Philadelphia Phillies Series Recap: New York Mets
The Philadelphia Phillies traveled to New York in their first 2016 weekend series to take on the Defending NL Champion, The New York Mets
Coming off a disappointing start in the first series of the 2016 MLB season, where the Philadelphia Phillies were swept by the hosting Cincinnati Reds, the Phils traveled to Citi Field to take on the defending NL East and National League Champion New York Mets.
On paper, it looked like a breeze for Mets, but as the final pitch crossed the plate Sunday Afternoon, the Philadelphia Phillies left winning two of the three game series.
Let’s breakdown this weekend series between the Phillies and the Mets:
Friday, April 8th: Phillies 2 Mets 7
The Philadelphia Phillies (0-4) stayed winless as the Mets (2-1) took the fist game of the series (2-1) and the home opener for them as well. Starting for the Phillies Friday was right-hander Jerad Eickhoff. The 25-year-old product out of Evansville, IN who came to Philly via the July Cole Hamels trade that past year, looked to continue off his strong rookie campaign (3-3/2.65 ERA/49-13 K:BB) in 2015. In his 2016 debut, Eickhoff went five innings, striking out three while allowing two earned runs on five hits.
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After Eickhoff, the Phillies turned to the bullpen, where they were just downright atrocious in the opening series against the reds. Here were the numbers of the bullpen versus the Reds:
Game one: 3 hits, 3 walks, 5 runs in 2 innings.
Game two: 4 hits, 2 runs in 1.1 innings.
Game three: 7 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks in 4.1 innings.
Fortunately for the Mets, the bullpen for The Phils continued their abysmal play. In 0.1 of an inning, James Russell got shelled for four hits, four runs, and two walks.
While the pitching did not help in any way to helping the team get its first win, the offense continued to sputter as well. Collecting eight hits, the Phillies were only able to get two runs across the plate.
Second Baseman Cesar Hernandez, was the only Phillie with more than one hit, going two for four with one RBI.
Saturday, April 9th: Phillies 1 Mets 0
The second game of the three-game series saw the debut of 23-year-old RHP (right handed pitcher) Vincent Velasquez for the Philadelphia Phillies. Velasquez, acquired in the offseason from the Houston Astros via the Ken Giles trade, impressed mightily. Velasquez aggressively pounded the strikeout with his upper 90’s fastball, pitching to the tune of nine strikeouts while walking three and allowing three hits in six innings. Velasquez, who won the fifth spot in the pitching rotation coming out of spring training couldn’t have asked for a better start in his career with the Phillies.
The bullpen finally came through after Velasquez was pulled after six innings due to a high pitch count (99 pitches), allowing no hits in the final three innings of the game.
The lone contributor on the offensive side of the ball was veteran first baseman Ryan Howard who homered in the fifth to score the only run of the game.
Sunday, April 10th: Phillies 5 Mets 2
The series finale featured yet another win by the now 2-4 Philadelphia Phillies as they took the series 2 games to one.
The opening day starter, Jeremy Hellickson looked to continue his strong opening to the new year in which he went six innings and struck out six batters while allowing one run on three hits.
And that is exactly what Hellickson did against the Mets during Sunday’s game. Hellickson, who held the Mets hitless through the first three innings, went 5.2 innings, striking out five and allowing two runs on three hits. Another strong outing by the bullpen finalized the series clincher for the Phillies, as the pen combined for one hit through the rest of the game.
The offense of the Philadelphia Phillies finally experienced a solid outing, scoring five and getting nine hits off a strong Mets pitching staff that included ace Matt Harvey.
2015 standout center fielder Odubel Herrera led the way for the Phils, hitting a two run homerun off Harvey while Hernandez, Howard and Freddy Galvis also contributed to the offensive efforts.
On Tap:
Starting today, The Philadelphia Phillies host the San Diego Padres as Aaron Nola looks to take the mound for the home opener and the start of a four-game series against the Padres.
Next: Philadelphia Phillies Week in Review
Can the Philadelphia Phillies starting rotation stay hot? Can the offense get hot? We will certainly find out this week as Philadelphia is slated for a week full of baseball down at Citizens Bank Park.
Stay Tuned…