Philadelphia- The Mets enjoyed their time facing the Phillies. With the season series concluding on Sunday afternoon, the Mets are 13-5 against Philadelphia this year. Phillies aces Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler have combined for nine starts against the Mets this season. New York stands a perfect 9-0 in those games.
The dominance from New York speaks louder than just a simple addition to the win column. Think back to past matchups between Mets and Phillies; the rivalry between New York and Philadelphia is the topic of conversation each time. And Saturday afternoon stood the part.
A surplus of Mets fans made the trip down to Philadelphia for the weekend. “It always seems like we’re playing a home game with Mets fans in the crowd,” said Trevor Williams. “I thought I heard the 7-Line today. For them to make the trip out here, it’s special for us and it doesn’t go unnoticed in our clubhouse.”
For those not aware, the 7-Line Army is an organized, passionate group of Mets fans established back in 2012. Year in and year out, the group shows their loyalty with special pregame tailgates, exclusive watch parties, road trips and much more. As it was on full display this weekend in Philadelphia, the 7-Line Army travels to a variety of road series to root on New York.
Philly faithful heard the calls and returned the favor. Inning by inning, the fanbases jawed back and forth with repetitive chants/boos in hopes of overpowering one another. On a Saturday afternoon in August, the energy at Citizens Bank Park felt as if Mets Phillies were in the midst of an October postseason series.
Speaking of the postseason, the Phillies are playing the winning type of baseball that could land them in October. Philly entered Saturday afternoon with a one-game lead for the second National League Wild Card.
Dating back to June 1st, Philly is 45-25 with a .642 winning percentage. The only two teams with a higher winning percentage in that stretch are the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers.
So what happened from early June to now? The change of scenery in Philadelphia’s clubhouse. Rob Thomson was named interim manager in early June after the Phillies announced the relieving of Joe Giradi as manager. The Phillies took off from there. Much-improved defense, a huge boost from starting pitchers, and last but not least, the offense has awakened.
“Regardless of what anybody says, we’re going to come out and play our game and try to make every play and do things the right way,” said Phillies Alec Bohm. The buy-in from players is a proving point to how well compartmentalized Thomson is in leading the Phillies in the winning direction.
Without the defending 2021 National League MVP Bryce Harper batting in the lineup due to a thumb injury, the Phillies have altered the playing field for their hunt to October. Harper is expected to return in September if everything goes as planned. A dangerous threat to add back in a lineup containing Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, Alec Bohm, and Rhys Hoskins.
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Robert Rizzo writes for Latino Sports
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Email: RobertRiz994@gmail.com
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