Wheeler Will Avoid Sweep From Mets

Phillies vs. Mets, 1:10 ET

While the agenda is packed for today's slate, there aren't too many value games on the agenda. There are some good ones, don't get me wrong, but there aren't a ton that fit into my category of being either an obvious total play, or a game that has the two teams with a moneyline of -135 or lower for a favorite play. That does give some value on quite a few dogs, and I've already looked at one for today. This one is a game between the Phillies and Mets as we go back to a battle between the divisional rivals.

The Phillies have to be looking at this series rather frustrated. There are a lot of good teams in the NL East and Philadelphia is certainly one of them. I've mentioned this before, but you can't win a Wild Card or Division in March or April, but you certainly can position yourselves to lose it. The Phillies aren't looking like they will be out of the running but their record could use some improvement at just 13-11 for the season. The good news for them is that aside from the Mets, no one in the division is doing well. The bad news is that there are a ton of teams in the NL West that could make the playoffs and keep them out of it. I concede it is far too early to really, truly worry about this, though. Today, they look to Zack Wheeler to get them a victory before they head out of New York. Wheeler has been typical, which is to say he has been great. He is 2-1 with a 3.73 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. Mets hitters are familiar with him and have had reasonable success.

Aug 14, 2024; New York City, New York, USA;  New York Mets starting pitcher David Peterson (23) pitches in the first inning against the Oakland Athletics at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

For the Mets, you really couldn't ask for a much better start to the season. You make a huge splash signing a monster hitter to add to your lineup that made it to the NLCS last season, and you're actually winning games to start the year. The biggest, and perhaps best part of this whole thing is that Juan Soto, the aforementioned huge splash, isn't even playing that well. I wouldn't have classified the Mets as a team with a ton of room for error, but they have been as good as you could hope for despite early season Soto struggles. A lot of that success is credited to the pitching staff who has David Peterson representing them today. Peterson is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Similar to Wheeler, Phillies hitters should know what is coming against Peterson, but haven't had a ton of success. 

This should be a fairly tight game, but there is a reason one of these guys is an Ace and the other is just a guy. The Phillies need a win here to feel good about themselves after dropping the first two games. I wouldn't be surprised to see this game go under, but I'm taking the Phillies to avoid the sweep behind Wheeler. Play the first five if you're nervous. 

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