In the National League East, a defining stretch of schedule is in the offing as the first-place Philadelphia Phillies and second-place New York Mets begin a three-game set at Citi Field on Monday.  Going into the series,

Cristopher Sanchez (11-4, 2.41 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 169 strikeouts); Mets: Kodai Senga (7-5, 2.58 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 99 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Phillies -126, Mets +105; over/under is 8 runs BOTTOM LINE: The New York Mets host the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday to begin a three-game series.

The New York Mets are a season-worst seven games behind first-place Philadelphia in the NL East entering a three-game home series against the Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies (76-54) and New York Mets (69-61) begin a 3-game NL East series Monday. First pitch from Citi Field in Queens, New York, is set for 7:10 p.m ET. Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's MLB odds around the Phillies vs. Mets odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.

Get the best Phillies vs. Mets predictions ahead of tonight's matchup at Citi Field. Free MLB picks for August 25.

The Mets and Braves last met just over a week ago in a three-game series in New York. Pete Alonso scored two home runs in the opener to become the Mets all-time leading home-run scorer in front of a delighted crowd at Citi Field. Alonso - known as the Polar Bear - has now hit 254 home runs for the franchise since joining in 2016.