Philadelphia Phillies' Mick Abel struggles against Mets, putting his immediate future in question
In the biggest start of Mick Abel's young career, the Philadelphia Phillies rookie was unable to deliver.
With the opportunity to take the series from the New York Mets and solidify first place in the NL East, Abel was pulled after just three innings in the shortest start of the season. The Mets' bats were as hot as the air temperature around Citizens Bank Park Saturday night, hitting seven home runs in the 11-4 victory.
The biggest blasts were off Abel, as the Mets went back-to-back-to-back in the third inning off the Phillies rookie. Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto's home runs went a combined 1,166 feet as the top of the lineup teed off Abel. The trio went 5 of 6 off Abel, with three of those hits being home runs.
On a night in which Abel could further straighten his case for remaining in the Phillies rotation past July, there were more questions than answers.
"I just gotta take it as it is," Abel said. "Just be honest with myself. I wasn't locating my fastball. Just gotta get after it in my (bull)pen this week. Bouncing off-speed, making sure it's down in the zone, not messing up with it."
Abel struggled to keep the ball in the yard, allowing four home runs in just three innings of work. He became the first Phillies starting pitcher to allow 4+ home runs in 3-or-fewer innings since Jerad Eickoff in 2019. Vicente Padilla (2005) and Robert Person (1999) also have done this for the franchise.
The Phillies rookie threw 73 pitches, 48 of which were for strikes. Aside from the four home runs allowed, Abel got four outs via the fly ball and only had one ground out while finishing with one strikeout. In five starts with the Phillies, Abel has allowed seven home runs and has an ERA of 3.47. Opposing hitters are batting .253 off Abel, but the Mets appeared to know what was coming on this hot and humid Saturday night.
"They all got really good approaches," Abel said. "I think they can all hit the heater whenever they want. They do a good job with the fastball, so (they're) pretty tough."
This was an opportunity for Abel to shine against one of baseball's best teams and erase the pain from being swept in April. Instead, the Phillies will have to wait another day to see if they can actually beat the Mets — who have won 12 of their last 17 games against the Phillies dating back to the London series last June (including the postseason).
There's some doubt about Abel's immediate future as well. He has a 4.67 ERA in June and has allowed seven home runs in 17.1 innings pitched. Abel has pitched his way into consideration to remain in the Phillies rotation, and still has that opportunity.
How does Abel get back to the pitcher that allowed just one earned run in his first two starts?
"Just keep attacking hitters," Abel said. "First-pitch strikes are a big deal to me. Try to get guys out in three pitches or less. Just continuing to try and do that, obviously, with some improved locations."
