The New York Mets will look to win their third straight game when they visit the Philadelphia Phillies for the second game of a three-game series on Saturday after a rare mid-series off day not created by weather.
The Mets are coming off a 6-4 victory against their division foes on Thursday. Tied 3-3 in the top of the seventh, New York surged ahead against reliever Jose Alvarado.
Eric Wagaman delivered the go-ahead run with a pinch-hit single. One batter later, with two on and two out, Alvarado thought he had struck out Marcus Semien to end the inning, but home plate umpire Brian Walsh checked the ball and determined that Semien’s foul tip hit the dirt before catcher J.T. Realmuto caught it.
The Mets second baseman capitalized on his second chance, knocking a two-run triple.
“I know it gets noisy when you know we don’t hit with runners in scoring position, but at times you gotta give the other team some credit and today is a perfect example. A lot of two-out hits,” New York manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Semien’s clutch hit is the latest in what has been a solid month for the 35-year-old. He’s slugging .519 since May 25 and his on-base-plus-slugging percentage has increased by more than 80 points over the past four weeks.
“He’s beating the ball to the spot, short, controlling the strike zone better,” Mendoza said. “This is a guy that is capable of doing damage, too. We’ve seen it over the years. I think it’s just making better swing decisions, getting the head out and doing damage. It’s good to see that.”
A three-time All-Star, Semien is in his first season with the Mets after spending his career in the American League.
Freddy Peralta (5-5, 3.90 ERA) will be on the mound for the Mets as they look to take the series. The veteran right-hander is 0-2 with a 3.12 ERA in eight career appearances (seven starts) against Philadelphia.
The Phillies will counter with Cristopher Sanchez (8-3, 1.82), who is 3-4 with a 4.26 ERA in his 12 career outings (nine starts) against the Mets. They’ll hope the lefty’s ability to go deep will help as Alvarado and the other bullpen southpaws struggle.
Philadelphia optioned left-hander Tanner Banks and his 5.86 ERA in 27 2/3 innings to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday. That left Alvarado and Tim Mayza as the lone lefty relievers.
The Phillies could be getting help on that front soon, however, with left-hander Kyle Backhus, who last pitched on April 25, on the verge of a return.
“Mayza’s been throwing the ball good, Alvy’s been kind of in and out, and I feel like we’re gonna get (Backhus) back at some point fairly soon,” Philadelphia interim manager Don Mattingly said. “So I think we’ll be in a good spot with the lefties.”
Sanchez had gone at least seven innings in seven straight starts before a rare short outing (5 2/3 innings) in a 4-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in his last appearance on June 14.
Philadelphia, which has lost two straight, also will be hoping Trea Turner is available on Saturday. The shortstop was hit by a pitch in the first inning. He left the game Thursday in the third with a right calf contusion.
“He was having trouble putting pressure, pushing off,” Mattingly said. “And I think he was having more trouble on defense. He said he felt like he was a liability on defense since he couldn’t really move.”
–Field Level Media
