By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
With the 2018 season ending in less than two weeks, the Philadelphia Phillies (76-72) will take on the since postseason-eliminated New York Mets (69-80) in the first of a three-game set Monday evening at Citizens Bank Park. Right-handed veterans Jake Arrieta and Zack Wheeler will square off.
The Phillies failed to capture their ninth series sweep of the season, falling in Sunday's matinee finale against the Miami Marlins, 6-4. Cesar Hernandez led off the Phillies' half of the first inning with a home run, going yard for the second straight game. Down 6-2 in the ninth, the Phillies added runs via a RBI single by Roman Quinn, who later scored on Starlin Castro's fielding error. Right-hander Enyel De Los Santos tossed two scoreless innings in relief, lowering his rookie season ERA to 4.50 over five appearances and 16 innings. Rhys Hoskins notched his National League ninth-best 34th double, eight less than Odubel Herrera's team-leading 42 doubles last season. Had the Phillies won, it would have been consecutive home sweeps of the Marlins for the first time since 2001, notes MLB.com.
The Phillies' 45 home wins are their most at home since 2011 (52). If the club wins out its remaining six home games against the Mets (Sept. 17-19) and the Atlanta Braves (Sept. 28-30), it would fall just one win short of that mark. In addition, the Phillies are 30-36 against National League East teams this season, and would need to win at least eight of their remaining 10 divisional games to finish above .500 against them.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| New York Mets (69-80) | Philadelphia Phillies (76-72) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Zack Wheeler | RHP | Jake Arrieta | ||
| (11-7, 3.23 ERA) | (10-9, 3.66 ERA) | ||||
RHP Zack Wheeler, Age: 32
- 2018 vs. PHI: 0-0, 5.79 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, HR, 3 BB, 8 SO, 2.143 WHIP
- Career vs. PHI: 3-1, 3.10 ERA, 9 G, 9 GS, 49 1/3 IP, 43 H, 19 R, 17 ER, 6 HR, 16 BB, 53 SO, 1.196 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 2-0, 3.50 ERA, 3 G, 3 GS, 18 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 HR, 4 BB, 18 SO, 0.833 WHIP
Wheeler has recorded five straight quality starts, and has tossed at least seven innings in seven of his last eight outings since August 4. In 14 starts since June 27, Wheeler is 9-1 with a 1.83 ERA, 96-21 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .199/.253/.275 opposing slash spanning 93 2/3 innings. In his one loss over that stretch, Wheeler allowed just one run over seven innings in the Mets' 7-0 road defeat against the San Francisco Giants on August 31.
RHP Jake Arrieta, Age: 28
- 2018 vs. NYM: 0-1, 0.68 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 13 1/3 IP, 9 H, R, ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 11 SO, 0.825 WHIP
- Career vs. NYM: 2-3, 1.94 ERA, 9 G, 9 GS, 60 1/3 IP, 45 H, 13 R, 13 ER, 2 HR, 13 BB, 55 SO, 0.961 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 6-3, 2.95 ERA, 16 G, 16 GS, 91 2/3 IP, 71 H, 40 R, 30 ER, 11 HR, 30 BB, 85 SO, 1.102 WHIP
The Phillies are averaging 3.3 runs over their 16 games against the Mets so far this season. When Arrieta has received three-to-five supporting runs in red pinstripes, he is 4-4 with a 3.97 ERA and 1.249 WHIP over 12 starts and 65 2/3 innings. Arrieta allowed just one run over six innings in his most recent start against the Mets, a losing decision while home on August 18.
Starting Lineups:
| New York Mets (69-80) | Philadelphia Phillies (76-72) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | SS | Amed Rosario | R | 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 2 | 2B | Jeff McNeil | L | 2 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R |
| 3 | LF | Michael Conforto | L | 3 | 3B | Asdrubal Cabrera | S |
| 4 | 3B | Todd Frazier | R | 4 | C | Wilson Ramos | R |
| 5 | RF | Brandon Nimmo | L | 5 | 1B | Carlos Santana | S |
| 6 | 1B | Dominic Smith | L | 6 | RF | Nick Williams | L |
| 7 | CF | Austin Jackson | R | 7 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L |
| 8 | C | Tomas Nido | R | 8 | SS | J.P. Crawford | L |
| 9 | P | Zack Wheeler | L | 9 | P | Jake Arrieta | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:05 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- With 14 games remaining in the season, the Phillies trail the division-leading Braves by 6 1/2 games, and the second National League Wild Card spot by five games.
- Monday's Postseason Race Matchups:
- St. Louis Cardinals (RHP Miles Mikolas) at Atlanta Braves (RHP Mike Foltynewicz), 7:35 p.m.
- Cincinnati Reds (RHP Anthony DeSclafani) at Milwaukee Brewers (LHP Wade Miley), 7:40 p.m.
- Chicago Cubs (RHP Kyle Hendricks) at Arizona Diamondbacks (LHP Patrick Corbin), 9:40 p.m.
- Colorado Rockies (RHP Jon Gray) at Los Angeles Dodgers (LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu), 10:10 p.m.
- The Phillies will aim for their first series win against the Mets this season, having gone 0-3-2 over the first five series thus far, while outscored 84-53 in 16 games.
- Carlos Santana is one walk shy of 100, which would be the third time he reached the milestone in his career, joining the 2014 (113) and 2015 (108) seasons. Pat Burrell (102) was the last Phillie to reach 100 walks in a season in 2008, and is among just 15 different players to due so in franchise history. Only 11 switch-hitters in MLB history have ever posted three seasons with 100-plus walks, with Chipper Jones (101) being the last to do so in 2009, according to MLB.com.
- Over his last eight games and 37 plate appearances, Hernandez is slashing .343/.351/.514 with four runs scored, 10 singles, two home runs, eight RBI, nine strikeouts and one stole base. Hernandez and Nick Williams are each 2-for-3 lifetime against Wheeler (click to expand).
What's Next:
Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018: vs. New York Mets, 7:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pa.
- LHP Steven Matz (5-11, 4.18 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (16-5, 2.42 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
