José Butto. Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports

Sunday, September 24, 2023 • 6:05 PM
Citizens Bank Park • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
RHP José Butto (1-2, 3.09) vs. LHP Cristopher Sánchez (2-5, 3.55)
WPIX

The Philadelphia Phillies go for a four-game sweep of the New York Mets Sunday night after a rainy weekend in Philadelphia. The Phillies pushed today’s start back to 6:05 pm ET due to rain in the area which projects to last into Monday.

This is a potentially important day for the Phillies as they could clinch their playoff spot tonight. For the Mets, losing three in a row has them knocking on the door again of a protected draft pick.

Mets Lineup

  1. Jeff McNeil, CF
  2. Ronny Mauricio, 2B
  3. Pete Alonso, DH
  4. Francisco Lindor, SS
  5. Mark Vientos, 1B
  6. DJ Stewart, RF
  7. Francisco Álvarez, C
  8. Brett Baty, 3B
  9. Tim Locastro, LF

José Butto makes another start tonight. Over seven games and 32 innings this season, he has a 3.09 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 1.344 WHIP, and a 138 ERA+. Since joining the rotation in September, he’s made three starts where he has allowed only four runs via 12 hits with five walks over 17 1/3 innings (2.08 ERA, 1.94 FIP).

The Phillies have the following career numbers against Butto:

Phillies Lineup

  1. Kyle Schwarber, DH
  2. Trea Turner, SS
  3. Bryce Harper, 1B
  4. Alec Bohm, 3B
  5. Bryson Stott, 2B
  6. JT Realmuto, C
  7. Nick Castellanos, RF
  8. Brandon Marsh, CF
  9. Jake Cave, LF

Cristopher Sánchez is on the bump tonight trying to clinch it for the Phillies. Over 17 starts (91 1/3 innings), Sánchez has a 3.55 ERA, 4.13 FIP, 1.095 WHIP, and a 122 ERA+.

In his last three starts, he’s allowed 12 runs (10 earned) over 21 innings (4.29 ERA, 3.55 FIP). This stretch includes an outing where he shutout the Marlins over five innings. In other words, he’s been hittable as of late.

In his one start against the Mets this year, he allowed three runs from five hits over five innings while striking out four. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

Game Notes

The Mets announced the following roster moves ahead of the game:

  • LHP Anthony Kay has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.
  • RHP Peyton Battenfield has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.

Happy 30th birthday to Drew Smith!

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Double-A) will begin their Eastern League Championship Series on Monday after Game 1 was rained out on Sunday.

Brandon Nimmo is on a seven-game hitting streak, batting .387 (12-for-31) with six runs, three doubles, one triple, one home runs, six RBIs, four walks with a .457 OBP and a .645 SLG. He has safely hit in 22 of his last 24 games.

Over the last five games, Brett Baty is batting .368 (7-19) with five runs, two home runs, three RBIs with a .685 SLG and a 1.053 OPS.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Brett Baty hot streak? Brett Baty is heating up as we head into the final week of the season. He went 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored Saturday night. In his last five games, he’s gone 7-for-19 at the plate with five runs scored and two home runs (.368/.368/.684). After his struggles for long stretches this season, it would be awesome for him to end on a positive note and bring that into the winter.
  2. Jeff McNeil. For the last week or so every day we are talking about Jeff McNeil or Brandon Nimmo. Jeff McNeil has had four multi-hit games in his last six games played. Overall, during this stretch, he is 11-for-24 with two doubles, a triple, a home run, and two walks leading to a .458/.500/.750 batting line. On July 16, McNeil was hitting .248/.324/.321 for the season. After an incredible second half, he has risen his season numbers to .272/.336/.381.
  3. Milestone tracker. Time is running out for these milestones as we enter the last week of play. Lindor is three home runs away from a 30-30 season. Meanwhile, Nimmo is still looking for one more home run to reach 25, Francisco Álvarez is looking for two more to get to 25, and Pete Alonso needs five more for 50 on the year.