Kyle Schwarber set the Major League record this year with 15 home runs out of the leadoff position. He has carried teams through the postseason and he has sunk them.

There are a lot of similarities, but the Phillies have just been a little better in every way. The Phillies hit 11 points higher and stole 41 more bases. Walks, on-base, slugging all give Philadelphia a tiny advantage.

On the mound, the numbers again favor Philly in the Earned Run Average stat and the Walks plus Hits Per Inning Pitched were almost identical. What is interesting is Mets pitchers refused to give in to batters or were just wilder, giving up 142 more walks. Phillies pitchers by contrast gave up 107 more hits. Mets pitchers gave up 16 fewer home runs.

The Mets will go with Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, David Peterson, and Jose Quintana. Peterson is likely the name fans won’t recognize, but he may be the ace of the staff into the future. His ERA of 2.90 is between a half and a full run better than the other three.

Following the not-quite-good enough theme, Zach Wheeler’s ERA is 2.57 with 224 K’s in 200 innings. Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez, and Ranger Suarez average ERAs of about 3.40. Philly doesn’t have a fifth starter. You really don’t need one in October.

The Mets’ Middle relief is solid. Edwin Diaz’ ERA of 3.59 is awfully high, though, and he blew seven saves in 27 chances.

Both have tremendous all-around shortstops in Francisco Lindor and Trea Turner. Both have guys who can win games.

The Phillies just seem to have a little bit more in every way.

Prediction: Philadelphia in 4.