Mets desperate to end five-game skid, slow Phillies' roll

The Philadelphia Phillies have punched the New York Mets in the face in three consecutive games this week.

The Phillies will go for the knockout as they attempt to sweep the visiting Mets on Thursday.

After topping New York 1-0 on Monday and 9-3 on Tuesday, Philadelphia rolled to an 11-3 victory in the Wednesday matchup. Max Kepler drove in five runs and Cristopher Sanchez pitched six strong innings as the Phillies improved to 10-3 since getting swept by the Mets in a three-game series late last month.

"We've played well," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. "We've had really good starting pitching. Our bullpen's been good. We're getting timely hitting. It's the same things you always hear when a team is playing well and winning games. ... Right now we're in a good place."

With their latest win, the Phillies (86-60) moved 10 games ahead of the Mets (76-70) in the National League East. Philadelphia also crawled within 2 1/2 games of the Milwaukee Brewers (89-58) for the top seed in the NL playoffs.

Meanwhile, New York sits just two games ahead of the San Francisco Giants (74-72) and the Cincinnati Reds (74-72) for the league's third and final wild-card spot. Juan Soto's three hits (including a homer) highlighted a quiet night for the Mets, who have lost five in a row.

"We have a good team," shortstop Francisco Lindor said. "The bottom line is we just haven't played at the standard that we all have for each other here."

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza added, "Nothing seems to be working for us."

Philadelphia starter Jesus Luzardo (13-6, 4.01 ERA) will aim to add to the Mets' misery. The left-hander has given up just two runs and seven hits in 12 2/3 innings over his past two starts, including a 4-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Saturday in which he held his former team to two runs over six frames.

Part of the reason for the recent success is improvement with his sweeper.

"I went through a period in the middle of the year where I wasn't really throwing (the sweeper) for strikes," Luzardo said. "It was kind of sporadic. The movement was all over the place. It had some depth sometimes, sometimes it didn't. So we're back to having consistent movement, which is easier for me to understand how I can throw it and where I can throw it."

Luzardo gave up four runs in four innings on Aug. 26 in a no-decision against the Mets. He also faced them on June 22, when he shut out New York over 6 2/3 frames en route to a 7-1 victory.

For his career, Luzardo is 5-2 with a 3.09 ERA against the Mets.

New York will give the nod to left-hander David Peterson (9-5, 3.72 ERA), who has not lost in his past five starts despite pitching to a 7.77 ERA over that stretch. He gave up four runs in 5 1/3 innings on Friday against the Reds, earning a 5-4 victory.

Peterson is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in two starts against the Phillies this season. In his most recent start against them, he gave up five runs in four innings on June 22.

"I thought overall, especially the second time through (the order), they made some adjustments," Mendoza said that day.

Peterson's career mark in 12 games (11 starts) against Philadelphia is 1-4 with a 5.27 ERA.

--Field Level Media