Saturday, June 20, 2026 • 7:15 PM
Citizens Bank Park • Philadelphia, PA
RHP Freddy Peralta (5-5, 3.90) vs. LHP Cristopher Sánchez (8-3, 1.82)
FOX

The Mets have lived the same week, three weeks in a row. They can break that today. For the last two weeks, the Mets have lost the first two games of the week, won the next two games, lost the fifth game, and then won the sixth game. In this third week of June, the Mets have gone LLWW. A win today breaks the Mets out of this perpetual .500 cycle. To break this cycle, they’ll have to rise above the Phillies ace.

Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Mets Lineup

  1. Carson Benge – RF
  2. Bo Bichette – 3B
  3. Juan Soto – LF
  4. Marcus Semien – 2B
  5. Eric Wagaman – RF
  6. Francisco Alvarez – DH
  7. Mark Vientos – 1B
  8. Luis Torrens – C
  9. Zack Short – SS

Starting Pitcher: Freddy Peralta

Freddy Peralta has pitched 83 innings over 15 starts this season with a 3.90 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 1.301 WHIP, and a 105 ERA+. Peralta looked good in his last start, holding the Braves to one run from four hits over five innings. There are two ways to look at Peralta right now. In two of his last three starts, he has allowed exactly one earned run. In three of his last five starts, he has allowed at least four runs. Today’s start can tip the balance towards a positive streak or a negative one. The Phillies have the following career stats against Peralta:

Opposing Lineup

  1. Trea Turner – SS
  2. Kyle Schwarber – DH
  3. Bryce Harper – 1B
  4. Brandon Marsh – LF
  5. Alec Bohm – 3B
  6. Bryson Stott – 2B
  7. J.T. Realmuto – C
  8. Gabriel Rincones Jr. – RF
  9. Justin Crawford – CF

Cristopher Sánchez has taken his game to another level for a second consecutive season. In 2025, Sánchez had a 2.50 ERA, 178 ERA+, and led the league with an 8.1 bWAR. He’s leading the league again with a 5.0 bWAR. Over 15 starts, he has pitched 99 innings with a 1.82 ERA, 2.14 FIP, 1.091 WHIP, and a 244 ERA+. That being said, he’s coming off of his first rough start in a while, where the Brewers tagged him for four runs over 5 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Sánchez:

  • Francisco Alvarez 0-8, 4 K
  • Brett Baty 0-4, 3 K
  • Bo Bichette 1-9, 3 K
  • Marcus Semien 1-2, BB
  • Juan Soto 5-14, 2B, BB, 4 K
  • Luis Torrens 1-8, 2B, BB, 2 K
  • Mark Vientos 5-15, 4 2B, HR, 4 BB, 7 K
  • Eric Wagaman 2-8, 2B

Game Notes

  • Freddy Peralta takes the ball against the Phillies for the first time in a Mets uniform. His last start against Philadelphia came on September 4, 2025 with the Brewers, where he struck out eight across five scorless innings.
  • The Mets will turn to Mark Vientos against the lefty Sánchez. Vientos is slugging .467 in his last seven games with a homer. He also has five base hits in 15 at-bats against Sánchez, all going for extra base hits.
  • Francisco Lindor will rest today and play Sunday again for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. The shortstop singled in Friday’s game, and could return to the Mets lineup next homestand.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Juan Soto. At the end of Thursday’s games, Juan Soto was leading the league in slugging (.582), OPS (.980), and OPS+ (172). On Thursday, he went 2-for-4 with two home runs and a walk. He has reached base at least twice in each of the last eight games, going 14-for-29 with three doubles, four home runs, and seven walks (.483/.583/1.000). What a stretch for our superstar!
  2. Mark Vientos. Vientos has some pretty insane numbers against Sánchez with five extra-base hits. In Vientos’s last five games, he has gone 4-for-13 with a home run and a .333 OBP. He has gotten on base in each of the last five games despite coming in as a pinch hitter in three of those five games.
  3. Today impacts tomorrow. As of writing (Saturday morning), the Mets have not announced their plan for tomorrow yet. If the Mets do what they have been doing, they’ll probably have an opener before going to David Peterson for bulk work. Austin Warren hasn’t pitched since Wednesday, and Huascar Brazobán last pitched on Thursday. If the Mets avoid one or both of them tonight, they’ll be in line to open tomorrow night’s game.

Let’s go Mets!