MMO Game Thread: Mets vs Phillies, 12:05 PM - Duel Under The Sun!

The New York Mets will look to avoid getting swept this afternoon by the Philadelphia Phillies who took the first two games of the series.

Left-handed reliever Sean Gilmartin will make his first MLB start for the Mets opposite Phillies right-hander Jerad Eickhoff (2-3, 3.07) at Citizens Bank Park in a rare 12:05 PM matchup.

Steven Matz, who was scratched because of continued tightness in his upper back, is improving and should be able to pitch this weekend according to Terry Collins.

Despite the loss Wednesday, the Mets maintained a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers for home-field advantage in their Division Series. Four games remain and the Mets have the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series.

Mets Starting Lineup

Kelly Johnson – 2B
Ruben Tejada – SS
Michael Conforto – LF
Michael Cuddyer – 1B
Kirk Nieuwenhuis – RF
Eric Campbell – 3B
Kevin Plawecki – C
Juan Lagares – CF
Sean Gilmartin – LHP

The Mets dropped an ugly one last night, and look to get back on the right path with the early afternoon game today. After jumping out to a 5-0 lead last night, the Phillies scored 7 unanswered runs to take the game. But that’s all sidebar. The real story of the game is Cespedes got hit in the hand with a pitch (just a bruise) and Kirk also got hit with a pitch. Robles then threw a quick pitch that went towards Rupp’s head, so he and Collins were immediately tossed with empty benches.

Sean Gilmartin is making the start today with Matz having some back pain. He’s 3-1 over 49 games this year with a 2.58 ERA over 52.1 innings. He has held the Phillies to 1 ER over 8.1 innings split over 7 games this season. Sean can go more than a couple of innings but probably looking at maximum 5 innings from Sean today. The Phillies have the following numbers against Sean:

Galvis 2-5
Howard 0-4
Blanco 1-3
Brown 1-3
Herrera 1-2
Asche 0-2

Jerad Eickhoff is 2-3 over 7 games and 44.0 innings of work in his rookie season. He made back to back starts against the Mets earlier this year where he allowed 6 ER over 13.0 innings. He has been a different pitcher in his last three starts allowing only 3 ER over 21.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Jerad: