PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #53 RECAP: The Phillies fell to the Atlanta Braves, 11-4, on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball from Truist Park … Starter Dylan Covey (L, 0-1) went 0.2 innings and allowed 7 runs (5 ER) on 6 hits … Brandon Marsh homered (Spencer Strider) and Kyle Schwarber went 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk …The Phillies split the four-game series, two games a piece.
I’VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN: Last season, on their way to the 2022 National League pennant, the Phillies went 5-14 (.263 win %) with a -37 run differential against the Mets (63-100) … Against all other teams last year, the Phillies went 82-61 (.573 win%) with a +99 run differential (684-585) … Per Elias, it marked the first time the Phillies were as many games under .500 against one club in a season, but at least 20 games over against all others since 1983, when they went 1-11 against the Dodgers and 89-61 versus all other teams … Of the 19 games between the Phils and Mets last year, 16 lasted at least three hours and six of those 19 took at least 3:40 … The final meeting of 2022 between these two rivals came on August 21 at CBP and took 4:26 to complete, which fell only four minutes shy of tying the NL record for longest 9-inning game ever (4:30 – ARI at COL on 6/24/2016 and PHI at PIT on 7/6/2018).
KING OF QUEENS: In 47 career games against the New York Mets (163 AB, 190 PA), Kyle Schwarber is slashing .301/.395/.644 with a 1.039 OPS, 35 runs, six doubles, one triple, 16 home runs, 34 RBI and 26 walks to 52 strikeouts … 620 players in history have had at least 150 career at bats against the Mets and Schwarber’s 10.19 AB/HR average ranks 1st out of those 620 (next: Dave Kingman, 11.35 AB/HR).
THE CLUB’S HIGHEST HONOR: Today, the Phillies announced that Hall-of-Fame third baseman Scott Rolen, former General Manager John Quinn and former Owner/Team President Ruly Carpenter will be inducted into the Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame later this summer … Rolen, who played more games for the Phillies than any other club during his 17-year MLB career, was drafted by the Phillies in the 2nd round of the 1993 MLB Draft … He spent parts of seven seasons (1996-2002) with the Phillies where he won the 1997 NL Rookie of the Year Award and four Gold Gloves (1998, 2000-02) and racked up 29.2 of his 70.1 career bWAR, his highest total of any team played for.
RISP AND REWARD: Over their last nine games (since 5/20), the Phillies are 16-for-67 with RISP (.239 AVG), with a .232 BABIP (MLB average BABIP with RISP since 5/20 is .303), .360 OBP and .463 SLG (.823 OPS) … During this nine-game stretch, the Phillies have more walks with RISP (13) than strikeouts (12) and their 15.1% walk rate with RISP is 2nd-best in MLB and their 14.0% strikeout rate with RISP is the lowest in MLB.
BULLISH ON THE PEN: Since April 16, the Phillies bullpen has allowed 44 ER in 138.2 IP and has the lowest ERA in the National League at 2.86 (next: SD, 3.12) … That ranks 3rd among all relief corps in MLB, trailing only HOU (2.69) and BAL (2.74) … Philadelphia’s bullpen has faced 589 batters during this stretch and limited them to a .226/.298/.350 slash line with a .648 OPS that ranks 4th in MLB behind HOU (.606), SD (.616) and BAL (.628) … Per Statcast, since April 16, the Phillies bullpen is running the lowest hard hit rate of any bullpen in MLB (31.5%) with the lowest average exit velocity on balls in play (87.1 MPH).
MR. 400: Friday night in Atlanta, right-hander Craig Kimbrel earned the 400th save of his ML career in the Phils’ 6-4 win … He became only the eighth player in the history of Major League Baseball to reach 400 saves and he did so in the 730th game of his career, which is the 3rd-fewest games needed to achieve the feat, trailing Hall of Famer’s Trevor Hoffman (706 games) and Mariano Rivera (697 games) … The other five pitchers achieved their 400th save as follows: Kenley Jansen (778 games), Billy Wagner (813 games), John Franco (837 games), Lee Smith (847 games) and Francisco Rodriguez (878 games).
IN COMPANY WITH COOPERSTOWN: The newest member of the 400 save club, Craig Kimbrel, ranks 11th since at least 1893 with 1,130 SO as a reliever … He trails Hall-of-Famers Trevor Hoffman (1,133) for 10th place and Mariano Rivera (1,135) for 9th place … Additionally, in the instances in which he converted his first 400 saves, Kimbrel had a 0.63 ERA (28 ER, 397.2 IP) – here are the ERA’s (in saves) for the seven current members of the 400-save club when they reached #400: Rivera (0.67), Billy Wagner (0.75), Lee Smith (0.83), Hoffman (0.84), John Franco (0.88), Kenley Jansen (0.94) and Francisco Rodriguez (1.05).
HARP ON IT: Phils designated hitter Bryce Harper reached 5,000 career at bats Thursday night at ATL … When he reached 5,000, Harper had 614 extra-base hits and 891 walks and he became only the 13th player in the modern era (since 1900) with as many walks and extra-base hits through the first 5,000 at bats of a career … Harper is joined by Babe Ruth (1928), Ted Williams (1951), Mike Schmidt (1982), Barry Bonds (1995), Mark McGwire (1998), Frank Thomas (2000), Jeff Bagwell (2000), Jim Thome (2003), Brian Giles (2006), Lance Berkman (2009), Adam Dunn (2011) and Mike Trout (2022).
ANGEL IN THE OUTFIELD: Center fielder Brandon Marsh has 24 walks in 176 plate appearances and is only four walks shy of reaching his career high total of 28 set last year in 461 plate appearances … Marsh has more than doubled his walk rate from 6.1% last season to 13.6% entering play tonight – his 7.5 spike in walk rate from year-to-year ranks 2nd out of 174 qualified players in MLB behind only Luis Rengifo (+8.0%)
… On the day he was traded to the Phillies last season, Marsh had 583 career plate appearances and was slashing .239/.299/.354 with a .653 OPS – since joining the Phillies at last year’s deadline, Marsh is slashing .280/.351/.468 with an .820 OPS in 314 plate appearances …Defensively, Marsh ranks T-4th among all MLB center fielders with 4 outs above average (OAA) this year and he trails only Luis Robert Jr. (6 OAA), Harrison
Bader (5 OAA) and Kevin Kiermaier (5 OAA).
HATS OFF TO YOU, THOMS: On Friday, the Phillies played their 162nd game since Rob Thomson took over as manager on June 3, 2022 … In those 162 games (6/3/22-5/26/23), the Phillies went 89-73 under Thomson with the fourth-best winning percentage (.549) in the National League, trailing ATL (.665), LAD (.663) and NYM (.578).
TONIGHT’S STARTER – RANGER SUÁREZ • LHP #55
2023: 0-1, 9.82 ERA Career: 25-16, 3.34 ERA
LAST START: 5/24 vs ARI: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, BB, 5 SO … Suárez vs Gallen … Down 2 runs with 2 outs in the 9th, Bryson Stott singled before
Trea Turner tied it with a 2-run home run … Alec Bohm walked it off in the 10th with a game-winning single to right … Five Phillies relievers made scoreless appearances in relief of Suarez.
TONIGHT’S START:
- Road Warrior: Suárez has a 3.14 ERA (18 ER, 51.2 IP) in his last 10 road starts … Since the start of last season, Suárez’s 3.35 ERA on the road is ranks 13th among National League pitchers with at least 90.0 IP … In 9 of his last 10 starts, Suárez has allowed 3 earned runs or fewer
- Trouble With the Curve: Suárez has thrown his curveball 33 times in 11 IP this season, after only throwing it 198 in 155.1 IP last year … He has not allowed a hit against his curveball yet and has struck out 6 batters with a whiff rate of 52.9%
- Just Glovely: Ranger was selected as the 2022 Fielding Bible Award winner at pitcher… Suárez’s 9 defensive runs saved in 2022 were the most by any Phillies pitcher since 2002, when Fangraphs can track back to and most by any pitcher in MLB in 2022 by 3 (Taijuan Walker had 6) … He did not make an error in a career-high 44 chances over 155.1 IP and did not allow a stolen base
- Start Your Engines: Since transitioning to a starter full time on 8/2/21, Suárez is 13-10 with a 3.34 ERA (86 ER, 232.0 IP) in 44 regular season starts … That ERA in that span is the 10thlowest among all NL starters with at least 230.0 IP (best: Max Fried, 2.18)
ROAD:
- 2023: 0-0, 6.75 ERA (3 ER, 4.0 IP) in 1 start
- 2022: 6-3, 3.20 ERA (32 ER, 90.0 IP) in 16 starts
- Career: 11-9, SV, 3.24 ERA (61 ER, 169.1 IP) in 58 games (22 starts)
NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets enjoyed Memorial Day off yesterday…The team is returning home after a six-game road trip (2-4) to Chicago-NL (1-2) and Colorado (1-2)…Tonight, the Mets begin a six-game homestand against Philadelphia (three games) and Toronto (three games).
HOMER HAPPY: After the Mets went five straight games without a home run, the Mets have homered in season-high 12 straight contests, hitting 21 home runs in that span…The Mets are 22-13 when hitting a home run this season and 9-7 when hitting multiple homers…In 2022, the Mets longest home run streak was nine games (September 9-17)…The team hit 14 home runs in that span…The last time the Mets had a longer streak was in 2019…From June 20-July 5 the Mets homered in 14 straight games, socking 24 dingers in that span…The 14-game homer streak is tied for the second-longest in franchise history.
SENGA GENESIS: Kodai Senga is set to take the bump tonight…It will mark his 10th start and his fifth at home…Overall he is 4-3 with a 3.94 ERA with 31 walks and 61 strikeouts…In five starts at Citi Field, Senga is 2-1 with a 1.57 ERA (4 ER/23.0 IP) with 14 walks and 29 strikeouts… His 61 punchouts through 10 career starts are the fourth-most by a Mets pitcher…Only Dwight Gooden (80), Matt Harvey (70) and Nolan Ryan (68) recorded more…The 61 strikeouts are the seventh-most by a Japanese-born player in a player’s first 10 starts.
HOME, SWEET HOME: Jeff McNeil is batting .343 (23-67) with 10 runs, three doubles, a triple, one home run, nine RBI and 13 walks with a .451 OBP in 21 games at home this season…He has hit safely in seven straight games at home, batting .462 (12-26) with five runs, four RBI, two walks with a .944 OPS in that span…Brett Baty is hitting .340 (16-47) with seven runs, four doubles, four home runs, seven RBI, six walks with a .415 OBP and a .681 SLG in 15 games at Citi Field in 2023.
FOR PETE’S SAKE: Pete Alonso has homered in seven of his last 12 games…Overall, he has hit 20 home runs this year, which leads the majors leagues…His 46 RBI are third in The Show and lead the National League…Alonso ranks 12th in franchise history with 426 career RBI…Next up is Kevin McReynolds (456) and Keith Hernandez (468)…Alonso has appeared in all 54 of the Mets games this year.
Player HR Ballpark
PETE ALONSO 71 CITI FIELD
Paul Goldschmidt 103 ARI
Freddie Freeman 70 ATL
Joey Votto 190 CIN
Miguel Cabrera 188 DET
Mike Trout 183 LAA
Player HR Ballpark
Giancarlo Stanton 112 MIA
Aaron Judge 123 NYY
Andrew McCutchen 96 PIT
Evan Longoria 129 TB
Adolis García 44 TEX
ACTIVE PLAYERS WHO HOLD ACTIVE BALLPARK’S HR RECORD
ITS’S GONNA BE MAY: Pete Alonso has socked 10 home runs in May, one shy of his career high for any month…Alonso recorded 11 in September of 2019…This is the fifth time Alonso has clubbed at least 10 homers in a single month, the most ever by a Met…Howard Johnson is second with three such months, while Carlos Beltran, Dave Kingman and Darryl Strawberry reached 10 homers in a month twice each.
ATTABOY ALVAREZ: Francisco Alvarez is on an eight-game hitting streak, the longest of his young career…He is batting .400 (12-30) in that span with seven runs, two doubles, five home runs, 13 RBI, one walk with a .455 OBP, a .967 SLG and a 1.421 OPS…The backstop is batting .303
(23-76) with six doubles, seven home runs, five walks with a .361 OBP and a .658 SLG against right-handed pitching this year…In 21 games in May, Alvarez is batting .309 (21-68) with 11 runs, six doubles, seven home runs, 17 RBI, six walks with a 1.087 OPS.
YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: Francisco Alvarez has hit eight home runs this season…That puts him tied for the third-most by a rookie in the majors and tied for the second-most in the National League…Only two rookie catchers in Mets history have had more homers in a season…
Travis d’Arnaud (13) holds the club mark for home runs by a rookie catcher in 2014…Jason Phillips hit 11 as a rookie in 2003…Alvarez’s nine career homers before turning 22 years old are the most by a catcher since Iván Rodríguez had 21 from 1991-1993.
IN THE CITI: The Mets have played 21 games at Citi Field, the fewest home games in the majors this season…The team is 12-9 at Citi Field this year…The team won 54 games at home last year…That was their highest total at Citi Field in franchise history.
THE EAST IS A BEAST: The Mets are 9-8 against the division this year… They are 4-5 against the division at Citi Field in 2023…The team went 50-26 against the East in 2022.
IF YOU START ME OFF: The Mets are 13-0 this season when the starter goes at least 6.0 innings and 4-0 when the starter goes at least 7.0 innings.
FIRST IS THE BEST: The Mets are 16-3 (.832) when scoring first this season…On the other hand, the Mets are 11-24 (.314) when their opponent scores first…Since the start of 2022, the Mets are 97-19 when scoring first…Their .836 winning percentage is the best in the majors.
FIRST INNING: The Mets have been outscored 43-13 in the first inning this year.
STEAL THIS BASE: The Mets lead the major leagues with a 86.0% stolen base success rate this season…Starling Marte has swiped 14 bags this year, tied for seventh in the majors and tied for third in the National League…His 328 career stolen bases rank second among active players… Elvis Andrus is the active leader with 340 steals.
EIGHT IS GREAT: The Mets are 24-0 when leading after eight innings this season…The last time the Mets lost a game when they were ahead after eight innings was on September 6, 2021 at Washington…The Mets were up 3-2 and lost 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth…Since then the Mets have won their last 119 games when ahead after eight, the longest active streak in MLB…It’s the longest streak in franchise history, surpassing the previous high of 117 consecutive games…From October 1, 1990- September 2, 1992, the Mets also won 117 straight games when ahead after eight innings.
D-FENCE: The Mets have committed 18 errors in 54 games this year… That gives the team a .990 fielding percentage….Their .990 fielding percentage ranks second in the majors and in the NL…Their 18 errors are tied with the Padres for the fewest committed in the majors.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – KODAI SENGA RHP #34
2023 STATS: 4-3, 3.94 ERA
SENGA’S PITCH ARSENAL
Pitch Type Usage Rate vs. LHB vs. RHB Avg. Velocity
Four-Seam Fastball 41.3% 43.4% 39.0% 95.9 mph
Forkball 21.2% 23.2% 19.0% 83.7 mph
Sweeper 13.3% 6.0% 21.2% 81.9 mph
Cutter 22.2% 24.9% 19.3% 90.3 mph
Curveball 1.2% 1.8% 0.5% 71.5 mph
Slider 0.8% 0.7% 1.0% 83.7 mph
LAST TIME OUT: Suffered his second career loss on May 24 against Chicago (NL)…Threw 5.0 innings, allowing three runs on six hits…Finished with a career-high five walks and six strikeouts…Recorded a career-high 106 pitches, his third game with 100-plus pitches.
STRIKE ‘EM OUT: Senga has 61 strikeouts through his first nine career major league games, the third-most in franchise history behind Dwight Gooden (73) and Nolan Ryan (71).
PUTTING THE K IN FORK: Senga’s “ghost fork” has accounted for 33 of his 61 strikeouts through nine starts…The pitch has a 57.3 percent whiff rate and a 27.3 percent putaway rate…Opponents have managed just six hits in 48 at-bats ending with the forkball, a .125 batting average.
ALL I DO IS WIN: Senga became the only Japanese-born pitchers to start their career 3-0 and is the fourth player in franchise history to earn the win in their first two career major league starts, joining Steven Matz, Mike Pelfrey and Gary Gentry…Additionally, he joins Kazuhisa Ishii, Hideki Irabu and Koji Uehara as the only Japanese-born pitchers to win each of their first two career major league starts…Senga fell just shy of becoming the second Mets starting pitcher ever to begin his career 4-0, a record held by Steven Matz.
MLB DEBUT NOTES: Senga became the 64th pitcher whose major league debut came in a start for the Mets…New York has had one pitcher make his MLB debut as a starter in each of the previous three seasons: José Butto in 2022, Tylor Megill in 2021 and David Peterson in 2020 (the Mets won each of those three games)…Senga allowed one run over 5.1 innings on three hits, three walks and eight strikeouts in his major league debut…His eight strikeouts were tied for the fourth-most by a Japanese-born pitcher in their major league debut and tied for the third-most by a Mets pitcher in their major league debut.
