Well, it’s finally happening: The Phillies and the Mets are playing each other in the postseason for the first time ever.
These are two teams whose fans, despite their similarities, hate each other, even though historically it’s been rare for them to even be competitive at the same time. Until 2005, the Phillies and Mets had both had winning records in the same year only five times: 1975, 1976, 1986, 2001, and 2005. Since then, it’s happened five more: 2006-08, and then 2022 and 2024.
In 63 years of simultaneous existence, these geographic and division rivals have had winning records together only 10 times. Since the Padres became a franchise in 1969, the Padres and Dodgers have both had winning records 13 times in a shorter stretch.
But that’s never stopped anybody in Philly from hating the Mets, and it’s not going to stop anybody in K Lot from fastening a steak thick enough to hold Mr. Met’s head on Saturday.
A true rivalry transcends records and playoff appearances; it’s just hate, radiating off I-95 as their buses drive back and forth between Citizens Bank Park and Citi Field. And now, the intensity of a mid-June Tuesday matchup between these two teams will get ratcheted up even further. It’s not one team playing out the stretch while the other is playoff-bound this time; it’s two postseason clubs colliding at the height of their success.
The Phillies are a team that is ready to win the World Series again. They certainly come from a city that is, too. The Mets are still in “happy to be here” mode — their fans are thrilled with what they’ve already achieved against some pretty tall odds and are telling themselves they are emotionally ready for this fun little run they’re on to end (until it seems like it’s going to, as it did in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series — until Pete Alonso hit the first useful home run of his career).
But whoever tells you that they’ll be content with however the season ends for their playoff team is either lying or a child. For the Phillies, this playoff run is about achieving something that’s been just out of reach twice — and not waiting another year for their next shot. John Middleton wants his f’ing trophy back, and he’s got a team on the field that can get it.
Before a Phillies-Mets game on September 14, Phillies fans were hopping out of cars stuck on Broad Street and took to the sidewalks where the traffic was actually moving. One reckless innovator did the same without getting out of his car, slowly motoring up behind pedestrians on the sidewalk, waiting for them to notice him, and then giving a wordless thank-you wave as confused and alarmed people jumped out of his way.
There was no explanation for this. Just a man driving on the sidewalk outside Citizens Bank Park, desperate to see the first pitch or maybe to start tailgating the Twenty One Pilots concert at the Wells Fargo Center. His decisions were as unclear as his actions. One group of stalwart Phillies fans put an end to this, refusing to get out of his path, informing him that the road was “over there,” and walking slowly on purpose.
But he found his moment at an intersection and deftly whipped his vehicle around the last pedestrian, getting a lot of middle fingers and yoooooo’s from witnesses. He may not have had much patience or known how to use a sidewalk correctly, but he looked more motivated than the Phillies offense had the night before, when the Mets had shellacked them, 11-3.
The hot, rat-fueled Mets smoked Aaron Nola and gave all their fans who bussed down from Flushing a reason to stick their chests out as they strutted into Philly bars that night in their Keith Hernandez jerseys. Or maybe that was just Keith Hernandez.
Some Phillies fans, pleading for sanity, claimed it had been “just one loss;” others used it as further evidence that this team has been cooked since the All-Star break. Philly Mag had recently done a cover story touting the city’s new positivity toward its sports teams. The Phillies had a top two record in baseball, but after one loss, there were calls to fire the manager — and maybe hold up on that Trea Turner ovation documentary.
There was a lesson in this moment, as grumbling Phillies fans made their way into the park: Nobody loses forever. Except the White Sox.
The Phillies drove through the Mets for the rest of that mid-September series, culminating in the now famous Cal Stevenson game, as well as a Cristopher Sanchez masterpiece in Game 3. Sure, the Mets were hot, but every time the Phillies drop a game in September, especially to an NL East rival — especially as they’re trying to grab a top seed, especially after going 0-for-2 on pretty solid shots at the World Series in the last two years — it’s enough to make you want to drive on the sidewalk.
But to slow somebody down, sometimes all you have to do is get in the way.
Today, the Mets are still hot. The Phillies are still really good. And starting Saturday, we’ll see who’s better at getting in the other’s way.
When Phillies ace Zack Wheeler faces his first Met at 4:08 p.m. on Saturday, it will be the 400th batter he’s faced at CBP this year. In those 16 starts, has a 2.31 ERA, 10.2 K/9, 4.3 SO/BB ratio, an almost 30% K rate, and opponents are hitting .186 against him. In his one start against the Mets this year, Wheeler went 7 innings, allowed 7 hits and 2 ER and struck out 8.
The Mets are starting Kodai Senga, who has pitched 5 1/3 innings this year.
See you in the parking lot.
