Megill Will Lead Mets Past Phillies

Phillies vs. Mets, 7:10 ET

The NL East should be one of the more interesting races this season. There are two teams that likely will have nothing going on most of the year with the Marlins and the Nationals. On the other side of it, we will have three teams that will battle for the division, and potentially all of them could make the playoffs via the Wild Card. Two of the teams that will battle all season for the NL East are the Phillies and the Mets, they play tonight. 

The Phillies are one of those teams with a ton of potential, but unlike many other teams, they actually usually live up to that potential. Sure, they haven't won the World Series, but they've at least been competitive for multiple seasons. They invest in their team, and they continue to make moves to try to put the pieces together properly. I'm not sure we should expect a blockbuster for them this season, but they will probably try to add pieces. One part of their team they may be concerned about is their starting rotation as a big piece of it is underperforming. That underperformer is Aaron Nola who starts tonight. Nola is 0-4 for the season with a 6.65 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP, meaning he isn't missing many bats this season. He has only made one quality start this season, but he has been consistently in another way, getting at least seven strikeouts in three of the four outings. The Phillies haven't given him any run support though, providing a total of six runs in his four starts. Mets hitters have been pretty good against him with a .270 average and 14 homers in 274 at-bats. 

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 30: Aaron Nola #27 of the Philadelphia Phillies looks on against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park on June 30, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Marlins defeated the Phillies 11-6. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

The Mets have been fantastic to start the year. They had a massive turnaround last season and were able to make it to the National League Championship Series. During the offseason, they were able to sign Juan Soto. My biggest question mark about the team was if their pitching staff without a true ace would continue to perform as well as they did last season. To this point in the season, they've been great. The pitching staff for New York has a 2.35 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. One of those pitchers who is contributing quite a bit at the moment is Tylor Megill. Megill is 2-2 with a 1.40 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP for the season. I have to imagine the WHIP will come down, or the ERA will increase. They don't really let Megill go deep into games. He has fewer than 20 innings in his four outings. He has been very good against the Phillies though, holding them to just 17 hits in 86 at-bats with just five of them going for extra-bases. 

The Phillies have the bigger names in the pitching staff, both have really good offenses, and both are expected to be there late in the season. Nola is one of those guys that can carry a team but he hasn't been doing that to this point in the season. Megill has been better than Nola and I think he can lead the Mets to victory tonight. I'm taking them here in the opener. 

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