By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Odubel Herrera will look to become just the seventh Philadelphia Phillies (22-15) player ever to reach base in 40 consecutive games, as he and starter RHP Jake Arrieta oppose southpaw Steven Matz and the New York Mets (18-17) in Friday's series opener at Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies are coming off of their first series sweep of the San Francisco Giants since May 2006, outscoring manager Bruce Bochy's club, 32-8. Phillies starting pitchers earned the win in each of the four-game set, allowing just a combined four runs on 18 hits, four walks and 40 strikeouts through 24 2/3 innings. Herrera slashed .538/.647/1.077 this series, and overall this season leads the entire National League in batting average (.353) and ranks third in on-base percentage (.420).
Against division opponents, the Phillies fallen in 13 of 20 games, but are a combined 15-2 against all other teams.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| New York Mets (18-17) | Philadelphia Phillies (22-15) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | Steven Matz | RHP | Jake Arrieta | ||
| (1-3, 4.23 ERA) | (3-1, 3.15 ERA) | ||||
LHP Steven Matz, Age: 26
- Career vs. PHI: 0-1, 3.18 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 5 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 1 SO, 1.059 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 0-1, 3.18 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 5 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 1 SO, 1.059 WHIP
RHP Jake Arrieta, Age: 32
- Career vs. NYM: 2-2, 2.30 ERA, 7 G, 7 GS, 47 IP, 36 H, 12 R, 12 ER, 2 HR, 11 BB, 44 SO, 1.000 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 4-0, 1.09 ERA, 5 G, 5 GS, 33 IP, 16 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 2 HR, 9 BB, 33 SO, 0.758 WHIP
Starting Lineups:
| New York Mets (18-17) | Philadelphia Phillies (22-15) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Brandon Nimmo | L | 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 2 | 2B | Asdrubal Cabrera | S | 2 | RF | Aaron Altherr | R |
| 3 | LF | Yoenis Cespedes | R | 3 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L |
| 4 | 1B | Adrian Gonzalez | L | 4 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R |
| 5 | 3B | Wilmer Flores | R | 5 | 1B | Carlos Santana | S |
| 6 | RF | Michael Conforto | L | 6 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 7 | C | Devin Mesoraco | R | 7 | SS | Scott Kingery | R |
| 8 | P | Steven Matz | R | 8 | C | Jorge Alfaro | R |
| 9 | SS | Amed Rosario | R | 9 | P | Jake Arrieta | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:05 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- The Phillies were swept by the Mets in a rain-shortened two-game series, April 3-4 at Citi Field. Their April 2 meeting was postponed due to snow, and will be made up on July 9 as part of a single-admission doubleheader. Over the two games against the Mets thus far in 2018, the Phillies were outscored 6-2 and outhit 12-8.
- The Phillies have swept four of their first 12 series in a season for the first time since 1993. Two of the sweeps were four-game sets, matching their total of such sweeps from Opening Day 2014 to the last game of the 2017 season, spanning 648 games and 1,280 days.
- Following the three-game series against the Mets, the Phillies will hit the road for two games against the Baltimore Orioles and four against the St. Louis Cardinals, before returning back to Philadelphia to take on the division-leading Atlanta Braves, followed by the Toronto Blue Jays, in a six-game homestand.
- Carlos Santana is in the midst of a seven-game hit streak, picking up at leas one extra-base hit in each of the contests. Over this stretch, Santana is slashing .333/.333/.900 with six runs scored, two singles, three doubles, one triple, four home runs, 15 RBI and three strikeouts.
- Through 15 career at-bats against Matz, active members of the Phillies are slashing a combined .200/.294/.200, with just three singles, one RBI, one walk and one strikeout spanning 15 at-bats. Adrian Gonzalez, Todd Frazier and Asdrubal Cabrera, meanwhile, have two career home runs against Arrieta.
What's Next:
- Saturday, May 12, 2018: vs. New York Mets, 7:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pa.
- RHP Noah Syndergaard (2-1, 3.09 ERA) vs. RHP Zach Eflin (1-0, 0.71 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
