NL Division Series preview: New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies

PHILADELPHIA — Take a look at the great moments in the Mets-Phillies rivalry — from Jim Bunning’s Father’s Day perfect game to New York’s epic collapse in the 2007 NL East race, to each team scoring 20-plus runs against the other and all the way to a London series this season — and one thing is missing.

The Mets and Phillies have never faced each other in the playoffs

The 1,081 all-time meetings between the Mets and Phillies since New York’s inception into the National League in 1962 have yielded all kinds of moments for the highlight reel.

None bigger than the start of the best-of-five NL Division Series on Saturday in Philadelphia.

“It’s a tricky lineup and they’re hot right now,” Philadelphia Game 1 starter Zack Wheeler said. “They’re playing good baseball.”

Pete Alonso used a dose of pumpkin power to hit a three-run homer off Milwaukee closer Devin Williams in the ninth inning to put the Mets up for good in a 4-2 victory over the Brewers on Thursday in the decisive third game of their NL Wild Card Series.

The ninth-inning rally continued New York’s — well, since the Mets are talking pumpkins — Cinderella season. The Mets were 22-33 in late May, but had the best record in baseball the rest of the regular season.

New York is the first team to clinch a postseason spot and a playoff series by winning both games after trailing in the ninth inning or later.

The NL East champion Phillies went 7-6 against the Mets this season, with one notable asterisk. The Phillies lost three of those games when Taijuan Walker started. The beleaguered starter has largely pitched himself out of postseason role, if the former Met even makes the roster.

Unlike Walker, Wheeler has aced his transition from New York to Philadelphia. Wheeler went 44-38 with a 3.77 ERA in 126 starts with the Mets, but missed the 2015 and 2016 seasons following Tommy John surgery.

He’s blossomed into a Cy Young Award candidate with the Phillies, winning 55 games over the last four seasons. He went 16-7 with a 2.57 ERA this season.

“I’ve been over here for a while now and there’s no hard feelings, everything has kind of changed over there personnel-wise,” Wheeler said Friday. “There’s no hard feelings, it’s just baseball at this point. But at the end of the day I want to win. “

Wheeler is 5-5 with a 3.56 ERA in 15 starts against the Mets.

Playoff starters

Kodai Senga, who has thrown just 5 1/3 major league innings all year, is the surprise Game 1 starter for the Mets

The 31-year-old Japanese pitcher made just one start this season as he dealt with injuries that included tightness in his right triceps. The team’s projected No. 1 starter this year, Senga also was sidelined by a strained left calf.

The Phillies named Cristopher Sánchez (11-9, 3.32 ERA) their Game 2 starter.

One reason to give the nod for a home start to Sánchez is this: He has a 2.21 ERA in Philly this season, compared to a whopping 5.02 ERA on the road.

“It’s really amazing the steps that he’s taken, the growth that he’s had, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “This guy started the year at 92, 93 miles an hour, really commanding the baseball, and now he’s 95, 96, touching 97 and maintaining his command.”

Aaron Nola starts Game 3 for the Phillies. Luis Severino starts for the Mets in Game 2. Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana are the likely starters in New York in Games 3 and 4.

Rest is best

Thomson believed the Phillies made the most of their five days off headed into Game 1. The Phillies held an intrasquad scrimmage, took batting practice, had infield drills and pitchers fielding drills as they tried to keep a routine as close to normal as it gets during the regular season.

The Phillies rode late-season hot streaks into the playoffs each of the last two seasons as a wild card team and reached the World Series in 2022 and the NL Championship Series in 2023.

“I was real happy with the focus of the guys coming in,’ Thomson said. “Tuesday was a full workout with a lot of high-velocity machine work in the cages for our hitters. You’re a little bit more concerned about the hitting and the timing of the hitters as opposed to the pitching side. But we had a lot of high-velocity work on Tuesday. A lot of breaking ball work, heavy velocity breaking ball work. Wednesday was the intrasquad game and that went really well. I really loved the intensity of it. The guys played really well for five innings.”

Like father, like son

It’s family reunion in the NLDS broadcast booth.

Longtime Phillies TV announcer Tom McCarthy is set to shift to the radio for two innings each game on WIP 94.1 FM for the series while his son, Pat McCarthy, handles various radio duties for the Mets on 880 AM in New York

Tom McCarthy has worked as a Phillies broadcaster for 22 of his 24 years calling baseball games. He worked as the Mets’ radio play-by-play announcer from 2006-07 before returning to Philadelphia. Pat got his first break in the radio broadcast booth for the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate, Lehigh Valley.

“His stuff has been awesome during the postseason,” Tom McCarthy said. “He’s handled the clubhouse for them. I was really proud of the way he handled those interviews. I was happy for him last night. I was sort of sitting there torn, because I don’t know if I feel like dealing with this. But I was happy for him.”

There are no plans for father and son to share an inning during the NLDS.

Tom McCarthy, who has broadcast a wide array of sports, including the NFL, serves as the play-by-play announcer, with John Kruk as the deadpan analyst — for Phillies’ broadcasts on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

“I’m grateful for all my partners because they make me who I am,” the elder McCarthy said. “He has been an unbelievable partner to be around. It’s kind of the way we were growing up, as brothers, to do stuff like that. He’s been able to carry it over onto the air.”

Invited to the cookout

Wheeler, catcher J.T. Realmuto and more than half the roster enjoyed the Mets-Brewers game over a cookout at outfielder Nick Castellanos’ house.

“We do cookouts like that stuff pretty regularly throughout the season. That was probably the first time we’ve ever done one and actually watched baseball,” Realmuto said. “Usually we’re just hanging out, maybe watching a football game. None of us have ever sat around and watched a baseball game together. That was kind of interesting.”