After they both had Memorial Day off, the Mets and Phillies are facing off against one another for the first time in 2023. The head-to-head matchup last season was hard-fought, but it heavily favored the Mets once the final bell sounded.
Some #Mets highlights vs. Philly in ‘22:
⁃14-5 overall record
⁃9-0 in games started by Nola & Wheeler
⁃A combined no-hitter
⁃One ridiculous 9th inning comeback
⁃Today’s three comebacksThe head-to-head matchup went well this year. #LGM
— Matt Musico (@mmusico8) August 21, 2022
But of course, the Phillies had the last laugh by advancing to the World Series last October. They enter this matchup in a similar position, though. Each squad is looking up at the Atlanta Braves (and Miami Marlins) in the National League East standings, while also hovering around .500.
Here are the starting pitcher matchups for this series at Citi Field.
Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. ET: Kodai Senga vs. Ranger Suarez
The mission for Kodai Senga will be the same as it’s been all year: try to get deeper in games by limiting walks. He allowed just three runs and struck out six Cubs hitters in five innings during his last outing. But between the six hits and season-high five walks allowed, there was too much traffic on the bases. Senga currently walking 5.8 hitters per nine innings of work.
Ranger Suarez has lasted just 11 innings through three starts in 2023. In fact, he’s allowed more earned runs (12) than innings pitched so far this year. Despite that, the Phillies have won two of his three starts. Suarez posted a 3.72 ERA in two starts against the Mets in 2022, but it consisted of just 9.2 innings.
Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. ET: Carlos Carrasco vs. Aaron Nola
Carlos Carrasco finally looked like the solid backend starter the Mets need him to be this year in his last start. While salvaging the series finale against the Chicago Cubs, Cookie lasted 6.2 innings while allowing one run on five hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. Carrasco won his only start against Philly last year, but it wasn’t pretty. He allowed five runs on six hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings.
Aaron Nola has lasted at least six innings in each of his last five starts. However, he’s allowed four-plus runs on three of those occasions. One was in his last start against the Braves, where he allowed five runs on eight hits in six innings. Nola faced the Mets five times in 2022 and produced an odd stat line. He owned a 3.99 ERA and 1.05 WHIP across 29.1 innings, which included one complete game. However, he posted an 0-4 record.
Thursday at 1:10 p.m. ET: Max Scherzer vs. Taijuan Walker
After some early bumps in the road on various fronts, Max Scherzer is back to cooking like we expected him to. Since allowing six runs in 3.1 innings to the Detroit Tigers in his return from suspension, the 38-year-old has won each of his last three starts while posting a 1.00 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 18 innings of work. He owned a 3.38 ERA and 1.38 WHIP across four starts against Philly last season.
This will be a homecoming for Taijuan Walker, returning to Citi Field as a visiting player for the first time after spending the last two seasons with the Mets. His first 53.1 innings in Philly have produced a 5.57 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. He’s been better over his last two starts, producing a 2.25 ERA in 12 innings.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
