New York, meanwhile, is dealing with actual chaos. The front office fired manager Carlos Mendoza and handed the club to interim skipper Andy Green just ahead of this series, a move that speaks to how ugly things have gotten at 40-57. Green's audition starts now, and a trip to Philadelphia to face a lineup this scary is about as tough a proving ground as it gets.
The Mets did open their last homestand with 2 wins over Kansas City before the Red Sox came in and swept them, outscoring New York 13-4 over the final 3 games. That kind of finish is exactly why ownership pulled the trigger on a managerial change instead of riding it out. The Phillies have had their own rocky stretches too — a 5-11 blowout loss to Cincinnati was on the ledger just last week — but they answered by taking 3 of their last 4 against Detroit, including a shutout.
Both sides are banged up in spots that matter. Mark Vientos is out for New York with a fractured hand, Bo Bichette is day-to-day, and Marcus Semien and Luis Robert Jr. are both working their way back through rehab assignments — real reinforcements that just aren't here yet. Philadelphia's issue is thinner: Justin Crawford is day-to-day in center and the bullpen lost Tanner Banks to a forearm strain, though a lineup built around Schwarber and Harper can cover a lot of sins.
Saturday's series game gets going at 4:05 PM ET, and it's hard to find much reason to like New York's chances walking into a buzzsaw offense with a brand-new manager still figuring out his roster. Philadelphia's the far more dangerous team right now, on paper and in the box score.