By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia Phillies (22-16) will look to avoid their eighth series loss of the season in the second of a three-game series against the New York Mets (19-17) at Citizens Bank Park. Right-handers Zach Eflin and Noah Syndergaard will square off.
Up 1-0 with one out in the ninth in the series opener, the Phillies worsened to 18-2 when leading after eight innings, as closer Hector Neris surrendered back-to-back home runs to Michael Conforto and Devin Mesoraco — his third blown save of the season. The Phillies' lone run came via a first inning solo blast by Odubel Herrera, which extended his on-base streak to 40 games. Right-hander Jake Arrieta was denied another win due to a Neris blown save for a second straight start. Arrieta tossed 7 1/3 shutout innings, allowing five hits and two walks with five strikeouts and 101 pitches (63 strikes).
With the loss, the Phillies fell to 7-14 against division opponents, which is polar opposite of their record against all other opponents, 15-2 (7-0 vs. NL Central, 5-2 vs. NL West, 3-0 vs. AL). The Phillies trail the division by a 1/2 game and sit in second place behind the Atlanta Braves. The Mets are fourth in the NL East and trail by 2 1/2 games.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| New York Mets (19-17) | Philadelphia Phillies (22-16) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Noah Syndergaard | RHP | Zach Eflin | ||
| (2-1, 3.09 ERA) | (1-0, 0.71 ERA) | ||||
RHP Noah Syndergaard, Age: 25
- Career vs. PHI: 4-1, 2.06 ERA, 7 G, 7 GS, 39 1/3 IP, 28 H, 13 R, 9 ER, 3 HR, 9 BB, 49 SO, 0.941 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 2-0, 1.93 ERA, 3 G, 3 GS, 14 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 HR, 5 BB, 19 SO, 1.000 WHIP
Syndergaard last faced the Phillies in a no-decision on April 4 at Citi Field, where he tossed four innings and allowed two runs on four hits, two walks and seven strikeouts on 92 pitches (57 strikes).
RHP Zach Eflin, Age: 24
- Career vs. NYM: 0-2, 4.41 ERA, 3 G, 3 GS, 16 1/3 IP, 15 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 3 HR, 5 BB, 11 SO, 1.224 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 2-5, 5.11 ERA, 10 G, 10 GS, 61 2/3 IP, 63 H, 35 R, 35 ER, 15 HR, 13 BB, 44 SO, 1.232 WHIP
Eflin has allowed just one run this season through two starts and 12 2/3 innings since replacing Ben Lively (back) in the rotation. The right-hander is winless through three career starts against the Mets, allowing eight earned runs through 16 1/3 innings.
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:05 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP, MLBN
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Herrera leads all of baseball in batting average (.360), besting Manny Machado (.354, AL), Andrelton Simmons (.351, AL), Mookie Betts (.346, AL) and Nick Markakis (.345, NL), among others.
- Herrera is just the seventh Phillies player ever to reach base in 40 consecutive games, joining Mike Schmidt (56 games), Chuck Klein (49, 44), Bobby Abreu (48), Don Hurst (41), Pete Rose (41) and Willie Montanez (40). Herrera is only 1-17 lifetime against Syndergaard, however, with one RBI and three strikeouts (.059/.059/.059).
What's Next:
- Sunday, May 13, 2018: vs. New York Mets, 1:35 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pa.
- RHP Jacob deGrom (3-0, 1.87 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (5-1, 2.05 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
