Philadelphia @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 19, 2018 ) NY Mets 8, Philadelphia 2

The free-falling Philadelphia Phillies have failed to win any of their last nine series, going 10-18 in that stretch to fall into second place in the National League East. After dropping two of three to the division's cellar dwellers, the Phillies (73-66) turn to ace Aaron Nola to help them take out their frustrations on the fourth-place New York Mets (63-76) in Friday's opener of a three-game set at Citi Field.

"We set out to win every baseball game. And our pleasure or our disappointment hinges on how we perform, and not really what Atlanta's doing," Philadelphia manager Gabe Kapler said following Wednesday's 2-1 setback to lowly Miami. Asdrubal Cabrera improved to 6-for-14 with two homers, five RBIs and two runs scored during his four-game hitting streak after plating fellow former Met Jose Bautista for the Phillies' lone run against the Marlins. While Philadelphia remains within earshot of the Braves, New York is playing much better baseball at the moment with 17 wins in the last 28 -- including three of five at Citizens Bank Park on Aug. 16-19. Wilmer Flores had a pair of RBIs singles in Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers and is 13-for-43 versus the Phillies this season.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, SNY (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Aaron Nola (15-4, 2.23 ERA) vs. Mets LH Steven Matz (5-11, 4.20)

Nola suffered his first loss since July 14 on Sunday after allowing four runs for just the third time this season in an 8-1 setback versus the Chicago Cubs. The 25-year-old struck out 11 in that contest, the same number he fanned over seven innings in a 4-2 win on Aug. 17 as he improved to 3-0 with a 1.44 ERA in four starts against the Mets in 2018. Kapler shuffled the pitching rotation to move up Nola, who is in line to face the first-place Braves on two occasions later this month.

Matz saw his winless stretch extend to five outings on Saturday despite striking out a career-high 11 batters against San Francisco. The 27-year-old, who yielded one run over seven innings for the second straight trip to the mound, has struggled in a pair of outings versus Philadelphia this season -- posting an 0-1 mark after surrendering seven runs on 10 hits in seven frames. Cesar Hernandez is 3-for-7 against Matz, but the hurler has handcuffed Carlos Santana (0-for-8) and Justin Bour (0-for-6).

WALK-OFFS

1. Philadelphia has plated just one run in four of its last five games.

2. Mets CF Brandon Nimmo, who is 5-for-24 with nine strikeouts against the Phillies this season, is 5-for-9 with a homer and three RBIs in his last three contests overall.

3. Santana has two homers, six RBIs and four runs scored during his eight-game hitting streak.

PREDICTION: Mets 3, Phillies 1