NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets fell to the Phillies, 5-4, last night…The Mets have outscored their opponents 94-68 in 19 games this month…New York is in a stretch of 17 straight games without an off-day (7-7)…The Mets head out on their final road trip of the year, a seven-game trip (2-2) to Miami (2-1) and Philadelphia (0-1)…New York is off on Monday before they conclude the 2023 schedule with a six-game home stand against the Marlins (three games) and Phillies (three games).
THE BIG APPLE TV+: Friday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies will be aired exclusively on Apple TV+…Fans can access the game by using the Apple TV app or by visiting tv.apple.com.
THE LONESOME CROWDED WEST: Major League Baseball announced that nine Mets will participate in the Arizona Fall League this year: C Kevin Parada, INF Rowdey Jordan, INF JT Schwartz, INF D’Andre Smith, RHP Nolan Clenney, RHP Jordan Gerber, RHP Brendan Hardy, RHP Trey McLoughlin, LHP Tyler Thomas…They will compete as part of the Glendale Desert Dogs…Games begin on Monday, October 2.
EL JEFF-E: Jeff McNiel has safely reached base in 14 straight games, posting a .373 OBP in that span…In 48 games since the start of August, Jeff McNeil is batting .307 (59-192) with 31 runs, nine doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 20 RBI, eight walks with five steals, a .346 OBP and a .484 SLG…McNeil has an .923 OPS in 19 games this month, recording 10-extra base hits.
SENGA GENESIS: Kodai Senga recorded his 12th win of the season last night… His 12 wins are tied for the most in franchise history by a Japanese born player… Masato Yoshii also had 12 in 1999…He is 12-7 with a 2.96 ERA (53 ER/161.1 IP) with 74 walks and 194 strikeouts in 28 starts this season…His 2.96 ERA ranks fourth in the majors and second in the National League…His 2.96 ERA is the seventh-lowest by a Japanese-born pitcher in MLB history (min. 100 innings).
DOING THE SPLITS: Brandon Nimmo is batting .295 with 45 runs, 15 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs, 36 RBI, 37 walks with a .375 OBP and a .478 SLG in 75 games on the road this season…This compares to a .247/.346/.452 slashline in 72 games at Citi Field…Francisco Lindor has posted a .284/.351/.520 slashline with 55 runs, 23 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs and 26 walks in 78 games on the road in 2023…He has posted a .213/.311/.375 slashline in 73 games at Citi Field…Pete Alonso is slashing .237/.343/.555 with 24 home runs and 53 RBI in 74 road games…He is batting .202/.302/.473 at Citi Field.
TAKE IT TO THE BANK: In 17 career games at Citizens Bank Park, Luis Guillorme is a .423 (11-26) hitter with three runs, one double, one triple, three RBI and four walks…Jeff McNeil has hit .320 (47-147) with 17 runs, 12 doubles, one triple, one homer, 11 RBI and 12 walks in 41 games at the yard…Brandon Nimmo has slashed .279/.422/.487 with 26 runs, seven doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 17 RBI in 48 games in Philly…Pete Alonso has hit .238/.320/.457 with nine doubles and eight home runs in 38 contests at Citizens Bank Park.
X MARK’S THE SPOT: Mark Vientos has hit three home runs over his last two games…He is on a six-game hitting streak, batting .375 (9-24) with fourruns, three home runs, five RBI, one steal with a 1.125 OPS…In 20 games since his return from the 10-Day IL, Mark Vientos is batting .278 (20-72) with 12 runs, one triple, six home runs, 10 RBI, three walks with a .325 OBP and a .556 SLG.
DINGERS!: The Mets feature eight players who have recorded at least 10 home runs this year…The team record is 10 players with 10 or more home runs, done in 2017…The 2019 team featured nine players, while the 2007 and 2005 teams feature eight players as well…The Mets have socked 202 home runs this season…That is the fifth-most in the National League…The 2022 Mets hit 171 home runs…The 2023 team became the fifth team in franchise history record 200 or more homers in a year…The team’s 202 home runs are the fourth-most in a single season in franchise history…They previous four years with 200 or more homers are: 2019 (242), 2017 (224), 2016 (218) and 2006 (200).
GOT TO GO TO MO’S: Ronny Mauricio has safely hit in 13 of his first 17 career games…He is batting .277 (18-65) with five runs, three doubles, one home run, seven RBI, five walks and six steals in his first 17 career games…He is one of five players in franchise history to record a hit in each of his first five career major league games.
FOR PETE’S SAKE: Pete Alonso has recorded his second season with 45 or more home runs, becoming the only player in franchise history to do so…He recorded his third season with 40 or more home runs…He became the fifth player in major league history with three or more seasons of 40 or more homers in their first five years, joining Ralph Kiner (four), Ryan Howard (three), Albert Pujols (three) and Eddie Mathews (three)…He is the only player in franchise history with multiple seasons of 40 or more home runs…He is tied for second in the majors and is tied for second in the National League with 45 home runs… Alonso’s 191 home runs since he entered the league in 2019 are the most in the major leagues.
WE FOUND NIMMO: Brandon Nimmo has safely hit in 20 of his last 22 games… Since August 28, Nimmo is batting .340 (32-94) with 14 runs, nine doubles, one triple, six home runs, 12 RBI, seven walks with a .392 OBP and a .649 SLG…He has socked a career-best 24 home runs this season…Nimmo has recorded 63 RBI in 2023…His career-best is 64, which he recorded in 2022.
STEAL THIS ALBUM: The Mets lead the major leagues with a 90.6% success rate in stolen bases this season…The team has stolen 115 bases out of 127 attempts…It’s the highest success rate in franchise history…The previous high was 82.3% which was accomplished in 2004.
I DON’T WANT TO ROCK, DJ: Over his last 27 games, DJ Stewart is batting .303 (30-99) with 17 runs, six doubles, 10 home runs, 23 RBI and a 1.028 OPS…In 50 games this year, Stewart is batting .264 (37-140) with 120 runs, eight doubles, 11 home runs, 26 RBI, 12 walks, a .342 OBP and a .557 SLG…Stewart recorded a career-high 12 home runs in 100 games with Baltimore in 2021.
STARTING PITCHER – TYLOR MEGILL RHP #38
2023 STATS: 8-8, 4.94 ERA
LAST TIME OUT: Suffered the loss after allowing three runs, two earned, over 5.2 innings on September 16 against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field…Allowed nine hits, issued two walks and struck out two batters.
PHILLY SPECIAL: Tonight, Megill will make his fourth career start against the Phillies…Through his first three career starts against Philadelphia, Megill is 2-1 with a 2.40 ERA (4 ER/15.0 IP)…In two career starts at Citizens Bank Ballpark, the right-hander is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA (4 ER/10.0 IP)…In his last start against Philadelphia, April 29, 2022 at Citi Field, Megill threw the first 5.0 innings of the team’s combined no-hitter…It was the second no-hitter in team history (also, Johan Santana, June 1, 2012 vs. St. Louis).
THREE RUNS OR FEWER: Megill has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his last six starts, the second-longest such streak of his career…The right-hander allowed three runs or fewer in his first seven starts as a big leaguer from June 23 – July 28, 2021.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: This season, Megill is 2-5 with a 7.09 ERA (37 ER/47.0 IP) in 11 road starts this season…In 12 home starts this season, Megill is 6-3 with a 3.41 ERA (25 ER/66.0 IP)…In 28 career road games (24 starts), Megill is 6-10 with a 5.80 ERA (73 ER/113.1 IP) and in 28 career home games (26 starts), Megill is 10-6 with a 4.02 ERA (61 ER/136.2 IP).
THE FRANCHISE HAS COMPANY: On April 7, the Mets home opener vs. Miami, Megill threw 6.0 scoreless innings and allowed three hits…Megill joined Tom Seaver (April 5, 1983) as the only other pitcher in franchise history to throw 6.0 shutout innings and allow three hits or fewer in a home opener.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #153 RECAP: The Phillies defeated the New York Mets, 5-4, as they opened up a four-game series at CBP … Starter Ranger Suarez (W, 4-6) went 6.2 innings and allowed 4 runs on 5 hits with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts … Nick Castellanos went 2-for-3 with a HR and 4 RBI and Alec Bohm also homered … Jeff Hoffman, Craig Kimbrel and Jose Alvarado made scoreless appearances in relief of Suarez.
ARMS RACE: The Phillies starting staff ranks 1st in the National League and 3rd in MLB with 852.0 innings pitched this season, trailing only SEA (853.2) and HOU (853.0) – they have 16.5 fWAR as a staff which is 1st among all MLB rotations (next: MIN, 15.4) and is 3.9 wins in front of the next closest NL club (SD, 12.6) … Consequently, Philadelphia’s bullpen has thrown the 2nd-fewest innings of any relief corps this year with 509.1 (SEA ranks 30th at 508.2), yet Philadelphia’s relief pitchers have combined for 6.1 fWAR which ranks 3rd in MLB behind LAD (7.3) and BAL (6.8) … Combined, Phillies pitching has put up 22.6 fWAR this season which leads MLB (next: SEA, 20.5) and is 6.4 wins in front of ATL who ranks 2nd in the NL at 16.2.
100 RBI: Nick Castellanos is up to a career-high 103 RBI this year – teammates Kyle Schwarber (99 RBI) and Alec Bohm (93 RBI) are also both approaching the century mark … Castellanos is the first Phillies player with RBI in a season since Bryce Harper had 114 in 2019 – Prior to Castellanos, Harper had been the only Phillie with 100 RBI since Ryan Howard had 116 in 2011 – Further, the Phillies went 11 straight seasons from 2001-11 with at least one player having 100 RBI and then went seven seasons from 2012-18 without one … With Schwaber’s next RBI, the Phillies will become 1 of only 3 teams in MLB this year with multiple 100 RBI players: ATL (3) & LAD (2) … The last time the Phillies had two players with 100 RBI in a season was 2008 (Howard and Utley) and the last time they had three was 2005 (Abreu, Burrell, Utley).
EXTRA, EXTRA: The Phillies currently have seven players with 40+ extra-base hits (Bohm, Castellanos, Harper, Realmuto, Schwarber, Stott, Turner) – Brandon Marsh enters tonight’s game with 39 … With Marsh’s next extra-base hit, the Phillies would set a franchise record with eight players in one season with 40+ XBH … This already marks only the fifth time in franchise history the Phillies have had at least seven players with 40+ XBH (others: 2009, 2002, 2001, 1932).
YOU’RE SO GOLDEN: Second baseman Bryson Stott is up to 16 Outs Above Average defensively which ranks 4th among all players in Major League Baseball – the only players in MLB with more Outs Above Average than Stott are CHI’s SS Dansby Swanson (20 OAA), SF’s INF Thairo Estrada (18 OAA) and CLE’s 2B Andres Gimenez (17 OAA) – CHI’s Nico Hoerner trails Stott with 14 OAA … Stott leads all National League second baseman in games played (143) and innings at the position (1239.1), which outpaces Estrada (93 games, 775.2 innings) and Hoerner (128 G, 1108.2 innings) … Stott has a .991 fielding percentage this season as well as 6 Defensive Runs Saved which is 6 more than Estrada (0 DRS)… He set a franchise record earlier this season when he began his career with 84 consecutive games at second base without an error, eclipsing the previous mark held by Tomas Perez (57 G) from 2001-02.
BALL GO BOOM: The Phillies have hit 208 home runs to date which are tied for the 2nd-most through the first 153 games of a season in franchise history (also 2004), behind only the 2009 club who hit 214 through the first 153 … Philadelphia’s 208 home runs this year rank 7th in franchise history – the 2007 team ranks 6th with 213 – the record is 224, held by the 2009 club … Of those 208 home runs for the Phils, 95 have come in the last 47 games since the start of August (46%) … Since Aug. 1, the Phils rank 1st in MLB in home runs (next: ATL, 93) & isolated power at .239 (next: ATL, .227), 2nd in extra-base hits with 187 (ATL, 199), 2nd in SLG at .502 (ATL, .516) and 2nd in OPS at .845 (ATL, .870) … The Phillies are averaging 5.89 runs per game since August which ranks 3rd in MLB behind only ATL (6.24) and HOU (6.00) … Per Statcast, since Aug. 1, the Phillies rank 2nd among all clubs in baseball with an average exit velocity of 90.2 MPH and a 43.3% hard hit rate, trailing only ATL in both (90.3 MPH, 44.0%).
LEADING MAN: Leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber (Phils’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award) has a career-high 123 walks this season which ranks 6th in Phillies franchise history for a single year – HOF Richie Ashburn ranks 5th in club history with 125 in 1954 … The franchise record for walks in a season is 129, set by Lenny Dykstra in 1993 … Schwarber currently ranks 2nd in MLB this year in both walks and walk rate (17.9%), trailing only Juan Soto in both (126, 18.8%) … Since he was moved back to the leadoff spot on June 2, the Phillies are 44-14 in the 58 games Schwarber has scored a run (.759) and they are 24-5 in the 29 games he has homered (.828) … Schwarber has a franchise record 10 leadoff home runs this season, eclipsing Jimmy Rollins’ previous record of 9 in 2007.
120 WALKS, 100 RUNS, 100 RBI, 45 HOMERS: Kyle Schwarber has 123 walks, 104 runs, 45 homers and 99 RBI this season … He is only 1 RBI shy of joining a list of 12 other players in MLB since 1920 – when RBI became official – to join the 120 BB/100 R/100 RBI/45 HR club … Babe Ruth did so eight times, Barry Bonds four times, Mark McGwire two times, and Lou Gehrig, Chipper Jones, Aaron Judge, Harmon Killebrew, Ralph Kiner, Mickey Mantle, Willie McCovey, Mike Schmidt & Jim Thome all did so once.
SCHWARBER, McGWIRE, RUTH: In his first two seasons in Philadelphia (since 2022), Kyle Schwarber has hit 91 home runs which ranks 2nd in MLB behind only Aaron Judge (94 HR) and he has walked 209 times which also ranks 2nd in MLB behind only Juan Soto (261 BB) … Schwarber is only the 3rd player in MLB history with 90+ home runs and 200+ walks through any player’s first two seasons with a club: Mark McGwire with St. Louis from 1997-98 (94 HR, 205 BB) and Babe Ruth with the Yankees from 1920-21 (113 HR, 294 BB).
WELCOME TO THE SHOW: Prior to tonight’s game, the Phillies selected the contract of RHP Orion Kerkering from Lehigh Valley (AAA) … Kerkering, 22, is 4-1 with 14 saves, a 1.51 ERA (9 ER, 53.2 IP) and a 0.89 WHIP across 49 relief appearances with single-A Clearwater (9), high-A Jersey Shore (18), double-A Reading (21) and triple-A Lehigh Valley (1) this season … The Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Month in April, Kerkering did not allow a run in 43 of his 49 outings this year, including his last 9 … He was named the recipient of the 2023 Paul Owens Award, which is presented annually to the Phillies’ top minor league pitcher.
TONIGHT’S STARTER – TAIJUAN WALKER • RHP #99
2023: 15-5, 4.40 ERA Career: 69-55, 3.97 ERA
LAST START: 9/17 at STL: ND, 7.0 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, BB, 3 SO … Walker vs Hudson … The Phillies fell to the Cardinals, 6-5, on a getaway day in St. Louis … Down 3-0, the Phillies rallied back to tie it with 3 runs in the 4th … St. Louis went ahead 5-3 in the 5th before the Phillies tied it at 5-5 in the 8th … In the bottom of the 8th, Jordan Walker turned around a 98.4 MPH Seranthony Dominguez sinker for a home run that gave the Cardinals the lead which they would hold in the 9th … The Phillies finished the season series 5-1 against St. Louis
TONIGHT’S START:
Let’s Get It Started: Walker is going to make his career-high 30th start of the season tonight … Walker will become the 3rd Phillies pitcher with 30 starts this season … It is the first time the Phillies have had at least 3 pitchers with 30 starts since having 4 in 2018 (Aaron Nola, 33; Nick Pivetta, 32; Jake Arrieta, 31; Vince Velasquez, 30)
All I Do Is Win: On 9/4, Walker earned his career-high 15th win of the season, which is tied for 4th in MLB … Walker became the first Phillies pitcher to earn at least 15 wins in their first season with the club since Roy Halladay earned 20 in 2010 … He also became the first Phillies pitcher to win 15 games in a season since Aaron Nola won 17 in 2018 … He was the first ML pitcher this year to reach 12 wins … Walker became the first Phillies starter to earn at least 13 wins in his first 23 starts of the season since Cole Hamels did so in 2012 … From 6/6-8/6, he earned a win in 9 of his 11 starts, making him the first Phillies starter to earn at least 9 wins in an 11-game span since Roy Halladay (9/10/10-5/5/11) … It is the first time in his career he has recorded double-digit victories in consecutive seasons … Walker went 5-0 at CBP to start the year (8 games) and was the 1st starter since Zack Wheeler (2020-21) to begin ones Phillies career without a loss in their first 8+ starts at home; Wheeler was 7-0 through his first 13 starts at home for the Phillies
DR’S Note: Per Fielding Bible, Walker has accrued 5 Defensive Runs Saved this season, which is tied for the 3rd most DRS by any ML pitcher this year … Since 2020, Walker’s 18 DRS is the most among all ML pitchers
Dog Days: In his first 12 starts, Walker had a 5.65 ERA (36 ER, 57.1 IP) … In his 17 starts since then (since 6/6), he has posted a 3.69 ERA (42 ER, 102.1 IP) and in that stretch has gone at least 5.0 IP in every start and only allowed more than 3 ER 6 times
It’s About How You Finish: This year, Walker has a 4.98 ERA (62 ER, 112.0 IP) in the first 4 innings, but has a 2.60 ERA (13 ER, 40.0 IP) in innings 5-6 … In the 6th inning he has a 1.13 ERA (3 ER, 16.0 IP)
Much Better: Walker has used his splitter 33.4% of the time in 2023, the highest rate of his career (previous: 27.6% in 2022) … 61 of his 131 strikeouts have come via the splitter
Hold On: Walker’s 5 pickoffs in 2023 are tied for 2nd in MLB … His 23 successful pickoff attempts since the start of the 2015 season are 7th-most among active ML pitchers in that span and 3rd-most among active righties
Pitch Usage: Splitter (33.4%), Sinker (24.2%), Cutter (17.3%), 4-Seam Fastball (16.9%), Curveball (5.4%), Sweeper (2.8%) vs NL East: 12-9, 3.79 ERA (90 ER, 213.2 IP) in 41 games (40 starts)
HOME:
- 2023: 7-2, 3.59 ERA (33 ER, 82.2 IP) in 15 starts
- Career: 31-21, 3.78 ERA (220 ER, 524.0 IP) in 95 games (93 starts)
SEASON:
- Quality Control: On 7/31, Walker earned his 10th quality start of the season … It is the 5th season in his career in which he earned 10 or more quality starts and the 3rd season in a row Reached 1,000 IP and 900 career strikeouts on 7/20 vs MIL On 8/2, collected a season-high 14 swings and misses … It was the first time he’s had at least 14 swings and misses in a start since having 14 on 10/4/22 Registered a career-high 7-game winning streak from 6/6-7/15 and became the 9th Phillie in the modern era (since 1901) to win at least 7 straight starts in a single season (last, Cliff Lee, 7/30-9/5/11) His 1.50 ERA in June was 6th -lowest among starters for the month, while he was the only ML pitcher to tally 5 wins. He is the 1st Phillies pitcher since Zach Eflin (5 in 2018) with 5 wins in the month of June Allowed 1 run or less in a career-high 5 straight starts from 6/6-29. Tossed consecutive scoreless starts of at least 5.0 IP on 6/6 and 6/11 for the 1st time in his career Threw a career-high 14.0 scoreless innings from 6/6-16, surpassing 2 scoreless 13.0-inning stretches from 7/4-16/22 and 6/26-7/7/15 … Completed 8.0 innings on 6/16 for the 1st time since 4/27/17 vs SD while with ARI Made his Phillies debut on 4/3 at NYY after signing a 4-year contract with the club in December Pitched for Team Mexico in the 2023 WBC, making 1 start in Pool Play against Great Britain … He threw 4.0 scoreless IP with 2 baserunners allowed and recorded 8 of his 12 outs via strikeout
