Saturday, July 18, 2026 • 3:05 PM
Citizens Bank Park • Philadelphia, PA
LHP Sean Manaea (2-4, 4.56) vs. LHP Jesús Luzardo (8-4, 3.51)
SNY

The Mets and Phillies are playing through weather that should be in a science fiction movie. Smoke from wildfires. Extreme thunderstorms. It’s a lot to handle. The Mets beat the Phillies Thursday night and had a scheduled off-day yesterday, which ended up being for the best. The smoky conditions were bad at first pitch on Thursday but continued to get worse as the night progressed.

The Mets survived the Phillies and the weather in the first game of the series; hopefully they can do it again!

Sean Manaea by Berto Carlo

Mets Lineup

  1. Francisco Lindor – SS
  2. Juan Soto – DH
  3. Bo Bichette – 3B
  4. Francisco Alvarez – C
  5. Carson Benge – RF
  6. Marcus Semien – 2B
  7. Tyrone Taylor – LF
  8. A.J. Ewing – CF
  9. Eric Wagaman – 1B

Starting Pitcher: Sean Manaea

Sean Manaea has pitched in 20 games this season, totaling 75 innings with a 4.56 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 1.320 WHIP, and a 91 ERA+. His last six games have all been starts where he has pitched 32 innings with a 3.94 ERA and 4.35 FIP. In his last start, he pitched seven innings for the first time this season, allowing three runs, two earned, from six hits including two home runs. He last pitched against the Phillies mid-June, allowing three runs, two earned, over 5 1/3 innings while striking out five. The Phillies have the following career stats against him:

Opposing Lineup

  1. Trea Turner – SS
  2. Kyle Schwarber – DH
  3. Bryce Harper – 1B
  4. Alec Bohm – 3B
  5. Edmundo Sosa – LF
  6. Brandon Marsh – RF
  7. J.T. Realmuto – C
  8. Derek Hill – CF
  9. Bryson Stott- 2B

Jesús Luzardo has made 19 starts this season totaling 110 1/3 innings with a 3.51 ERA, 2.84 FIP, 1.224 WHIP and a 128 ERA+. He is in the midst of a career year and was named to the All-Star team for the first time in his career. Luzardo has been on fire recently, allowing only three earned runs in his last four starts (24 2/3 innings), leading to a 1.09 ERA and 1.15 FIP while striking out 39 batters. This includes a start against the Mets where he held the Mets to one run over 5 innings, scattering four hits and three walks. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

  • Francisco Alvarez 0-8, K
  • Brett Baty 1-4, BB
  • Carson Benge 1-3, K
  • Bo Bichette 3-5, HR, 2 K
  • Francisco Lindor 7-28, 2 BB, 4 K
  • Jorge Polanco 1-2
  • Marcus Semien 1-6, 2 K
  • Juan Soto 7-21, 2B, HR, 7 BB, 3 K
  • Tyrone Taylor 5-11, 2B, K
  • Luis Torrens 2-10, HR, 2 K
  • Eric Wagaman 4-13, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 4 K

Game Notes

  • Marcus Semien makes his second half debut after missing time with an oblique injury. The second baseman had been out since June 25.
  • Sean Manaea has pitched much better over his last seven appearances. The lefty holds a four ERA in his last 36 innings, and is coming off a seven-inning outing against the Royals where he allowed just two earned runs.
  • The Mets are going for a series victory today in Philadelphia. The Mets have won just two series dating back to June 12, which came against the Braves and Royals.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Marcus Semien. Semien was scheduled to be in the lineup today, and Andy Green said Semien will have a lot of playing time moving forward. Semien landed on the injured list in June due to a grade 3 hip flexor strain. This injury usually takes 4-6 weeks to heal, but he’s back already. Semien is hitting .214/.271/.341 this season with a 70 OPS+ and a -0.6 bWAR. Before landing on the IL, Semien went 1-for-19 with a walk in his last five games.
  2. Brett Baty. With Semien back, the Mets will need to get more creative about how they incorporate Brett Baty. Baty has played in the outfield, second, and third, and as the veterans start to get healthy (Semien, Polanco, Luis Robert Jr.), there are fewer at-bats to go around. Baty went 2-for-4 Thursday night with a home run. It was the second time in four games that Baty had multiple hits in a game, including a home run.
  3. Hug Watch. It’s been reported over the last couple of days that almost everyone except Benge, Ewing, Scott, McLean, and Soto. It sounds like the Mets are going to have a disorienting couple of weeks heading into the deadline. There are still several players who the Mets would like to raise the value of in the next couple of days, which could dictate playing time. Tyrone Taylor falls into this category as does Luis Robert Jr., whenever he is activated. As of writing, there are no concrete, specific rumors involving the Mets heading into this afternoon’s game.

Let’s go Mets!