New York @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( May 15, 2024 ) NY Mets 5, Philadelphia 10
With Edmundo Sosa filling in capably for injured shortstop Trea Turner, the Philadelphia Phillies keep on winning.
Philadelphia will look for its second consecutive two-game sweep of the Mets when it hosts New York on Thursday. The Phillies won two games in New York to start the week, then followed up with a 10-5 home victory over the Mets on Wednesday.
Bryce Harper hit a home run, a double, and a single and drove in three runs and Kyle Schwarber added two hits for Philadelphia. Sosa contributed a hit, an RBI and two runs.
"All around, I thought we had some pretty good ABs," Harper said.
Sosa is getting extended playing time with Turner sidelined and is producing. Since Turner sustained a left hamstring strain on May 3, Sosa took over in that game and went 1-for-1, and he is 10-for-28 (.357) in Turner's absence.
Turner fielded grounders and ran on the field on Wednesday. Still, when asked about Turner's timeline to return, manager Rob Thomson said, "There is none."
Sosa was a key contributor last season and is continuing to produce in 2024 for the major-league-leading Phillies.
"Happy to help the team win," Sosa said in a postgame interview on NBC Sports Philadelphia. "Happy to do my part. That's what we're trying to do, help the team win in any way."
The Phillies will hand the ball to Taijuan Walker (3-0, 4.82 ERA) on Thursday.
In his latest start, against the host Miami Marlins on Saturday, Walker allowed eight hits and one run in six innings en route to an 8-3 victory.
"I felt my stuff was good. They were swinging it early and got some quick outs," Walker said. "Our offense has been rolling -- one through nine. My job was to go out there and try to put up as many zeros as possible."
Walker is 1-3 with a 3.24 ERA in six career starts against his former team.
The struggling Mets will look to salvage a win in this four-game stretch against the Phillies.
New York fell behind 10-2 before scoring three late runs on Wednesday.
J.D. Martinez was a bright spot with two hits, including a solo home run. Mark Vientos and Tomas Nido each had two hits and an RBI, and Jeff McNeil hit an RBI double and scored a run.
However, the Mets went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position, stranding eight, and they committed two errors.
Not exactly a winning formula.
"We're playing good teams, one day it's the offense, but we're just not clicking right now," said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, whose team has lost five of six. "Free bases, extra bases, when you're playing good teams, they're going to make you pay for it. It's something we're going to address and get better. ...
"We've got work to do.
New York will now turn to Jose Quintana (1-4, 5.44 ERA). The left-hander gave up three home runs in his Friday start against the Atlanta Braves, when he yielded four runs in five innings during a 4-2 defeat.
"I think just with two outs, the game changed. I think a couple of mistakes," Quintana said. "I didn't execute pitches well at that time. A couple of pitches flat. It wasn't a bad choice, but it was just flat. It's frustrating because my arm feels great and I was throwing the ball well against a pretty good lineup."
Mendoza said of the 35-year-old veteran, "I'm not concerned."
Quintana is 0-2 with a 3.75 ERA in nine career starts against the Phillies.
--Field Level Media