Mets at Phillies
The New York Mets aren't doing themselves any favors with their sub-.500 play against National League East representatives. After splitting their first eight contests versus the light-hitting Philadelphia Phillies, the Mets look to get it together in Sunday afternoon's rubber match of the three-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
New York finds itself comfortably behind first-place Washington due in large part to its showing versus division foes, against whom it fell to 20-23 after dropping a 4-2 decision to Philadelphia on Saturday. The Phillies, conversely, improved to 18-17 versus the NL East after posting their 11th win in 15 outings. Maikel Franco had an RBI single for his second run driven in during the series and fifth in three outings. The 23-year-old Dominican looks to add to his torrid numbers in July (19-for-48, five homers, 13 RBIs) when he faces Sunday starter Jacob deGrom, against whom he is 0-for-3 in a small sample size.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, WPIX (New York), CSN Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Jacob deGrom (5-4, 2.61) vs. Phillies RH Zach Eflin (2-2, 4.08)
DeGrom recorded his second straight win after allowing two runs - both solo homers - in seven innings of a 4-2 victory over Miami on July 6. The 28-year-old has permitted three runs on 16 hits in his last three outings (20 frames) to wash the sour taste out of his mouth following a three-start losing skid. DeGrom improved to 3-0 in his career versus Philadelphia on April 8 after yielding one run on five hits in six innings of a 7-2 romp.
Eflin has recorded back-to-back victories after beginning his career with an 0-2 mark in his first four outings. The 22-year-old followed a complete-game triumph over Atlanta on July 5 by allowing two runs on seven hits in six innings of a 10-3 triumph at Colorado five nights later. Eflin kept the ball in the park at Coors Field after being taken deep five times in his previous five starts.
WALK-OFFS
1. New York SS Asdrubal Cabrera, who committed a costly error on Saturday, is 4-for-9 in this series and has 11 hits in eight games versus Philadelphia.
2. Phillies SS Freddy Galvis is just 1-for-8 with two strikeouts in this series after recording five straight multi-hit performances heading into the All-Star break.
3. The Mets are 11-35 when scoring three or fewer runs this season.