The New York Mets (69-61) return home from a 3-3 road trip to take on the first place Philadelphia Phillies (76-54). New York swept Philadelphia at Citi Field during their 7-0 homestand in April but dropped two out of three at Citizens Bank Park in June. The Mets also have a four-game set at Citizens Bank Ballpark awaiting them in September.
The Mets bounced back from a disheartening series loss in Washington by taking two out of three from the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. The Mets were firing on all
cylinders in their 12-7 victory, as the Mets’ offense picked up 21 hits in the romp. Each of the nine starters had at least one hit, while Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Tyrone Taylor, and Cedric Mullins each at three hits. Brett Baty led the way with four hits, while Soto also hit a two-run homer and drove in four runs. Hayden Senger also had one of the best games of his young career, with two hits and three runs batted in. Nolan McLean became the first Met starter (not named David Peterson to complete six innings since Clay Holmes on June 7, as he went seven and allowed two runs to pick up his second win in as many outings. The lone blemish was the bullpen, as Reed Garrett allowed two earned runs and the scuffling Ryan Helsley was tagged for three earned runs in the ninth.
The Mets followed up their Friday win with a 9-2 victory on Saturday evening. For the second straight game, a Mets starter completed six innings, as Clay Holmes went 6 1/3 to earn the win. The Mets’ offense socked six homers and stole four bases in the victory, with Mark Vientos and Jeff McNeil each contributing two-homer games. The other dingers came courtesy of Pete Alonso and Starling Marte, while Marte also swiped two bags (Lindor and Soto picked up the other steals). The bullpen was much better in this one, as Gregory Soto, Tyler Rogers, and Edwin Díaz pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball.
The Mets jumped ahead early but ended up falling 4-3 on Sunday as they were denied a sweep by the Braves. Vientos homered in his third straight at-bat, knocking a second-inning pitch out of the park to give New York the lead. However, the offense didn’t do much after that, and David Peterson faltered in the sixth inning, eventually ceding the game-tying run on a two-run hit. Atlanta pushed two runs across on Gregory Soto in the eighth to take the lead, and the Mets managed one in the ninth against Braves closer Raisel Iglesias but could not push the tying run across.
With the Reds’ 6-1 win over the Diamondbacks, which helped Cincinnati avoid their first sweep of the 2025 campaign, the Mets saw their lead for the final Wild Card spot in the National League shrink back down to 1.5 games. The Mets managed to gain a game over the weekend, but missed the opportunity to maintain the 2.5 lead they built with their Saturday victory. The Reds head to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers for three games before returning home on Friday for a three-game set with the Cardinals.
The Phillies enter this series after taking two of three from the Nationals. They recovered from blowing the first game to take the games on Saturday and Sunday. Prior to that, the Phillies swept the Mariners at home. They’ve won six of seven in total and maintain a seven-game lead in the division.
Kyle Schwarber has emerged as a threat to dethrone Shohei Ohtani as NL MVP with his play this season. Schwarber is hitting .248/.371/.573 and leads the NL in home runs (45) and runs batted in (109), while ranking second to Ohtani in wRC+ (157). He’s hit 15 of those homers after the All-Star game and owns a 169 wRC+ in 34 games post-break. He has also historically hit well against the Mets, slashing .257/.359/.509 against New York with 19 homers and a 132 wRC+ in 79 games.
Monday, August 25: Kodai Senga vs. Christopher Sánchez, 7:10 PM EDT on SNY
Senga (2025): 104.2 IP, 99 K, 50 BB, 11 HR, 2.58 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 64 ERA-
Senga is coming off another subpar outing, as he was charged with five runs (four earned) on six hits over five innings. He struck out four and walked two, and allowed a home run in his sixth straight outing. He returned from the IL sporting a 1.47 ERA but has seen it climb to 2.58, and he has not picked up a win since June 12. This start is notable because it will be Senga’s first time this year going on regular four day’s rest, but the club is likely going to add a sixth starter before Senga’s next outing. It’ll be interesting to see how he reacts pitching on regular rest against such a potent offensive club.
Sánchez (2025): 157.0 IP, 169 K, 38 BB, 10 HR, 2.46 ERA, 2.63 FIP, 58 ERA-
After finishing tenth in Cy Young voting last year and making the NL All Star team, Sánchez has had an even better season this year and factors to be in the NL Cy Young conversation once again. The left-hander is second among NL starters with a 2.46 ERA—he trails only Paul Skenes in that category—while owning the best bWAR among NL starters (6.3). He’s also ninth in K% (26.6%) and seventh in BB% (6.0%), so he’s an all-around tough pitcher to beat. In his last start against the Mariners, he went 6 1/3 innings and allowed two earned runs on six hits while striking out 12.
Tuesday, August 26: Sean Manaea vs. Jesús Luzardo, 7:10 PM EDT on SNY
Manaea (2025): 36.2 IP, 45 K, 8 BB, 6 HR, 5.15 ERA, 3.93 FIP, 128 ERA-
Manaea’s abysmal August continued with a loss to the Nationals, as he allowed four earned runs on three hits over 4 2/3 innings. He did strike out eight and only walked one, and he did not allow a home run, which are the positives to take from the start. Still, his ERA for the month jumped to 7.91 over 19 1/3 innings, as he has allowed at least four earned runs in each of those games. The Mets have now lost seven of Manaea’s eight starts this year as he tries to find himself post-injury.
Luzardo (2025): 145.0 IP, 170 K, 48 BB, 14 HR, 4.10 ERA, 3.04 FIP, 96 ERA-
Luzardo was one of the key pickups for Philadelphia during the offseason and he has delivered for his new club. His numbers are a bit inflated due to some particularly rough outings—specifically, he allowed 12 earned runs and eight earned runs in back-to-back starts earlier this season—but otherwise he has been a key contributor for the first-place Phillies. He’s been particularly solid in his last five starts, posting a 2.32 ERA and 3.08 FIP in his last 31 innings, with a 28.8% K% and a 4.2% BB%. In his last start, he beat the Mariners by pitching six innings and allowing one earned run on three hits, with no walks and 12 strikeouts.
Wednesday, August 26: Nolan McLean vs. Taijuan Walker, 7:10 PM EDT on SNY
McLean (2025): 12.1 IP, 15 K, 4 BB, 1 HR, 1.46 ERA, 2.95 FIP, 36 ERA-
McLean was spectacular once again as he earned his second win in as many career starts. He became the second Mets pitcher to record at least 15 strikeouts over his first two MLB starts, joining Matt Harvey, and became the first pitcher with two wins, 15 strikeouts, fewer than five walks, a sub-1.50 ERA and a sub-.150 opponent batting average in his first two starts (since ERA became an official stat in 1913). He has been a huge sigh of relief for the team, and should the season end with the Mets in playoff position, he’s inserted himself into the conversation to get the ball in the postseason.
Walker (2025): 96.2 IP, 70 K, 31 BB, 15 HR, 3.44 ERA, 4.77 FIP, 80 ERA-
Walker has had a better year than either of his two previous seasons with the Phillies. He has split time between the pen and rotation, but with Zack Wheeler’s recent injury, he figures to stick around in the rotation for the time being. In his last outing, he went five innings against the Nationals and allowed three earned runs on three hits, with three walks and five strikeouts. He faced the Mets twice out of the pen back in June, allowing a combined three earned runs on four hits over 1 1/3 innings.
