Game Time:  6:45 PM ET, Thursday, May 5th,  2022 

Venue: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Where to Watch: MLB TV

DraftKings: Moneyline: Mets +120, Phillies -141; O/U 8

 BetMGM: Moneyline:  N/A

PointsBet: Moneyline:  Mets +120, Phillies -141; O/U 8

Mets: 18-9, 1st place NL East

Phillies: 11-13, 3rd place NL East

A National League East Matchup that is both worth watching AND will affect the standings for the rest of the season.  “It’s early yet” they all say… but a win now counts just as much as a win in July or August.  The Mets are doing something New York City has been waiting for WINNING!  The Phillies are not doing that.  In fact the Phillies are 2 games below .500 despite the perennial MVP candidate that is languishing on their roster.  The thinking is that if the Mets can get rolling for real… they could be back in postseason contention and cause dozens of bagel and thin pizza chomping New Yorkers to tell you about the magical 87’ Mets.  It’s early though.

The New York Mets have won 7 of their last ten games.  Going 5 Over, 4 Unders, and 1 Push.  The batting is hot… The pitching is hot… The team is good no matter how early.  The Mets went 2-1 against the Atlanta Braves, 2-1 against the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1 against the St. Louis Cardinals, and 1-0 against the Arizona Diamondbacks during that stretch.  RHP Max Sherzer won 2 games, RHP Tylor Megill won 2 games, Chris Bassitt got 1, Carlos Carrasco got 1… a few other one offs and we are here.  The formula for a winning team is shared everywhere in every city… Top 10 batting plus top ten pitching (top-five in this case) equals a top-ten or better team.

The Philadelphia Phillies have won 5 of their last 10 games.  Going .500 over ten games is an exercise in staying in the same place.  They went 6 Over, 3 Under, and 1 Push during that stretch. Batting in Philly is not a problem… in fact they look very similar to the Mets in that category.  Hit the ball… score those runs!  The pitching though!  Ugghh… They are getting run support and wasting it on a 22nd place team ERA.  Another enormous problem with the last ten games is WHO the Phillies won against and who they lost against.  They went 0-1 against the Texas Rangers, 1-2 against THESE New York Mets, 4-0 against the Colorado Rockies, and 0-2 against the Milwaukee Brewers.  Every team in the league would be better off if their only opponent was the Colorado Rockies.  The Phillies need to make some changes to the pitching rotation that involves trading for or bringing up someone who can actually pitch.

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The Mets are 8th in runs scored with 4.54 per game, 2nd in batting average with .257, 1st in OBP with .338.  

The Phillies are 7th in runs scored with 4.58, 7th in batting average with .246, 11th in OBP .316

The Mets’ pitchers are 3rd in Team ERA with 2.99, 2nd in WHIP with 1.03, and the fielding has been wonderful with only 7 errors for a 3nd place finish in the league.

The Phillies pitchers’ are throwing a Team ERA of 4.05 for 22nd place, 21st in WHIP with 1.26, and the fielding has been below average with 14 for 19th place.

Our prediction for Thursday May 5th is... Mets 7 - Phillies 3

The Mets are killing the game at the moment… and outside of the Colorado Rockies the Phillies are losing overall to everyone.  There is no reason to bet against the Mets until they give you one.

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The Mets are 12-3 when the total is set at 7 to 8.5 this season.

The Mets are 16-4 against right-handed starters (+10.5).

Philly is 1466- 1480 against right handed starters since 1997 (-125.6 Units).

Mets: Only pitchers… no every day players… still Jacob DeGrom will be missed until mid-May.

Phillies: CF Odubel Herrera (ill) Out ** RF Nick Castellanos (personal) Probable ** CF Mickey Moniak (hand) Out ** C Rafael Marchan (hamstring) Out

Mets: RHP Taijuan Walker, 0-0, 0.00 ERA 5 strikeouts in 7 innings… This is a bullpen game or just trying a new guy.  Either way Taijuan is a 29 year old righty who is about even for his career.

Phillies: RHP Aaron Nola 1-3, 3.90 ERA, 34 strikeouts in 27.2 innings pitched.  The 28 year old is throwing really well… but doesn’t have the wins (this year) to back it up yet.

Mets: CF Brandon Nimmo, SS Francisco Lindor, 2B Jeff McNeil, DH Pete Alonso, 1B Dominic Smith, LF Mark Canha, 3B J.D. Davis, RF Travis Jankowski, C James McCann

Phillies: LF Kyle Schwarber, 3B Alex Bohm, DH Bryce harper, C JT Realmuto, 1B Rhys Hoskins, SS Didi Gregorio, 2B Jean Segura, CF Roman Quinn, RF Matt Vierling

Mets: Buck Showalter

Phillies: Joe Girardi

Mostly Cloudy.  64* by game time.  Humidity 50%, gentle winds at 9 mph.