Philadelphia Phillies open three-game set with the New York Mets
Fresh off sweeping a two-game set in Seattle, the Philadelphia Phillies roll into New York to open a three-game set tonight with the Mets at Citi Field.

The Phillies enter Friday with the worst record in baseball (23-50) and are trying to secure only their third winning streak longer than two games this season.

“The guys are tired of losing,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said following Wednesday’s win. “We’ve been in so many games that it gets to be frustrating.”

The series caps a nine game trip that began with a four-game set in Arizona with the Diamondbacks.

"We’re 3-3 on the road trip, which is nice to see,” Mackanin said. “(The players are) pretty happy about the whole thing.”

Rookie Ben Lively will start the series opener for the Phillies, eyeing to snap a four-start winless streak. The 25-year-old right-hander hasn't won since his major league debut against the Giants on June 3 and took the loss last Saturday, when he gave up five runs (four earned) over 5 1/3 innings as the Phillies fell to the Diamondbacks 9-2. It was the first time in five starts Lively failed to last at least six innings.

The Mets, having won five of their last six, counter with hurler Jacob DeGrom who is 4-0 with a 2.49 ERA in eight career starts against the Phillies.

New York sits six games under .500 and 9½ games back in the wild-card race.

Prospect Watch
Nick Williams has been promoted, taking the roster spot vacated by Howie Kendrick as he's been placed on the disabled list with a strained hamstring. Williams, ranked by MLBpipeline.com as the organization's 4th best prospect, was hitting .280 with a .328 on-base percentage and .511 slugging percentage with triple-A Lehigh Valley. The promotion, however, may be short lived as Jerad Eickhoff is set to come off the DL before his next scheduled start, July 4.

Drafted in the second round in 2012 by the Rangers, Williams was dealt to Philadelphia in July 2015 along with Jorge Alfaro, Jerad Eickhoff, Jake Thompson and Alec Asher in exchange for left-hander Cole Hamels.
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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PGordonPBR

BY PATRICK GORDON
Managing Editor
pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com

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