Mets look to continue clutch hitting in rematch vs. Phillies

The New York Mets are chasing the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East because they spent parts of the first four months of the season lamenting their struggles with getting hits with runners in scoring position.

Recently, the Mets are improving their clutch hitting and hope the turnaround is not too late to catch the Phillies.

After getting 11 hits with runners in scoring in the opener of a three-game series Monday, the Mets will attempt to inch within five games of the division lead on Tuesday night when they host the Phillies.

The Mets are 6-3 in their past nine games after losing 10 of 11 from Aug. 3-15. They are hitting .249 overall with runners in scoring position and .375 (21-for-56) in their past nine games and an NL-best .351 this month in that area.

The Mets are 4-0 at home against the Phillies this season and are hitting .419 (18-for-43) with runners in scoring position in those games. On Monday, the Mets scored the final 13 runs of a 13-3 rout by getting 14 hits and going 11-for-19 with runners in scoring position, their most hits in that area since getting 12 against the Atlanta Braves on May 3, 2017.

"We're getting a lot better results with runners in scoring position," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after his team finished with double-digit hits for the 10th time in 14 games. "We create traffic, and it's not a secret. I've been sitting here answering questions about runners in scoring position, but for quite a bit now, I feel like we've been doing a really good job now."

Backup catcher Luis Torrens paced the Mets with a three-run homer and five RBIs after they took the lead. Mark Vientos, who is hitting .387 (12-for-31) in his past eight games, started a three-run rally in the fourth with an RBI double and produced a tiebreaking double in the fifth.

Including Games 3 and 4 of the 2024 NL Division Series, the Phillies are on an eight-game losing road streak to the Mets. Philadelphia went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and hopes Monday was an outlier, as the team is batting .299 (55-for-184) with runners in that area this month.

Trea Turner scored on a grounder by Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm hit a two-run single, but the Phillies finished with six hits Monday. Bryce Harper went 1-for-4 and is 2-for-23 in his past six regular-season games against the Mets in New York.

"Tonight didn't go the way we wanted it to," Harper said. "Kind of got away from us. It's just gotta be better. Gotta flush it as quick as possible and get ready for tomorrow."

Left-hander Jesus Luzardo (12-6, 4.10 ERA), who will start for Philadelphia on Tuesday, is 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA over his past five starts. He allowed one run and three hits in six innings when he struck out 12 in the Phillies' 11-2 rout of the visiting Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.

Luzardo pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Mets on June 22 when he allowed three hits to earn the win in Philadelphia in a 7-1 victory. He is 5-2 with a 2.63 ERA in nine career starts against New York.

Left-hander Sean Manaea (1-2, 5.15 ERA), a former teammate of Luzardo's with the Athletics, will start on Tuesday for the Mets. Manaea is winless in his past five starts and allowed 17 earned runs in his past four outings, including Thursday in Washington, when he lasted 4 2/3 innings and permitted four runs in a 9-3 defeat.

Manaea is 2-2 with a 5.19 ERA in six career appearances (four starts) against the Phillies.

--Field Level Media