Major League Baseball

Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Mets: Win $1,000 for free with MLB Super 6

Published Sep. 18, 2021 12:37 p.m. ET

By Kevin Cooney
Special to FOX Sports

There’s a point of Major League Baseball life in September when desperation sets in. That's when the reality of the shrinking calendar comes face-to-face with the "games back" column in the standings.

For the Phillies and the Mets, we’ve reached that point.

While the Atlanta Braves hit the road this weekend for an 11-game-in-10-day stretch (there’s a completion of a suspended game against the Padres in that mix), the Phillies and the Mets will play each other in what basically amount to elimination games.

The Phillies began play Friday three games back of the Braves in the NL East, while the Mets are 5.5 back. Big questions hang over both organizations in the offseason, but that could all change with a two-week surge into the postseason that includes Saturday night's contest at Citi Field (7:15 p.m. ET, FOX).

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Here are six things to keep in mind heading into Saturday’s game.

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1. The Harper MVP watch

It seems cliché to say Bryce Harper is carrying the Phillies on his back right now, but it is also completely fair. Entering Friday, Harper was hitting .354 after the All-Star break, with 18 homers, 43 RBIs and a mind-boggling 1.255 OPS. This is for a team that has surged and dipped, scoring runs at will in August before slumping through early September against the Marlins, Rockies and Cubs. The conventional wisdom is that Harper and Fernando Tatis Jr. are the front-runners for MVP.

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2. Flushed out?

The Mets' collapse can be pinned almost directly to the lack of starting pitching depth that revealed itself when Jacob deGrom went down. The second-half ERA for the starting rotation heading into Friday is 4.87 — up almost two full runs from the 2.98 that held down the first half of the year and pushed the Mets into first place in the NL East. There are plenty of factors: poor offense, a shaky back end of the bullpen, some weird moves at the trade deadline. But the starting pitching is reason No. 1.

3. No-la

Aaron Nola has been considered a Cy Young candidate the past four years in the National League. Yet the numbers this year show serious regression. Nola will make his 30th start on Saturday. Only five of them have seen him go seven innings or more. Eight of his past nine starts have gone six innings or less. He’s a big reason for Philadelphia’s inconsistency this year.

4. Missing the clutch gene

One thing to keep in mind is that the Mets are awful with two outs and runners in scoring position — the instance that usually makes or breaks pennant contenders. Heading into Friday, the Mets were hitting just .196 with a .587 OPS. Only the Pittsburgh Pirates are worse in both categories.

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5. Save our season

The Phillies' bullpen was historically bad in just about every stat last year. The one that looms largest is blown saves. Philadelphia has blown 32 saves heading into the weekend and had a dead aim on the record held by the 2004 Colorado Rockies, with 34. If Philadelphia falls short, the first blame is going to the men counted on to put fires out — not create infernos.

6. Last call

The Phillies have the Orioles and Pirates next week at home, while the Braves go on a road trip to San Francisco and San Diego. The Mets get the Red Sox and the Brewers. The schedule favors Philly, so a sweep might be needed this weekend for the Mets to make a serious push for the postseason.

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