Coming into Tuesday night's game against the Mets, the Phillies were 2-14 against them and 0-4 against their 42-year-old starting pitcher, Bartolo Colon. Thanks to a three-run blast from Darin Ruf, the Phils defeated Colon for the first time this season, finishing off the game with a 4-3 win. Aaron Altherr contributed with an RBI-single late in the game for some insurance and Ken Giles nailed down the save, but not before allowing two earned runs to cross in the ninth. The win marked the 60th of the season for the Phillies. They were the last Major League Baseball team to reach 60 wins. The Cardinals were the first to do so on July 22nd.
The Phillies and Mets continue their series tonight in Philadelphia. Rookie Alec Asher will look to build upon his best career start last time out against the Marlins while New York will counter with Logan Verrett.
Starting Pitching Match-up:
| New York Mets (89-68) | Philadelphia Phillies (60-97) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Logan Verrett | RHP | Alec Asher | ||
| 1-2, 3.40 ERA | 0-5, 7.52 ERA | ||||
When the Phillies dealt Cole Hamels to the Rangers for a slew of prospects, both Alec Asher and Jerad Eickhoff weren't too highly regarded, but they have been the quickest from the trade to make it to the big league club. While Eickhoff has shown that he has the stuff to stick in the rotation moving forward, that hasn't been decided yet with Asher, who is coming off of his best start as a major leaguer. He tossed seven innings of one-run ball in the Phillies 1-0 loss to Miami, scattering three hits, four strikeouts and a walk. Prior to that, each of Asher's previous four starts involved him giving up four or more runs. In two of his five starts, he's given up six or more runs. Hopefully, Asher is just shaking off some jitters in his first experience in MLB. In four starts with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Asher went 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA.
25-year-old righty Logan Verrett will take the hill for the Mets tonight, looking to give New York a win towards home field advantage in the NLDS. He's appeared in 12 games this season for the Mets, only three of which were starts. In his last outing, a start against the Braves on the 22nd, Verrett gave up four runs on five hits in five innings, taking the loss. He's come out of the bullpen and faced the Phillies once this season and allowed no hits while striking out one back on August 27th.
| New York Mets (89-67) | Philadelphia Phillies (59-97) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | RF | Curtis Granderson | L | 1 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S |
| 2 | 3B | David Wright | R | 2 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L |
| 3 | 2B | Daniel Murphy | L |
3 |
LF | Aaron Altherr | R |
| 4 | CF | Yoenis Cespedes | R | 4 | 1B | Darin Ruf | R |
| 5 | 1B | Lucas Duda | L | 5 | 3B | Cody Asche | L |
| 6 | C | Travis d'Arnaud | R | 6 | 2B | Darnell Sweeney | S |
| 7 | LF | Michael Conforto | L | 7 | RF | Brian Bogusevic | L |
| 8 | SS | Wilmer Flores | R | 8 | C | Cameron Rupp | R |
| 9 | P | Logan Verrett | R | 9 | P | Alec Asher | R |
Game Notes:
- Tuesday's Phillies win snapped the Mets franchise-record 11-game road win streak.
- Mets first baseman Lucas Duda has five homers and 15 RBIs in his last four games.
- Phillies rookie third baseman Maikel Franco looks to return to play during the teams' final series against the Marlins at home.
- Odubel Herrera went 4-for-4 on Tuesday night, raising his average from .287 to .293. The Phillies 2015 Rule 5 selection has 27 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 61 runs scored, 40 RBIs and 15 steals. He's struck out 128 times and walked 26.
- New York holds a one-game lead in the standings over the Dodgers, who clinched the NL West on Tuesday. The Mets also hold the tiebreaker in that race.
- A loss for Alec Asher tonight would make him the first Phillies pitcher to lose his first six starts since Frank Hoerst did it in 1941.
- Stephen Matz was originally supposed to start tonight's game, but he was pushed back due to back discomfort after spending a night sleeping on a couch.
Broadcast Information:
Gametime: 7:05pm EST
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Weather: 68 degrees, overcast, 17% chance of rain
TV: CSN
Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680
Brandon Apter, Managing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
