Strikeout numbers rise as the Phillies dropped their third straight against the Mets
The Phillies lost their third straight game last night to the New York Mets after David Peterson matched a career high with 10 strikeouts in six dominant innings and Mets’ Catcher James McCann hit his first home run, sending the Mets to a 5-1 victory on Wednesday night. McCann had three hits, including a two-run home run in the eighth inning. The Phillies as a team, had a total of three hits for the entire game. After pounding Peterson for seven hits, two home runs, and six runs in an 8-2 win last week, the Phillies couldn’t get anything going last night.
Strikeout numbers for the Phillies continue to rise. The Phillies racked up 14 strikeouts in last night’s game alone, three of those being Bryce Harper. The Phillies as a team have been terrible offensively. After starting the 2021 season with a record of 5-1, the Phillies are now back to .500 with a 6-6 record, losing 5-of-6 games against the Braves and Mets.
The Phillies will now face two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom this afternoon, trying to stop the bleeding. Not ideal. Zach Eflin will be on the mound for the Phillies hoping to avoid a four game sweep at the hands of their NL East rivals.
Zack Wheeler got off to a rocky start last night but was able to find a rhythm and keep the Phillies in the game through seven innings, allowing 10 hits and three runs. The offense failed to their job yet again. It’s hard to blame anyone else on this team besides the bats and the Phillies cannot afford to lose games with their best pitchers on the mound.
Twelve games into the season is certainly no reason to panic, but it’s important that the Phillies don’t fall too far behind the other teams in the NL East. The Phillies have scored just four runs in the first three games of this series. They were swept in Tuesday’s Mickey Mouse doubleheader against the Mets.
Through the first three games of the Mets series, the Phillies have only 15 hits with two of those hits going for extra bases. Eflin and deGrom will take the mound at 12:10pm, weather permitting.
Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY
