Another day of exciting MLB action is underway with games from the early afternoon all the way through the usual night slate. With all 30 teams in action this Saturday, we’re honing in on an NL East battle between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets as these contenders duke it out for the second time in two days.
Here’s a Phillies vs. Mets prediction and pick for the Saturday special with first pitch scheduled for 7:15 p.m. EST.
Phillies vs. Mets prediction, preview
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phils remain one of the MLB’s best teams at 46-30 on the year, and to top it off, they’re riding high at 8-2 in their last 10 contests. With a 25-13 record at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia holds one of the best home records in the league and certainly maintains the upper hand in tonight’s matchup.
The Phillies’ bats rank third in AVG, eighth in OPS and ninth in runs this season. They’re also sixth in stolen bases and walks while striking out the seventh-fewest times of any team. Philadelphia beat the daylights out of the Mets with a 10-2 drubbing in yesterday’s season opener with 13 hits from six players, including a 3-for-5 performance with three RBIs and a HR for Nick Castellanos. They look to run it back again with more fireworks this evening.
New York Mets
As for the visitors, the Metropolitans are 45-31 this season but enter with a seven-game losing streak as they haven’t won a game since June 12. New York can absolutely play better baseball than this and they’re bound to snap the skid at some point, but it’s hard to feel very encouraged against one of the NL’s top contenders tonight.
The Mets are a paltry 18th in AVG but rank sixth in OPS and 12th in runs so far this year. They do draw the fourth-most walks of any team thus far, and their 95 home runs tie them for seventh-most in the MLB. They have just three runs in their last three games, though, and just seven across their last five contests if you go a little further back. They mustered just two runs from seven hits last night, but Francisco Lindor should likely bounce back after a hitless game.
Phillies vs. Mets pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Mets as -112 favorites on the Moneyline today, a surprising development given their recent form and status as the visitors. The Phillies come in at -109 on the Moneyline themselves, so this one’s essentially a toss-up with the run total set at a rather high mark of 10.
The Phillies start Mick Abel, a rookie righty with four starts to his name and some impressive numbers across the board. He’s 2-0 in those appearances with a 2.21 ERA and 1.03 WHIP, allowing just 17 hits and five earned runs in 20.1 innings while striking out 17 batters. Outside of a game against the Cubs, today looks like his toughest test yet in his young career.
Veteran right-hander Griffin Canning draws the start for New York today with a 3.80 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 63 strikeouts in 68.2 innings of work. His record sits at 6-3 but Canning’s recent form looks a bit rough with an elevated 5.23 ERA across his last seven games as he comes off back-to-back appearances with four and six earned runs.
This should be a very fun watch, but I’d hate to be a fan of either side in this matchup since it looks like it’ll end up a very close contest. It’s tough to see the Mets getting blown out again after last night, and with a rookie on the mount, they might take advantage and put Abel to the test.
Instead of picking a game line here, I’m going with Nick Castellanos to stay hot and tally at 3+ hits + runs + RBIs as he builds on yesterday’s performance.
Best bet: Nick Castellanos 3+ hits + runs + RBIs (+135)
Click the odds to tail!
