Monday, April 21, 2025 • 7:10 PM

Citi Field • Flushing, NY

RHP Aaron Nola (0-4, 6.65) vs. RHP Tylor Megill (2-2, 1.40)

SNY

The Mets welcome the Phillies to Citi Field tonight for their first clash of the season! The two teams are doing it in different ways so far in 2025. The Mets starting pitching and relief pitching have kept them in every game. The Phillies bullpen has been one of the worst in the majors by ERA, but their offense has been red hot. It’s a classic pitching vs hitting matchup!

Mets Lineup

Tylor Megill has a 1.40 ERA, 2.21 FIP, 1.345 WHIP and a 275 across four starts and 19 1/3 innings this season. He is coming off a start where he allowed four runs, two earned from eight hits and no walks over five innings against the Twins. Is Tylor on a hot streak, or is he finally breaking out? To be more in “breakout” territory, Tylor needs to finish at least six innings. He’s gone into the sixth inning twice this season but has only recorded one out.

Tylor had one start in the regular season against the Phillies, holding them to one run and four hits over four innings of work. In the playoffs, he pitched in relief, allowing one run from a hit and two walks over 1 1/3 innings. The Phillies have the following career numbers against Tylor:

• Alec Bohm 3-10, 2B, 2 K
• Nick Castellanos 4-10, 2B, K
• Bryce Harper 2-12, 2 BB, 5 K
• Max Kepler 0-3, K
• J.T. Realmuto 4-15, 2B, HR, 6 K
• Johan Rojas 0-4
• Kyle Schwarber 1-10, 2B, 3 BB, 2 K
• Edmundo Sosa 1-5, K
• Bryson Stott 0-9, BB, 4 K
• Trea Turner 2-6, 2 BB

Opposing Lineup

1. Bryson Stott, 2B
2. Trea Turner, SS
3. Bryce Harper, 1B
4. Kyle Schwarber, DH
5. Nick Castellanos, RF
6. Max Kepler, LF
7. J.T. Realmuto, C
8. Alec Bohm, 3B
9. Johan Rojas, CF

The Mets bats will face a familiar opponent in Aaron Nola, who is four starts into his 11th season in the majors. He has picked up the loss in all four starts this season, with a 6.65 ERA, 4.51 FIP, 1.662 WHIP and a 61 ERA+ over 21 2/3 innings. His stats are skewed by two poor starts, his first one and his most recent one, where he allowed 12 runs, 11 earned, over 10 2/3 innings. Between those starts, he allowed a more Nola-like five runs over 11 innings.

Nola faced the Mets twice in the regular season last year, allowing six runs from 10 hits over 13 1/3 innings. His one start in the postseason last year came against the Mets, where the Mets tagged him for four runs on five hits, including two home runs over five innings. The Mets own the following career stats against Nola:

• Pete Alonso 17-52, 3 2B, 6 HR, 5 BB, 15 K
• José Azócar 3-6, K
• Brett Baty 0-7, BB, 3 K
• Francisco Lindor 7-36, 2 2B, BB, 9 K
• Starling Marte 11-33, 2 2B, HR, 10 K
• Brandon Nimmo 13-54, 3B, 2 HR, 13 BB, 20 K
• Juan Soto 10-38, 3 2B, 3 HR, 15 BB, 9 K
• Tyrone Taylor 4-12, 2 2B, BB, 3 K
• Luis Torrens 2-3
• Mark Vientos 2-6, 2 K
• Jesse Winker 5-26, 2 BB, 2 K

Game Notes

Pete Alonso enters play with 232 career home runs, third all-time by a Met. He needs 21 more to beat Darryl Strawberry‘s 252 record.

Since Citi Field opened in 2009, the Mets are 77-59 against the Phillies in regular season play at the stadium.

David Stearns spoke to the media before the game. Here are the key takeaways. For a full briefing, read Metsmerized’s coverage here.

• Jose Siri will likely be out for around two months with a fractured leg, but a more concrete timeline will be determined once he resumes activity.
• RHP Frankie Montas is still throwing at 75-90 feet. However, the Mets still plan for him to be ready between late-May, early-June.
• Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil and Luisangel Acuña are all possibilities to share time in center field along with Tylor Megill.
• Stearns didn’t commit to Francisco Alvarez being the starting catcher after Luis Torrens’ hot start, instead noting Carlos Mendoza will go with whoever will help the team win that day.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Emotions. The last time the Phillies and Mets faced each other was during the NLDS last October. The Mets won the series in four games, with Francisco Lindor hitting a grand slam (accounting for all of the Mets runs in that game). Both the Mets and Phillies are looking to take advantage of Atlanta’s slow start. The Mets have played loose and confidently for the majority of the season – hopefully, that carries over to today despite the opponent.
2. Francisco Lindor. Francisco Lindor set the tone for the Mets against St. Louis. He had two three-hit games, hit a walk-off home run on Friday night and a leadoff home run on Sunday afternoon. Since April 7, Lindor has gone 18-for-56 at the plate with two doubles and three home runs slashing .321/.361/.518.
3. Juan Soto. Soto has quietly moved the Mets’ offense over the last three games. During this stretch, he has gone 5-for-10 at the plate with a double, two runs scored and five RBIs. He has recorded an RBI in three consecutive games and five of his last seven games played. His 0.9 bWAR is second-best on the Mets right now behind Pete Alonso (1.8) and ahead of Francisco Lindor (0.4).

Let’s go Mets!