The Phillies and Mets are the clear top dogs in the NL East, and they've been dancing around each other for the first 70-plus games of the regular season.
If the Phillies want to repeat as division champs, this could be a pivotal stretch — with the schedule consequential and Bryce Harper and Aaron Nola still sidelined.
Back in May, the Phillies won nine in a row, and opened up a comfortable 3-game lead in the division. Things took a massive swing last week, when they posted an ugly 3-10 stretch and found themselves behind by five games. Winning five of their last six (against the Cubs and Blue Jays), the Phillies have once again closed the gap with the top two teams in the NL East set to face off for the second time this weekend.
The Phils were swept in Queens way back in April. It's been a wild ride:
| Date | NL East |
| April 12 | Tied |
| April 26 | Mets +5 |
| May 24 | Phillies +3 |
| May 31 | Tied |
| June 11 | Mets +5 |
| June 16 | Mets +2.5 |
The trio of games in South Philly at the end of the week will be extremely impactful. For one, the teams won't play for a third time until the end of August — and it's anyone's guess what things will look like by then. For what it's worth, both teams have nearly an identical strength of schedule the rest of the way (.506 win percentage for their respective opponents).
The Phillies have a schedule assist this week as they'll play the Marlins — the worst team in the division — four times midweek before their series against New York, while the slumping Mets will face a tougher test this week in the Braves. It's possible things could be even tighter than 2.5 games come Friday.
Philly should have Zack Wheeler on the mound in the Opener, opposite NY's Tylor Megill. Mick Abel and Jesús Luzardo currently project to pitch the weekend games at Citizens Bank Park for the Phillies.
The Mets, and their 2.5 game advantage, are currently fairly large favorites to win the NL East via FanDuel at -210. The Phillies are +170.
But first things first, the Phillies will look to pad their 21-10 record this season against bad teams in Miami, whom they took two of three from back in April. First pitch for all the first game is Monday at 6:40 p.m.
SIGN UP HERE to receive the PhillyVoice Sports newsletter
Follow Evan on Twitter:@evan_macy
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports