Phillies (19-28) at Mets (25-21)
7:10 p.m. on CSN
The Phillies' three-game set at Citi Field continues Tuesday night as they look to rebound from a series-opening loss.
The Phils are 3-5 on the road trip so far and will need to win the final two games to end it .500. That looks like a tall task with their 1-6 record against the Mets this season and with two tough right-handers on tap.
Here are five things to keep an eye on heading into Game 2:
Those innings won't eat themselves
Severino Gonzalez was able to record only 13 outs on Memorial Day, forcing the Phillies' bullpen to pitch 3 2/3 innings in a 6-3 loss.
Tonight, the Phils turn to Jerome Williams (3-4, 5.44) who has not pitched more than five innings in any of his five May starts.
They really need some length out of the starting pitcher tonight to save the bullpen. Justin De Fratus, Jake Diekman and Jeanmar Gomez have all pitched in consecutive games.
MLB
Williams had been a quality start machine for the Phillies before this month, tossing eight in 13 starts since signing last August. But this month, he's 1-3 with a 7.03 ERA and has allowed 41 baserunnres in 24 1/3 innings. He's also given up a homer in four straight starts.
Williams' worst outing of 2015 was his second start of the season, also at Citi Field. He allowed five runs (four earned) on 10 hits over five innings and was taken deep by Mets first baseman Lucas Duda and injured catcher Travis d'Arnaud.
Duel with deGrom
Reigning Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom is 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA against the Phillies in three career meetings, including his 6 1/3 shutout innings against them on April 13.
The 26-year-old right-hander is coming off one of the majors' best pitching performances of 2015 -- he struck out 11 batters and allowed just one baserunner over eight shutout innings against a formidable Cardinals lineup last Thursday.
He's 5-4 with a 2.75 ERA and 1.11 WHIP on the season, and he's held right-handed hitters to a .173 batting average in 98 at-bats.
Active Phillies have hit just .209 against deGrom with one extra-base hit, a Ryan Howard three-run homer, in 43 at-bats. Freddy Galvis is 3 for 3 off him.
With deGrom so stingy at home -- he's 10-1 with a 1.19 ERA in his last 12 starts at Citi Field dating back to last summer -- it figures to be a low-scoring night for the Phillies.
Men on fire
Howard and Chase Utley are rolling and that has continued even in the Phillies' recent skid of losing four out of five games.
Utley is 13 for 32 (.406) over his last 10 games with five doubles, a triple, six RBIs, five walks and five runs. He's raised his batting average by 65 points, from .118 to .183, and boosted his OPS by 161 points, from .403 to .564.
Howard has been swinging well for much longer. He narrowly missed a grand slam on Monday, crushing a ball off Bartolo Colon to the warning track in center field for a game-tying sacrifice fly. If that ball goes 409 feet rather than 405, the Phils would have been up three runs.
Howard has hit .304/.347/.652 over his last 31 games with seven doubles, a triple, 10 homers, 22 RBIs and 16 runs scored.
For the season, he's up to .270 with an .859 OPS. That OPS ranks ninth among all major-league first basemen, ahead of guys like Freddie Freeman, Joey Votto, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Abreu. Raise your hand if you thought you'd be hearing that the day after Memorial Day.
Road woes
The Phillies are 12-10 at home this season but just 7-18 away from Citizens Bank Park. The problems have been mostly pitching-related.
Phillies pitchers have the worst road WHIP in baseball at 1.56. They've also allowed their opponents the game's highest batting average (.287) and on-base percentage (.359) on the road.
The reason for the huge home-road disparity is not that Citizens Bank Park, half-filled these days, still provides a tangible home-field advantage. No, the real reason is that 15 of the Phillies' 25 road games to date have been against strong offenses: seven against the Nationals, four against the Cardinals and four against the Rockies. The Nats lead the NL in runs, and the Cardinals and Rockies rank in the top-four in batting average and OPS.
This and that
• The Phillies have lost 16 of their last 20 games against the Mets.
• Mets closer Jeurys Familia has a 1.80 ERA against the Phillies since 2013 with 19 strikeouts in 20 innings. He's tied for third in the majors with 14 saves, behind only Twins closer Glen Perkins and Nats closer Drew Storen.
• The Mets began the season 13-3 but are just 12-18 since.
• At 19-28, the Phillies are on a 65-97 pace. Through 47 games last season, they were 21-26. In 2013, they were 23-24. In 2012, they were 24-23.