The Mets will look for a series victory against the Phillies at 7:10 PM tonight at Citi Field.
Here is tonight’s starting lineup:
1) Curtis Granderson – RF
2) David Wright – 3B
3) Lucas Duda – 1B
4) Michael Cuddyer – LF
5) Daniel Murphy – 2B
6) Travis d’Arnaud – C
7) Juan Lagares – CF
8) Wilmer Flores – SS
9) Matt Harvey – RHP
Here are tonight’s pitching matchups:
Matt Harvey (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will start for the Mets. Harvey is coming off a successful return from Tommy John Surgery last Thursday, allowing four hits and one walk with nine strikeouts against the Nationals, earning his first victory since August 7, 2013. Dating back to July 21, 2013, Harvey hasn’t allowed more than two walks in his last eight starts. Harvey has owned the Phillies in four career starts, going 4-0 with a 1.08 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings.
Key matchups vs. Harvey:
Chase Utley: 4-for-13, 2B
Ryan Howard: 1-for-8, 2 RBI 5 K
Domonic Brown: 0-for-10, 7 K
David Buchanan (0-1, 18.00 ERA) will start for the Phillies. Buchanan got hit hard in his season debut last Thursday, taking the loss while allowing six runs and four walks in only three innings against the Red Sox. Buchanan had a solid rookie campaign for Philadelphia last year, going 6-8 with a 3.75 ERA , allowing only 32 walks and 12 home runs in 117 innings. He made three starts against the Mets in 2014 and went 0-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 18 2/3 innings against them.
Key matchups vs. Buchanan:
Wilmer Flores: 2-for-7, 2B
David Wright: 3-for-10
Juan Lagares: 2-for-8, 2B
Daniel Murphy: 1-for-7, 2B
Here’s what I am looking for tonight…
It’s #HarveyDay, and he’s home.
It’s been 598 days since Harvey toed the rubber at Citi Field. Needless to say, this start is coming with every bit of hype and anticipation as any he has made in his career.
He struggled a bit with efficiency and command in his last start, but I wonder if that had more to do with butterflies than anything else. He’s facing a diminished Philadelphia lineup tonight, so while I expect him to be extremely aggressive, he can take advantage of a lot of these young, free-swingers with his breaking stuff out of the zone, especially while ahead in the count.
Curtis Granderson to wake up at the plate.
Yes, Granderson has drawn nine walks. That’s great, but he needs to hit at some point. He’s hitting the ball hard at times, but he’s just 1-for-18 at the plate. He’s actually off to a worse start through the first seven games this year than he did through the same number of games last year (he started off 4-for-26 in 2014). Eventually, he will get it going, but it’s #HarveyDay and everything is supposed to go well, right?
Juan Lagares to also wake up at the plate.
It’s been a struggle in the early part of the season for the newly-signed centerfielder. He’s taking some massive swings and lowering the back shoulder in the process. He’s also chasing more than 50 percent of the pitches he sees outside the strike zone. He seems overanxious and potentially pressing and trying to make an impression after signing a long-term deal. Hopefully today is the day he turns the page and starts to be a productive member of the lineup.
Just Mets 