On Sunday, Philadelphia Phillies starter Taijuan Walker is determined to keep the ball on the ground during high-scoring games at London Stadium against the New York Mets. However, he faces a new challenge presented by the bounciness of the artificial turf on the field.
The outfielder Nick Castellanos has noted that London’s turf is the bounciest he has ever played on, requiring players to adjust their approach to ground balls in the outfield. Phillies manager Rob Thomson also described the field surface as “a little bit spongier” than typical turf in the U.S.
In previous games at London Stadium, such as the one between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in 2019, there were a high number of home runs hit due to the unique playing surface. The fences were pushed back last year for the series between St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs as well. The dimensions of the field remain unchanged for this series, with a 16-foot-high center field wall 392 feet from home plate and power alleys at 387 feet.
To mitigate the effect of bounciness of turf, Walker plans to utilize a lot of splitters and aim for ground balls to keep ball on ground level. Playing on artificial turf in London is new experience for both Phillies and Mets marking first time in their rivalry they will compete on this type of surface.
