The Phillies won again behind Aaron Nola Friday night. Now they have to beat the Mets with someone else.
The Phils are 4-1 against the Mets when Nola starts this season and 2-7 when anyone else does.
But there were several positive signs for Gabe Kapler's team Friday in Flushing …
Phillies (74-66) at Mets (63-77)
Zach Eflin (9-6, 4.05) vs. Noah Syndergaard (10-3, 3.33)
First pitch: 7:10 p.m.
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Streaming: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports App
Phillies Pregame Live begins at 6:30 p.m. ET
The spark Rhys needed?
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Rhys Hoskins was riding a 2-for-30 slump when he stepped to the plate in the eighth inning and deposited a solo shot into the left-field seats to give Nola and the Phillies a 4-3 win.
It was Hoskins' 28th homer of the season and the 16th that gave the Phils a lead.
It bodes well because when Hoskins homers, he homers in bunches. When he last homered before Friday, he did so in back-to-back games. His last homer before that? Back-to-back games. In late July, we saw him homer seven times in eight games.
Hoskins is on pace for 32 homers and 98 RBI. If he can settle in this weekend against Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom, it would be a great sign that a strong finish is ahead for the Phillies' most important hitter.
Santana's solid September
Historically, September has been Carlos Santana's best month. The last three Septembers, he's hit .310/.417/.548.
In his last 21 games overall, Santana has hit .307 with six doubles, five homers and 15 RBI. He hit a two-run homer Friday and also made a great diving stop at first base.
Santana has one more homer (21) this season than Freddie Freeman and one fewer RBI (81) than Paul Goldschmidt.
Running on Syndergaard
Syndergaard is coming off a two-hit, one-run complete game with 11 strikeouts against the Giants.
But he hasn't been himself against the Phillies this season. In two starts against the Phils, Syndergaard has a 5.59 ERA and 1.67 WHIP. The Phillies have hit .300 off of him.
And the last time the Phils saw Syndergaard, they stole second base five times. Syndergaard has never been able to hold runners on and said after that game that it's gotten embarrassing (see story).
