The New York Mets ended up winning the NL East title last year in part due to the fact that they played so well against the rest of the division, going 47-29. They really beat up on the Philadelphia Phillies last year, and they'll hope to kick off their 2016 division schedule by doing the same thing on Friday afternoon.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The Phillies are already looking like they're going to be huge underdogs virtually every time out, and they might already be +200 pups in this game as well. They went just 26-55 away from the City of Brotherly Love last year, and though the Mets weren't dominant at home, their 49-32 mark is certainly good enough to have them lined as massive favorites, especially with the favorable pitching matchup in this one.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
The argument could be made that Jacob deGrom is the best of these young New York pitchers, but he won't get to make his 2016 debut until Friday after throwing behind Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard.
deGrom though, could end up being scratched from this start due to the fact that his wife is pregnant and due any day now.
Assuming he pitches, the righty is as good as it gets. He's got a 2.61 ERA through his first 52 career starts, and though he only went 14-8 in 2015, his stats suggest that he could've been a 20-game winner easily. That 0.98 WHIP shouldn't be discounted, and if he can keep the ball in the yard in this one, there's a good chance he doesn't allow more than one or two runs.
The Phillies have a bunch of young arms capable of doing some damage down the line, but most are skeptical of the stats Jerad Eickhoff put up in his first stint in the bigs last year.
Sure, Eickhoff had a 2.65 ERA and 1.04 WHIP, but now that there's some tape on him, he'll probably be more hittable. His ERA in the spring was over 6.00, and that's a bad sign going forward into 2016.
LIVE BETTING
We're already seeing big problems coming out of the Philly bullpen. The team has only played one game as of the publication of this article, but the Phils allowed five runs in just two frames against the Reds on Opening Day.
David Hernandez was the big culprit, as he failed to get any of the three men he faced out. James Russell was no better with a walk, a hit allowed and an out with his three batters.
The Phillies had one of the worst bullpens in baseball last year, and now that both Jonathan Papelbon and Kenneth Giles have moved on, we're not sure where this team turns to in middle relief.
QUICK PICK
Eickhoff might not have the benefit of a big strikeout pitch, but his best pitch is the curveball, and we saw Mets batters struggle with that all postseason long last year no matter who the pitcher was on the mound.
Throw in the fact that deGrom could have his mind elsewhere while pitching in this game or facing the prospect of getting pulled early if his wife goes into labor, and we can't pass on what will surely be a great price on the Phils in this one.
Philadelphia 5, New York 3
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