Mets at Phillies
New York and Philadelphia both have struggled to score runs of late, but the Mets are getting enough pitching to get by. The Phillies will try to be the first to three runs and steal a series win when they host New York for the finale of their three-game set on Sunday.
The Phillies took the opener 3-1 on Friday but could not manage even that meager amount of offense in Saturday’s 3-2 loss. The Mets have scored three runs or fewer in nine of their last 11 games but own five wins in that span thanks to stellar pitching. Juan Lagares, who has been one of the few consistent sources of offense for New York, snapped a three-game hitless streak with a two-run homer on Saturday. The Phillies’ offense got an emotional lift when Chase Utley came off the bench and delivered a pinch-hit single on Saturday, lifting his batting average to .109.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), CSN Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Bartolo Colon (5-1, 2.90 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Chad Billingsley (0-1, 9.00)
Colon bounced back from his first loss by striking out nine and holding the Baltimore Orioles to one run on six hits in 7 2/3 innings on Tuesday. The hefty veteran has not walked a batter since Opening Day - his only free pass on the season to go with 34 strikeouts. Colon went 3-1 with a 3.21 ERA in four starts against Philadelphia last season.
Billingsley made his first major-league start in more than two years at Atlanta on Tuesday after dealing with multiple elbow issues and was rudely welcomed back. The 30-year-old was reached for six runs (five earned) on eight hits and a walk over five innings to absorb the loss. Billingsley has not faced the Mets since May 19, 2009, when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
WALK-OFFS
1. Mets top prospect RHP Noah Syndergaard is with the team and will make his major-league debut against the Cubs in Chicago on Tuesday.
2. Philadelphia 3B Cody Asche has been taking fly balls in the outfield in advance of a position switch to make room for prospect Maikel Franco.
3. New York 1B Lucas Duda is 1-for-18 in his last five games.