Whenever the Phillies and the Mets meet on the diamond, some bad blood between the two is almost always guaranteed. Philadelphia and New York go head-to-head as they begin a three-game series at Citi Field on Friday evening. It is time to check out our MLB odds series, where our Phillies-Mets prediction and pick will take place.
Philadelphia continues their road trip out east in Queens as they try to get back in the NL East division race. Now at 21-24, the Phillies will send out RHP Zach Eflin and his 3.65 ERA in an attempt to cool off the red hot New York Mets.
After a disgruntling series loss to the Giants this week that saw the Mets lose back-to-back games out in San Francisco, New York returns home eager to turn the page and get back on track. The Mets will have the right man on the mound to get back to the winning column in Carlos Carrasco, as the right-handed veteran is 4-1 with a 3.50 ERA to begin his 2022 campaign.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Phillies-Mets MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Phillies-Mets Odds
Philadelphia Phillies: -1.5 (-164)
New York Mets: -1.5 (+136)
Over: 8.5 (-108)
Under: 8.5 (-112)
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Why The Phillies Could Cover the Spread
With an all-around great performance against another division foe in the Braves on Thursday, the Phillies' victory was backed by splendid pitching and some solid defense on the field. While it has been an up and down start to the season for Philadelphia, sometimes all it takes is a single contest to instill some confidence and put a team headed in the right direction.
After only surrendering a single run against Atlanta, the Phillies will be presented with a much tougher test against a Mets squad that is one of the highest-scoring squads in baseball.
Inconsistency has been a problem when it comes to pitching for the ‘Phils, as they are not too far removed from getting shellacked a game prior from yesterday against the Braves when they gave up 8 runs on 13 hits. While the last thing the Phillies want to do is get in a track meet with the Mets, expected starter Zach Eflin will need to build upon his last start in which he fired seven innings and only surrendered two runs while striking out a dozen hitters.
Offensively, the game plan is simple. Get after Carrasco early and make the Mets use their bullpen arms earlier than they would like to. The Phillies might have to rely on their bats not only on Friday but throughout the entire weekend.
Fortunately, this has been Philadelphia's bread and butter, as the Phillies are a top ten hitting bunch when it comes to runs scored, batting average, and slugging percentage. If there is a reason that the Phillies are going to cover the spread, then look no further than the offensive onslaught that Philadelphia possesses.
Why The Mets Could Cover the Spread
Who could've seen this coming? After an incredibly lackluster season in 2021 that saw the Mets finish eight games under .500, New York is officially back. While this seems to be anything but a fluke at this point 46 games into the season, the Mets would certainly like to remind the Phillies who's in charge in 2022.
Over the course of the past couple of games played against the Giants, New York pitching allowed 22 runs combined during their two-game losing skid, which is something that obviously needs to be corrected quickly in order for the Mets to avoid a collapse. While New York has pitched to the beat of a 3.74 ERA and has had excellent showings throughout the nearly two months of the season completed, the Mets will be in for a challenge against a highly prolific Phillies lineup.
With three starting pitchers down for the count due to injury in deGrom, Scherzer, and Megill, the importance of Carlos Carrasco pitching well in tonight's highly anticipated matchup is of utmost importance. In three games against the Phillies, Carrasco has looked the part with a 1-1 record and a 1.80 ERA.
At the plate, few teams around the league have been able to match up with the Mets and their offensive firepower. With the third-most runs scored at 222 total and the second-highest batting average at .260 belonging to New York, opposing pitching has been beat up in the harshest of ways when matching up against Mets hitters. Be on the lookout for second-baseman Jeff McNeil to make an impact in this one, as he is slashing an absurd .321 in a decent sample size of 156 at-bats so far this season.
Final Phillies-Mets Prediction & Pick
The Mets rarely have lost three straight in 2022, and if Carrasco's last start is any indication of how he'll pitch on Friday evening, then New York should be just fine against their NL East rivals.
Final Phillies-Mets Prediction & Pick: Mets -1.5 (+136)
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