4/4/18 Game Preview: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets

It wasn’t quite vintage Dark Knight last night, but the New York Mets (3-1) saw plenty of encouraging signs from Matt Harvey. Harvey allowed one hit in five shutout innings as the Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies (1-3) 2-0. The win continued the Mets’ recent dominance of the Phillies, a trend they hope will continue in the series finale this afternoon. First pitch for the matinee affair is scheduled for 1:10 pm at Citi Field.

The Mets will send right hander Noah Syndergaard (1-0, 6.00 ERA) to the bump this afternoon. Syndergaard picked up a win in his season debut last Thursday, allowing four runs in six innings of work against the St. Louis Cardinals, which was an impressive feat considering that he didn’t look sharp in the contest. The Phillies will counter with young righty Aaron Nola (0-0, 1.69 ERA). Nola was cruising through his season debut against the Atlanta Braves last Thursday, limiting Atlanta to one run on three hits in 5.1 innings of work, but was robbed of a win after manager Gabe Kapler took him out after only 68 pitches. The Phillies’ bullpen would go on to blow the lead and lose the game.

Local Coverage:

Television: None

Streaming: Facebook Live (Check out this handy tweet from James Wagner of the New York Times for more on how to access the game)

Radio: WOR

New York Mets Lineup:

1. CF Brandon Nimmo
2. LF Yoenis Cespedes
3. RF Jay Bruce
4. 3B Todd Frazier
5. 2B Asdrubal Cabrera
6. 1B Adrian Gonzalez
7. C Kevin Plawecki
8. SP Noah Syndergaard
9. SS Amed Rosario

Pre-Game Notes:

• Today’s game is the first of 25 MLB games that will be broadcast on Facebook Live this season.
• Syndergaard is 4-1 with a 1.78 ERA in six career starts against the Phillies.
• Nola is 2-1 with a 6.19 ERA in three career starts against the Mets.
• After resting yesterday, Amed Rosario is back in the starting lineup. Rosario will bat ninth and play shortstop.
• Kevin Plawecki will catch the day game after a night game and bat seventh today.
• The Mets are bidding for their first sweep of the season as they wrap up their home stand this afternoon. So far, the Mets are 3-1 on the opening homestand.