
FS1

For the first time since 2015, there will be an NLDS game in Queens!

The Mets and Phillies will square off in a one-series tie this afternoon. The Phillies got off to a spectacular start Zack Wieler on Saturday and the Mets were able to perform some late-inning magic to win the first game of the series. The Phillies then flipped the script on Sunday, coming back multiple times against the Mets. Thanks to the Mets and Mark Vientos however, who never gave up and still tied the game in the 9th inning before the Phillies walked a batter. We’re two games in and this is already one of the memorable playoff series the Mets have been a part of.

Photo by Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Mets lineup

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

Sean Manaea threw 181 2/3 innings during the regular season with a 3.47 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.084 WHIP and a 114 ERA+. He started Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, allowing two runs on six hits and no walks over five innings. Manaea is familiar with the Phillies this season, having faced them three times already. His first start against them was fantastic, allowing one run over six innings. He then struggled in London, allowing six runs in 3 2/3 innings. More recently, Manaea was solid against the Phillies at home, holding them to three runs in seven innings on September 21.

The Phillies have the following career marks against him:

• Alec Bohm 2-10, HR, 3 K
• Nick Castellanos 6-16, 2B, 3 hours, 4 K
• Kody Clemens 0-1
• Bryce Harper 4-11, 2 2B, HR, 2 K
• Austin Hays 2-3, HR
• Brandon Marsh 0-3, BB, 2 K
• JT Realmuto 1-7, BB, 4 K
• Johan Rojas 0-5, K
• Kyle Schwarber 2-6, HR, 2 BB
• Edmundo Sosa 4-8, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 K
• Bryson Stott 3-7, HR, 2BB, K
• Garrett Stubbs 1-2
• Trea Turner 5-16, HR, 4 K
• Weston Wilson 0-2, K

Opposite arrangement

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

The Mets face a pitcher they know well tonight: Aaron Nola. Over 33 starts in the regular season, he threw 199 1/3 innings with a 3.57 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 1.199 WHIP and a 114 ERA+.

Nola has faced the Mets twice this season. In mid-May, he pitched a complete-game shutout at Citi Field, holding the Mets to four hits. In September, he allowed six runs on six hits and two walks over 4 1/3 innings. His last start was on September 29, where he allowed three runs on nine hits in five innings against the Nationals.

The Mets have the following career grades against him:

• Pete Alonso 16-50, 3 2B, 5 HR, 4 BB, 14 K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-2, HR
• Harrison Bader 0-4, 4 K
• Jose Iglesias 4-9, 2B
• Francisco Lindor 7-33, 2 2B, BB, 8 K
• Starling Marte 11-31, 2 2B, HR, 9 K
• JD Martinez 3-19, 2 BB, 10 K
• Brandon Nimmo 13-52, 3B, 2 HR, 12 BB, 19 K
• Tyrone Taylor 4-10, 2 2B, BB, K
• Luis Torrens 2-3
• Mark Vientos 1-3, K
• Jesse Winker 4-24, HR, 2 BB, 2 K

Game notes

Check out one pitch example tonight and the storylines from today’s game.

Jeff McNeil will play Arizona Fall League games in hopes of joining the Mets for a playoff run.

Three things to pay attention to

1. Mark Vientos. There are people around the world who picked up Mark Vientos in fantasy baseball this season, realized he was quietly putting up insane numbers, and hoped to steal him as a sleeper in their drafts next year. Those dreams completely evaporated when Mark Vientos turned it on in the playoffs. On Sunday, he went 3-for-4 at the plate with two home runs, 4 RBIs, including the game-tying home run in the ninth inning. It was the third time in five games in the play-offs that Vientos scored at least two goals. Overall, he is hitting .400/.429/.750 over 21 plate appearances in his five games.
2. Brandon Nimmo. In his last two games, Nimmo went 4-for-9 at home with two runs, a homerun and three RBI’s. He has a career .391 OBP against Aaron Nola. Nimmo also has an eight-game hitting streak if you include the last three games of the regular season. The Brandon Nimmo from the first half of the year might be back!
3. Navigate Harper. Bryce Harper changed the course of the game on Sunday with his home run in the sixth inning. It changed the tenor of the game and the way the Mets approached him in every at-bat afterward. The Mets have closed Harper before. Don’t give him a stage in New York tonight!

Let’s go Mets!