Mets, Phillies set for 1,082nd head-to-head game and 1st in a playoff series

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Take a look at the great moments in the Mets-Phillies rivalry — from Jim Bunning's Father's Day perfect game to New York's epic collapse in the 2007 NL East race, to each team scoring 20-plus runs against the other and all the way to a London series this season — and one thing is missing.

The Mets and Phillies have never faced each other in the playoffs

The 1,081 all-time meetings between the Mets and Phillies since New York's inception into the National League in 1962 have yielded all kinds of moments for the highlight reel.

None bigger than the start of the best-of-five NL Division Series on Saturday in Philadelphia.

“It's a tricky lineup and they're hot right now,” Philadelphia Game 1 starter Zack Wheeler said. “They’re playing good baseball.”

Pete Alonso used a dose of pumpkin power to hit a three-run homer off Milwaukee closer Devin Williams in the ninth inning to put the Mets up for good in a 4-2 victory over the Brewers on Thursday in the decisive third game of their NL Wild Card Series.

The ninth-inning rally continued New York’s — well, since the Mets are talking pumpkins — Cinderella season. The Mets were 22-33 in late May, but had the best record in baseball the rest of the regular season.

New York is the first team to clinch a postseason spot and a playoff series by winning both games after trailing in the ninth inning or later.

The NL East champion Phillies went 7-6 against the Mets this season, with one notable asterisk. The Phillies lost three of those games when Taijuan Walker started. The beleaguered starter has largely pitched himself out of postseason role, if the former Met even makes the roster.

Unlike Walker, Wheeler has aced his transition from New York to Philadelphia. Wheeler went 44-38 with a 3.77 ERA in 126 starts with the Mets, but missed the 2015 and 2016 seasons following Tommy John surgery. He's blossomed into a Cy Young Award candidate with the Phillies, winning 55 games over the last four seasons. He went 16-7 with a 2.57 ERA this season.

“I’ve been over here for a while now and there’s no hard feelings, everything has kind of changed over there personnel-wise,” Wheeler said Friday. “There’s no hard feelings, it’s just baseball at this point. But at the end of the day I want to win. ”

Wheeler is 5-5 with a 3.56 ERA in 15 starts against the Mets.

Kodai Senga, who has thrown just 5 1/3 major league innings all year, is the surprise Game 1 starter for the Mets

The 31-year-old Japanese pitcher made just one start this season as he dealt with injuries that included tightness in his right triceps. The team’s projected No. 1 starter this year, Senga also was sidelined by a strained left calf.

The Phillies named Cristopher Sánchez (11-9, 3.32 ERA) their Game 2 starter.

One reason to give the nod for a home start to Sánchez is this: He has a 2.21 ERA in Philly this season, compared to a whopping 5.02 ERA on the road.

“It’s really amazing the steps that he’s taken, the growth that he’s had, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “This guy started the year at 92, 93 miles an hour, really commanding the baseball, and now he’s 95, 96, touching 97 and maintaining his command.”

Aaron Nola starts Game 3 for the Phillies. Luis Severino starts for the Mets in Game 2. Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana are the likely starters in New York in Games 3 and 4.

Thomson believed the Phillies made the most of their five days off headed into Game 1. The Phillies held an intrasquad scrimmage, took batting practice, had infield drills and pitchers fielding drills as they tried to keep a routine as close to normal as it gets during the regular season.

The Phillies rode late-season hot streaks into the playoffs each of the last two seasons as a wild card team and reached the World Series in 2022 and the NL Championship Series in 2023.

“I was real happy with the focus of the guys coming in,' Thomson said. ”Tuesday was a full workout with a lot of high-velocity machine work in the cages for our hitters. You’re a little bit more concerned about the hitting and the timing of the hitters as opposed to the pitching side. But we had a lot of high-velocity work on Tuesday. A lot of breaking ball work, heavy velocity breaking ball work. Wednesday was the intrasquad game and that went really well. I really loved the intensity of it. The guys played really well for five innings."

It’s family reunion in the NLDS broadcast booth.

Long time Phillies TV announcer Tom McCarthy is set to shift to the radio for two innings each game on WIP 94.1 FM for the series while his son, Pat McCarthy, handles various radio duties for the Mets on 880 AM in New York

Tom McCarthy has worked as a Phillies broadcaster for 22 of his 24 years calling baseball games. He worked as the Mets’ radio play-by-play announcer from 2006-07 before returning to Philadelphia. Pat got his first break in the radio broadcast booth for the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate, Lehigh Valley.

“His stuff has been awesome during the postseason,” Tom McCarthy said. “He’s handled the clubhouse for them. I was really proud of the way he handled those interviews. I was happy for him last night. I was sort of sitting there torn, because I don’t know if I feel like dealing with this. But I was happy for him.”

There are no plans for father and son to share an inning during the NLDS.

Tom McCarthy, who has broadcast a wide array of sports, including the NFL, serves as the play-by-play announcer, with John Kruk as the deadpan analyst -- for Phillies’ broadcasts on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

“I'm grateful for all my partners because they make me who I am,” the elder McCarthy said. “He has been an unbelievable partner to be around. It's kind of the way we were growing up, as brothers, to do stuff like that. He's been able to carry it over onto the air.”

Wheeler, catcher J.T. Realmuto and more than half the roster enjoyed the Mets-Brewers game over a cookout at outfielder Nick Castellanos' house.

“We do cookouts like that stuff pretty regularly throughout the season. That was probably the first time we’ve ever done one and actually watched baseball,” Realmuto said. “Usually we’re just hanging out, maybe watching a football game. None of us have ever sat around and watched a baseball game together. That was kind of interesting.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Philadelphia Phillies' Alec Bohm, left, talks with Kyle Schwarber, right, during a baseball workout, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Philadelphia, ahead of the National League Division Series against the New York Mets. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper lays on the field during a baseball workout, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Philadelphia, ahead of the National League Division Series against the New York Mets,. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia Phillies' J.T. Realmuto speaks during a baseball news conference in Philadelphia, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, ahead of the National League Division Series. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia Phillies gather around the batting cage during a baseball workout, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Philadelphia, ahead of the National League Division Series against the New York Mets. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler speaks during a baseball news conference in Philadelphia, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, ahead of the National League Division Series. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza speaks during a baseball news conference, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Philadelphia, ahead of the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza speaks during a baseball news conference, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Philadelphia, ahead of the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson speaks during a baseball news conference in Philadelphia, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, ahead of the National League Division Series. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper looks on during a baseball workout in Philadelphia, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, ahead of the National League Division Series against the New York Mets. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

New York Mets' Kodai Senga, left, speaks alongside his interpreter Hiro Fujiwara, right, during a baseball news conference, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Philadelphia, ahead of the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

New York Mets' Kodai Senga speaks during a baseball news conference, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Philadelphia, ahead of the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia Phillies gather during a baseball workout in Philadelphia, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, ahead of the National League Division Series against the New York Mets. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton watches practice during a baseball workout in Philadelphia, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, ahead of the National League Division Series against the New York Mets. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper gets into the batting cage during a baseball workout in Philadelphia, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, ahead of the National League Division Series against the New York Mets. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joe Musgrove needs Tommy John surgery and won’t pitch for the San Diego Padres in the NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The right-hander has an ulnar collateral ligament injury, A.J. Preller, the Padres president of baseball operations, said Friday. Recovery typically takes 12 to 18 months, meaning Musgrove could miss the entire 2025 season.

“I'm devastated about not being able to finish what we started,” an emotional Musgrove said in the Padres dugout. “It's just a matter of coming to grips with that this is it for me.”

Musgrove is just the latest in a series of MLB pitchers who've sustained UCL injuries this season, including Atlanta's Spencer Strider, Cleveland's Shane Bieber, Toronto's Alek Manoah and Miami's Eury Pérez.

“It's rampant in our game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Musgrove left Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series with elbow tightness. He threw two slow curveballs to fall behind 2-1 on Atlanta's Matt Olson with two outs in the fourth and was visited by pitching coach Ruben Niebla. Padres manager Mike Shildt and an athletic trainer joined them, and Musgrove came out.

“If you’re not a pitcher, it’s very difficult to explain. I just had a hard time getting to full extension and letting pitches go,” Musgrove said Wednesday. “There wasn’t a whole lot of confidence behind it. I had two outs in the inning. I was hoping to be able to get through the inning and then address it in between, but I didn’t make it to that point.”

Musgrove had been pitching through discomfort for a couple of weeks. The 31-year-old right-hander had two stints on the injured list with right elbow inflammation this season, costing him a total of 63 games. His second stint sidelined him for 2 1/2 months. He had a 2.17 ERA over 54 innings since Aug. 12.

“I was told back in the middle months of the summer that it was some damage there and that it was kind of a matter of time,” he said. “This seemed like something that I could manage. Physically, I felt like I was capable of throwing still. It didn't feel like anything as extreme as a UCL injury, but over the last few weeks it was getting a little more intense.”

Musgrove said he would reach out to players who've had Tommy John surgery to learn more. The procedure involves reattaching a tendon from another part of the body to the elbow.

“I don't know when the surgery will be. I'd like to get it sooner rather than later,” he said. “I'm going to be supporting the hell out of these guys.”

Musgrove was in the second year of a $100 million, five-year extension that he signed in August 2022. He gets $20 million annually from 2023-27.

Losing Musgrove is a blow. The native of El Cajon is revered by Padres fans for throwing the first no-hitter in franchise history in 2021, when he was acquired that January in a three-team trade.

Preller said, “We're definitely not here if it's not for Joe Musgrove.”

“He’s a special individual, but I can tell you we’ll be just fine and compete,” Shildt said. “He’ll be in our hearts but won’t be with us on the mound.”

Musgrove is well-liked around the majors as well, and Roberts called his absence “a bummer.”

“Joe is not only a good pitcher, he’s a great guy,” Roberts said. “So to be at the 1-yard line as far as in this series and for him to not be a part of it, it sucks.”

The Padres will start right-hander Dylan Cease in Game 1, followed by righty Yu Darvish in Game 2.

“He’s a great leader, great teammate,” Cease said of Musgrove. “He’ll be with us in other ways.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove exits the game during the fourth inning in Game 2 of an NL Wild Card Series baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove exits the game during the fourth inning in Game 2 of an NL Wild Card Series baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove throws to an Atlanta Braves batter during the first inning in Game 2 of an NL Wild Card Series baseball game Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)