The second half of the 2026 MLB season begins with a primetime showdown between the Mets (40-57) and the All-Star host, the Philadelphia Phillies (54-43). Philadelphia went 4-2 versus the Mets this season and outscored New York, 34-22 over those two series.
Philadelphia has had quite the turnaround during the first half. After firing Rob Thompson following a 9-19 start to the season, the Phillies have gone 43-29 since to position them 2.0 games back of the Braves for the NL East lead. Philadelphia finished June with some hot bats ranking second in runs scored (153) and fourth in home runs (43).
New York ended the first half of the season with three-straight losses via a sweep by Boston. The Mets were outscored 13-4 in that series. After the first half of the season, the Mets find themselves 12 games back of a Wild Card spot. The offense hit .234 (26th) with the eighth-fewest runs scored, plus a 4.27 ERA (18th) and the second-fewest saves (16).
Let’s dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Mets at Phillies
- Date: Thursday, July 17, 2026
- Time: 7:00 PM EST
- Site: Citizens Bank Park
- City: Philadelphia, PA
- Network/Streaming: ESPN
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Mets at the Phillies
The latest odds as of Thursday:
- Moneyline: New York Mets (+109), Philadelphia Phillies (-131)
- Spread: Phillies -1.5 (+145), Mets +1.5 (-176)
- Total: 9.5
Probable starting pitchers for Mets at Phillies
- Thursday’s pitching matchup (July 16): Aaron Nola vs. Christian Scott
- Mets: Christian Scott
2026 stats: 54.0 IP, 2-1, 3.17 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 65 K, 26 BB
2026 Stats: 97.0 IP, 3-6, 5.75 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 102 K, 31 B
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not
- The Phillies’ Brandon Marsh is hitting .301 with 102 hits, 15 home runs and 46 RBI over 339 at-bats
- The Phillies’ JT Realmuto is hitting .206 with 47 hits and 53 strikeouts over 228 at-bats
- The Mets’ Juan Soto is hitting .290 with 80 hits, 21 home runs, and 51 RBI over 276 at-bats
- The Mets’ Fransisco Lindor is hitting .216 with 33 hits and 27 strikeouts over 153 at-bats
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Mets at Phillies
- The Phillies are an MLB-worst 37-60 ATS
- The Mets are 42-55 ATS, ranking fourth-worst
- The Phillies are 51-41-5 to the Under, ranking fourth-best
- The Mets are 45-44-8 to the Over
- The Phillies are 17-29 ATS at home, ranking fourth-worst
- The Mets are 20-28 ATS on the road, ranking fourth-worst
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Mets and the Phillies
Rotoworld Bet Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday’s game between the Mets and the Phillies:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Phillies on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Phillies at -1.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Under on the Game Total of 9.5
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