Phillies

Phillies vs. Mets: Here’s a Prime Opportunity to Bury These Jokers for Good

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Sep 8th, 2025 · 1:11 PM EDT

---

Biggest series of the Phillies season kicks off Monday night at Citizens Bank Park with the New York Mutts in town for four. We are looking forward to Aaron Nola vs. Nolan McLean like one looks forward to a root canal. Nola got blown up his last time out and McLean looked like the second coming of Randy Johnson while mowing down Phillies left and right at Citi Field.

What’s funny about this one is that the Phils find themselves in the same exact situation they were in before the sweep of two and a half weeks ago. They opened that Mets series as winners of six of their last seven, enjoying a seven-game lead in the NL East. They got stomped, the division lead trimmed to four games, and then went on another heater, winning seven of nine while the Mets sputtered, losing six of 10.

Alas, the division lead is once again seven games as another Phils/Mets series begin.

Here are five things we’d like to see in this four-game set:

1. the Phillies matching the juice of the crowd, because it’s a division rival in your home stadium, not just another series
2. somebody step up for Trea Turner
3. Cristopher Sanchez showing that his Citi Field start was a blip
4. getting a split at the very least
5. providing enough hope that the playoffs will be different this time

Going in order, #1, not only is this a rival in your home stadium, but a rival that has kicked your ass in recent series. The Phils were lifeless in Queens, and uncompetitive outside of the second game. The crowd is going to be juiced for this one, and they need to meet the energy level. Lock in and focus. Lay off the shit thrown low and outside of the zone.

#2 – It’s the next man up. Turner is not replaceable, but someone’s gonna be in the lineup, and they need to take the opportunity and run with it. Did the Phils roll over and die when Zack Wheeler was ruled out for the year? No, they went on a run. You expect the same here. They’ve got the talent to succeed until Turner returns.

#3 – Sanchez is the de facto ace on this squad with Wheeler out. He showed it in the last two games against Atlanta and Miami, giving up two earned runs on 13 hits over 14 innings of work. Now he just needs to show everyone that the last outing in New York was an aberration, and you’re feeling great about game one against whomever in October.

#4 – This might seem like a loser mentality, because you’d expect them to handle business at home, and win three of these four games. But a split keeps the division lead intact with just a few weeks left to play. New York still has to play Texas, San Diego, Washington, and then they end with a six-game road swing to the Cubs and Marlins. Not exactly a cakewalk. The Phils coming out of this series with the same lead they entered with is perfectly fine.

#5 – More than anything, you need to keep the ship steady. We’ve seen high highs and low lows over the last three seasons of Phillies baseball, and the goodwill they’ve mustered over the last three series can go out the door just as quickly as it arrived. What does taking two of three from the Brewers mean if you can’t handle your division rival at home? This is a Mets team that’s going to be hovering around sixth place, which would put them on the same side of the bracket barring a Milwaukee meltdown, Padres slippage, or miracle Reds run. You don’t wanna go into the postseason with these jokers lurking, knowing that a repeat of last season could be on the table.

The Phils need to take this stupid bogeyman and shove it back into the New York closet. Prove to everyone that the Mets are just the Mets, and let’s keep the vibes flowing.