The Phillies have really sort of owned the Mets over the last 23 games coming into the series, the Phillies have won 16 of those games (not counting today). Last season the Phils were 12-7 vs. the Mets (though the Phils were 8-11 in 2018 vs the Mets) and now with a sweep of them on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, they start off the abbreviated 2020 season 3-0 against them.
What is the sudden upswing with the Phils lately? Well, the team has pitched a whole lot better and the offense have gotten into gear as well. Both things that you need for a winning type of year. Lets not break out the champagne yet, the team is still 8-9 on the year.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Phillies rotation was optimal for facing the Mets. We had the top two Phillies starters going in this series and got a break when Jacob DeGrom was a scratch. The Phils banged out 14 H on the day today, and scored 6 times to notch the 6-2 victory. Zack Wheeler, ex-Mets pitcher, was marvelous today getting his third win (3-0) on the year. Aaron Nola pitched really well on Saturday night.
Embed from Getty ImagesWe can only hope for this goodness to continue. The team isn’t even a .500 team yet though, so like I was saying it’s not time for celebration. The Phils need to keep doing well like they did in this series, Rhys Hoskins has broken out of his slump. Alec Bohm has slipped into the Phillies lineup and has looked great, he may be your Phillies 3rd baseman for some time if he keeps up the good things we’ve been seeing from him.
Roman Quinn was out of the game today, being withheld as he didn’t feel well. He’s undergone testing for the Covid-19 virus. If he tests positive, who knows what that’s going to do with the Phillies schedule, will the whole team be quarantined a few games if he is positive? We don’t know at this point.
Embed from Getty Images Bryce Harper has been heating up the offense latelyA lot of good praise is being said about former GM Ruben Amaro, who has been in the TV broadcast booth for this weekend (and prior) – a lot of fans like what they hear from Amaro, even though the phrase ‘overqualified’ comes to mind. He’s better than the usually droll, John Kruk. And as some have noted, Tom McCarthy seems to work well with Amaro as well. Who knows?