By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia Phillies (73-66) and RHP Aaron Nola will oppose LHP Steven Matz and the New York Mets (63-76) in the first of a three-game series Friday evening at Citi Field. Nola was originally scheduled to start Saturday evening, but the Phillies shuffled their rotation so the right-hander can face the division-leading Atlanta Braves twice prior to season's end.
Aaron Altherr will make his first start since July 20 in center field, batting third between left fielder Rhys Hoskins and right fielder Jose Bautista. Former Mets Bautista and Asdrubal Cabrera — who will start at third base and bat fifth — return to Citi Field for the first time since they were respectively dealt to the Phillies.
Prior to the game, the Phillies increase their roster to 35 players by recalling catcher Andrew Knapp from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. As The Athletic's Meghan Montemurro notes, Friday is the first day the Phillies could have recalled Knapp, as he was previously optioned on August 28. Knapp has slashed .216/.308/.352 in 69 games this season in the majors.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (73-66) | New York Mets (63-76) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Aaron Nola | LHP | Steven Matz | ||
| (15-4, 2.23 ERA) | (5-11, 4.20 ERA) | ||||
RHP Aaron Nola, Age: 25
- 2018 vs. NYM: 3-0, 1.44 ERA, 4 G, 4 GS, 25 IP, 17 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 HR, 8 BB, 29 SO, 1.000 WHIP
- Career vs. NYM: 5-1, 3.29 ERA, 7 G, 7 GS, 41 IP, 35 H, 15 R, 15 ER, 6 HR, 14 BB, 43 SO, 1.195 WHIP
- Career at Citi Field: 2-1, 5.14 ERA, 4 G, 4 GS, 21 IP, 21 H, 12 R, 12 ER, 4 HR, 9 BB, 20 SO, 1.429 WHIP
Nola will make his 14th start this season that follows a Phillies loss. The right-hander is 5-0 with a 0.74 ERA, 48-12 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 0.745 WHIP in seven such outings on the road spanning 48 1/3 innings. Nola is 4-0 with a 1.41 ERA over his last five starts and 32 innings against the Mets since August 12, 2017.
LHP Steven Matz, Age: 27
- 2018 vs. PHI: 0-1, 6.43 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 7 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 3 HR, 5 BB, 5 SO, 2.143 WHIP
- Career vs. PHI: 0-2, 4.97 ERA, 3 G, 3 GS, 12 2/3 IP, 14 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 3 HR, 7 BB, 6 SO, 1.658 WHIP
- Career at Citi Field: 7-14, 4.14 ERA, 31 G, 31 GS, 176 IP, 169 H, 85 R, 81 ER, 32 HR, 51 BB, 165 SO, 1.250 WHIP
Hoskins and Scott Kingery each homered opposite Matz in the Phillies' most recent appearance against the southpaw on August 16, his return from the disabled list stint due to a left pronator strain. The four-year veteran southpaw struck out 11 of his 25 batters faced in his most recent appearance, Sept. 1 on the road against the San Francisco Giants.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (73-66) | New York Mets (63-76) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 1B | Carlos Santana | S | 1 | CF | Brandon Nimmo | L |
| 2 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R | 2 | 2B | Jeff McNeil | L |
| 3 | CF | Aaron Altherr | R | 3 | LF | Michael Conforto | L |
| 4 | RF | Jose Bautista | R | 4 | RF | Jay Bruce | L |
| 5 | 3B | Asdrubal Cabrera | S | 5 | 3B | Todd Frazier | R |
| 6 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 6 | 1B | Dominic Smith | L |
| 7 | SS | Scott Kingery | R | 7 | C | Kevin Plawecki | R |
| 8 | C | Jorge Alfaro | R | 8 | SS | Jose Reyes | S |
| 9 | P | Aaron Nola | R | 9 | P | Steven Matz | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:10 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- If the Phillies were to clinch a postseason spot this month, it appears more and more likely it would be the National League East division crown, rather than one of two National League Wild Card spots. With 23 games to go, the Phillies trail the Braves by 3 1/2 games and the Wild Card by 4 1/2. The club would need to jump over three teams to claim the second Wild Card.
- Friday's Postseason Race Matchups:
- Chicago Cubs (LHP Jon Lester) at Washington Nationals (RHP Joe Ross), 7:05 p.m.
- St. Louis Cardinals (LHP Austin Gomber) at Detroit Tigers (LHP Daniel Norris), 7:10 p.m.
- San Francisco Giants (LHP Derek Holland) at Milwaukee Brewers (RHP Chase Anderson), 8:10 p.m.
- Los Angeles Dodgers (LHP Clayton Kershaw) at Colorado Rockies (RHP Jon Gray), 8:40 p.m.
- Atlanta Braves (RHP Kevin Gausman) at Arizona Diamondbacks (LHP Patrick Corbin), 9:40 p.m.
- Friday's Postseason Race Matchups:
- Nola leads all MLB pitchers in WAR (9.3), in front of the two other National League Cy Young Award candidates, RHP Max Scherzer (8.3) and RHP Jacob deGrom (8.2), according to Baseball Reference. The Phillies and RHP Vince Velasquez will face deGrom in Sunday's matinee finale.
- The Phillies have lost eight of their 13 games against the Mets this season, outscored 65-40 and outhit 113-101. With just six games remaining against them, two or more losses would secure the Phillies their seventh-straight season series loss against their National League East rivals since 2012.
- Active Phillies hit streaks of five or more games:
- Jorge Alfaro (9 games): 33 AB, 2 R, 13 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 0 BB, 7 SO, .394/.429/.606
- Carlos Santana (8): 32 AB, 4 R, 11 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 4 SO, .344/.382/.594
Noticed #Mets lineup opens with 4 LHs (Nimmo, McNeil, Conforto, Bruce) so figured Nola would be a little weaker vs. LHs. Nope. .557 OPS vs. RH, .551 OPS vs. LH. #Phillies. This is chance for NYM to help deGrom in Cy race if they can beat up on Nola.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) September 7, 2018
Roman Quinn is banged up after fouling a ball off his foot in Miami. He’s available off the bench tonight, according to Gabe Kapler. #Phillies
— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) September 7, 2018
- First basemen Santana and Justin Bour are a combined 0-14 in their careers against Matz with three strikeouts. Members of the Mets' 40-man roster have slashed just .167/.252/.206 in their careers against Nola with only two extra-base hits spanning 115 plate appearances (click to expand).
What's Next:
Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018: at New York Mets, 7:10 p.m.
- Citi Field, Queens, N.Y.
- RHP Zach Eflin (9-6, 4.05 ERA) vs. RHP Noah Syndergaard (10-3, 3.33 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
