Mets at Phillies: Final Series of the Season Preview

Ryan Howard, image- Jay Floyd

In a series that will wrap up the fifth straight season in which the Phillies (70-89) have failed to reach the postseason, the host club will likely see a division rival clinch a playoff berth on their home turf. The Phils will host the Mets (85-74), who hold a magic number of two to lock down a National League Wild Card spot, for a three-game set beginning Friday night.

With the Mets in the driver's seat to be able to punch their own ticket toward the postseason, the Phils will counter with something remarkable of their own, when they honor former NL Most Valuable Player and three-time All-Star Ryan Howard with a pre-game presentation on Sunday. The 36-year-old is playing his last days in a Phillies uniform as the team reportedly plans a buy out of their option on the veteran for next season. The lefty slugger has been in the Phils' organization since the team made him their 5th round draft choice back in 2001.

The Mets have been victorious in five of their last seven contests including a 17-0 rout over the Phils last Sunday which locked up a series win in New York.

The Phillies' 6.20 ERA against the Mets this year is the worst of all 20 teams that have faced them.

Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and much more from this weekend's series.

Friday, 7:05PM. Robert Gsellman (3-2, 2.45 ERA) vs. Alec Asher (2-0, 1.66 ERA). Gsellman, a 23-year-old right-hander, sports a 1-1 record with a 2.77 ERA in two career starts against the Phillies. Gsellman has a 2.51 ERA in three road starts since joining the Mets this season. The California native was a 13th round draft selection by the Mets in 2011. In two career starts against the Mets, Asher has a 7.94 ERA. Asher, a righty, was a 4th round pick of Texas in 2012 and was acquired as part of last season's Cole Hamels trade. Earlier this season, Asher served an 80-game suspension due to a positive test for performance enhancing drugs.

Saturday, 1:05PM. Bartolo Colon (14-8, 3.42 ERA) vs. Phil Klein (0-1, 8.22). With playoff implications, this game was changed from an evening game time to a nationally televised afternoon affair. In 18 career starts against the Phils, Colon has tallied a 10-5 record with a 3.42 ERA. In 17 road starts this season, Colon has an 8-5 record with a 3.73 ERA. Colon has a 3.14 ERA in eight career starts at Citizens Bank Park. Klein posted a 1.13 ERA in his last six starts for Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season. Klein was claimed off waivers from Texas in June.

Sunday, 3:05PM. Noah Syndergaard (14-9, 2.60 ERA) vs. Jerad Eickhoff (11-4, 3.72 ERA). Syndergaard will throw just 25 pitches in this contest if the Mets have clinched a postseason berth in time for this start, according to manager Terry Collins. In four career starts against the Phils, Syndergaard has a 4-0 record with a 1.37 ERA. The righty has a 2.29 ERA in 14 road starts this season. Eickhoff has a 1-4 record with a 2.84 ERA in six career starts against the Mets. In 16 home starts this season, the 26-year-old righty has a 6-7 record with a 3.43 ERA. Curtis Granderson is 2-for-14 (.143 avg) with a home run in his career when facing Eickhoff.

In 19 career games at Citizens Bank Park, Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud, who was drafted by the Phillies, sports a .284 average with four homers and 11 RBI. d'Arnaud sports a .232/.292/.272 slash line in 35 road games this season.

In 155 games in his career against the Phillies, Jose Reyes has a .296 batting average with 19 home runs, 67 RBI and 60 stolen bases. Reyes is batting .290 in 30 road games this season.

Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes has a .299 average with nine home runs and 21 RBI in 22 career games against the Phils.

Phils third baseman Maikel Franco has a .219 average with three homers and 11 RBI in 18 games against the Mets. Franco has a .235 batting average in 75 home games this season.

In 50 games at home this season, Ryan Howard is batting .200 with 12 homers and 26 RBI. Howard has posted a .263/.331/.610 slash line in 42 games since the All-Star break. Howard is 6-for-40 (.150 avg) against the Mets this season.

All-Star Odubel Herrera is a .230 hitter in 33 career games against the Mets. The 24-year-old has gone 24-for-59 (.407 avg) with 15 runs scored over his last 15 games.

Mets' team ERA in September- 3.48 (7th in MLB).

Phillies' team ERA in September- 5.12 (27th in MLB).

2021 Phillies Top Prospects Countdown: #22 SS Casey Martin

Please visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work, get access to material like this before anyone else and get access to interviews as well as other exclusive content you can't get anywhere else. A third round draft pick last year, Arkansas junior Casey Martin was quickly signed by the Phillies and consideration as one of the organization's top infield prospects quickly began. The team's confidence in his ceiling is likely evident in the signing bonus he got, which was reportedly $1.3 million, which was considerably more than slot money dictated by his 87th overall draft position ($685K). The right-handed batting Martin tallied a .311/.393/.545 slash line with 30 homers, 24 steals and 112 RBI in 143 games through his college career at Arkansas. Reports had him falling in the draft as a result of an injury to the hamate bone in his left hand prior to his 2020 season. Prior to the procedure, Baseball America projected Martin as a top ten draft pick.

Slick fielding Sam is the Champion of the (PhoulBallz) world!

Phillies Ball(z)girl Sam Arnone was kind enough to answer some questions for the PhoulBallz site and all of you. Sam will be entering her 3rd season as a Phillies ballgirl and is a junior at Drexel University. Sam hails from the great town of Mt. Ephram, NJ. 1- Since the Phillies are the World Champions of baseball teams, are the Phillies ballgirls the world champions of ballgirl teams? - Of Course!!! There are not that many teams that have Ballgirls, so the competition is a little scarce. I would definitely put my team up against any other Ballgirl team with full confidence! 2- What is your routine to prepare for a day of on-field duties? - Before a game, I am always a little nervous. Once I am ready to leave my house and head to the ballpark I triple check my bag to make sure I have my glove and then I check again. I always have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat because it keeps me full and gives me energy for the entire game. I guess I might have to find a new favorite sa

Bubby Rossman's long awaited MLB debut

Eight years after he initially signed a professional contract with the Dodgers and a five-year stretch playing away from affiliated ball, Bubby Rossman became a major leaguer on Wednesday. Added as a substitute for pitcher Kyle Gibson, who is restricted from travel to Canada for the Phillies' series in Toronto, due to his medical inability to be vaccinated from COVID-19, Rossman took the mound for the first time in the majors. Rossman, who was a 22nd round draft selection in 2014 had pitched in 200 professional games before his one-inning outing in the Phillies' 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays. In 27 appearances with Double-A Reading this year, the 30-year-old right-hander has performed well, tallying a 2-2 record with a save, a 3.32 ERA and a .200 batting average against. The embedded video below features a media session with Rossman from prior to opening day this year, in which the California native discusses his journey through independent baseball and back to affiliated ball wi

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