Phillies get shut out in loss to Mets: Mets 2, Phillies 0

Well, that was not fun at all. The Phillies drop game two of the three games series to the New York Mets by a score of 2-0. The offensive was simply abysmal in this game getting shutout for the first time this season while gaining only five hits.

The Phillies’ offense simply had no answer for Mets RHP Tylor Megill. The 26-year-old righty threw 5.1 scoreless innings and struck out five batters. Megill has now thrown 10.1 innings through two starts this year and has not allowed a run.

This is the third straight game where the Phils’ have failed to score a run through the first seven frames. It is not a cause for concern yet but it is less than ideal that the bats can not get an early lead in these games. They need to be more patient at the plate to try and get baserunners as they did not walk a single time tonight. Unlike the offensive struggles, the Phillies’ pitching was a positive takeaway.

After finishing second in the NL Cy Young voting last year, Zack Wheeler took the mound for his season debut against his former team. Wheeler looked sharp through 4.2 innings allowing only two hits and one run. Wheeler struck out three Mets in his outing.

The only thing stopping Wheeler tonight was his pitch count and fatigue. He threw 65 pitches and saw a slight decrease in velocity during his last inning. That may have led to him giving up his only run on a solo homer by Brandon Nimmo.

For the second straight night, the first man out of the bullpen did a fantastic job. Cristopher Sanchez kept the game at 1-0 in his 2.2 innings pitched until Francisco Lindor’s RBI single in the 8th. The run was given up by Connor Brogdon but charged to the line of Sanchez.

The bullpen did their job holding the Mets to one run over 4.1 innings. Therefore this loss is squarely on the offense. With this lineup, you have to be able to win games when your opponent only scores two runs. The struggles of the top four hitters in the lineup (Schwarber, Realmuto, Harper, Castellanos) are evident, as none of them are batting over a .235 through the first five games.

The matchup does not get any easier for the offense tomorrow, as the rubber match is set with 3-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer taking the mound for the Mets against Aaron Nola for the Phillies. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05.