NL East crown: Phillies vs. New York Mets

Strengths and weaknesses:     

The Phillies and Mets have two more battles in the Big Apple. On the plus side, Philadelphia scored 24 runs, allowed just one earned run in relief, but only had two good starts. Meanwhile, New York gave up no earned runs in relief during three of four contests, scored 17 runs, but only had two good starts as well.

For the Metropolitans overall, their five-man staff and lineup are their strong points, but the frames between the starter and Diaz are iffy. They need setup men to handle the seventh and eighth frames. Translation: adventures ahead! Offensively, will Alonso adjust to new approaches when hurlers have a book on him?

On the other hand, Mets fans have every reason to fear injuries because of their fragile rotation. And, notably, Ramos played only 191 games from 2011 through 2014 and 64 contests in 2017: half of his eight MLB summers. Meanwhile, their slugging left fielder will probably miss significant time as well.

Regarding the Phils, the offense is in scoring position with the bases empty, and the bullpen is frequently dependable. But when the one-two punch atop the rotation is between outings, three developing hurlers can provide either encouraging performances or disappointing efforts.

Healthwise, the hometown nine have mostly been fortunate in recent 162s because of their roster depth in the majors and on the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. But, presently, they have Segura, Odubel Herrera, Scott Kingery, Robertson, Hunter and Arano on the IL; and the everyday eight can ill afford more injuries.

Concerning intangibles, the Fightins are winning and having fun, plus they are rarely out of most games. And they can strike at any moment, plus opposing moundsmen must decide –sometimes fatally– which hitter to face: Harper, Hoskins or Realmuto.