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The Phillies Nor Mets Have Any Interest in Running Away With the NL East
By Kyle Pagan
Published:
The Mets were swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend in embarrassing fashion. They were outscored 30-4 and have now lost 12 of the last 15 to finish June:
Would’ve loved nothing more than to make fun of the Muts if that same thing didn’t happen to the Phillies only three weeks ago. The Mets are 3-7 in their last 10. You’d think the Phils would be able to mount a comfortable lead, right? Nope. They’re only 1.5 games up because they’re 5-5 themselves over their last 10. This has been the case for the entire season in the NL East so far. The Phils limped into the season early going 17-13 in March and April. The Mets on the other hand started hot at 21-10. We all imagined the Phils would be playing for a Wild Card spot because of the Mets’ billion dollar roster. Turns out that wasn’t the case. The Phillies had an excellent May going 19-9 while the Mets fumbled their NL East lead to the tune of 15-12. They’ll finish June under .500 and the Phillies might join them depending on how tonight’s game against the Padres goes. Nobody wants the NL East crown. Thank god the Braves, Marlins, and Nationals all are back double digit games.
Internally isn’t great either for each side. The Mets are having players only meetings and the Phillies outfielders are questioning Rob Thomson’s decisions:
Both teams haven’t been at full strength most of the year. The Mets pitching rotation has had significant injuries while the Phillies are missing power in their lineup and two of their best pitchers are injured or suspended. Still the Phillies are tied for the fourth best record in baseball and the Mets are seventh. These are legit teams that are going through the dog days of summer and playing like it. The silver lining is that this division is going down to the wire and it’s going to be awesome in September. Right now, they’ll both have to battle through a tough July. Both teams will face the Yankees, Giants, and Padres this month. Someone will be 1.5 games up in August and we’ll be having the same conversation.
The Mets and Phillies trading division leads:
Kyle writes blog posts and does Man on the Street-style videos all around Philadelphia. He graduated from Temple University (a basketball school) in 2015. contact: k.pagan@sportradar.com