Philadelphia, PA – Having won three consecutive games, the Philadelphia Phillies (50-74) will seek to continue their momentum, as they open a four-game series against the first-place New York Mets (67-56).
Mets third baseman David Wright will be playing in his first game tonight since suffering a right hamstring strain on April 14 against the Phillies at Citi Field. The seven-time All-Star had 11 hits, one home run and four runs-batted-in over 33 at-bats prior to being placed on the disabled list four months ago.
Wright, 32, suffered many setbacks in trying to return to the Mets on the diamond. On May 23, he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, or the narrowing of the spinal column.
This past Friday, Mets manager Terry Collins said that Wright will not play everyday until they 'know his back is 100%'.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| New York Mets (67-56) | Philadelphia Phillies (50-74) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Jacob deGrom | LHP | Adam Morgan | ||
| (12-6, 1.98 ERA) | (4-4, 3.92 ERA) | ||||
deGrom, 27, is 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA over his last seven starts, having allowed just 26 hits, seven earned runs and nine walks in 48 2/3 innings.
Drafted 272nd overall in the 2010 amateur draft, the right hander is 2-0 with a 1.67 ERA in his career against the Philies with a 0.926 WHIP ratio and 28 strikeouts over 27 innings.
The DeLand, Florida-native won the National League Rookie of the Year Award last season with 26 out of 30 first-place votes. deGrom earned his first All-Star selection this season.
Morgan, 25, will take the mound for the 11th time overall, and the 6th time of his career at Citizens Bank Park tonight.
The rookie southpaw, who has never faced the Mets, has a 0.615 WHIP ratio over his last two starts.
Starting Lineups:
| New York Mets (67-56) | Philadelphia Phillies (50-74) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Juan Lagares | R | 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 2 | 1B | Daniel Murphy | L | 2 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S |
| 3 | LF | Yoenis Cespedes | R | 3 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L |
| 4 | 3B | David Wright | R | 4 | 1B | Ryan Howard | L |
| 5 | 2B | Wilmer Flores | R | 5 | 3B | Andres Blanco | S |
| 6 | C | Travis d'Arnaud | R | 6 | LF | Cody Asche | L |
| 7 | RF | Michael Cuddyer | R | 7 | RF | Domonic Brown | L |
| 8 | SS | Ruben Tejada | R | 8 | C | Cameron Rupp | R |
| 9 | P | Jacob deGrom | L | 9 | P | Adam Morgan | L |
Game Notes:
- Third baseman Andres Blanco will be batting fifth as a starter for just the third time in his eight-year major league career. He is batting .429/.478/.762 over his last five games with four singles, four doubles, one home run, two walks and two runs-batted-in.
- First baseman Ryan Howard is 2-12 in his career against deGrom with one home run and three runs-batted-in. Howard is a career .248/.321/.504 hitter against the Mets with 42 home runs and 124 runs-batted-in over 154 games.
- The Phillies are 47-57 all-time against the Mets at Citizens Bank Park. They have lost eight out of the last ten meetings at the venue, having been outscored and outhit 49-33 and 98-79 respectively.
Broadcast Information:
- First-pitch: 7:05 pm EST
- TV: CSN
- Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
What's Next:
- Tuesday, August 25, 2015: vs. New York Mets, 7:05 pm
- RHP Noah Syndergaard (7-6, 3.17 ERA) vs. RHP Jerome Williams (4-9, 6.10 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
- Wednesday, August 26, 2015: vs. New York Mets, 7:05 pm
- RHP Bartolo Colon (10-11, 4.90 ERA) vs. RHP Jerad Eickhoff (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
- Thursday, August 27, 2015: vs. New York Mets, 7:05 pm
- LHP Jon Niese (8-9, 3.80 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Harang (5-14, 4.67 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
