2 weeks Ago
The Mets were riding a four game streak high, and were two games ahead of the Braves, firmly in the wild card race. The Phillies stood with one game between them and clinching a postseason berth. The Mets and Phillies each had one of their best starters taking the mound.
For the Mets, David Peterson has been really good since he returned to the team after recovering from hip surgery a few months ago. Cristopher Sánchez, pitching for the Phillies, has been a revelation these last couple months, making one of the better rotations in baseball even stronger. Peterson started the game off with a jolt.
A ten pitch first inning with swinging strikeouts of both Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. It was a good portend for the evening. And the energy kept up in the bottom of the first.
José Iglesias led off for the Mets with a solo home run to put them ahead before they recorded an out. A Starling Marte single and Mark Vientos walk put runners on first and second with no outs, and they moved to second and third on a Sanchez wild pitch. Pete Alonso struck out for the first out, then Brandon Nimmo grounded out for the second out but he did drive in a run to put the Mets ahead by two.
J.D. Martinez grounded out to end the inning but it was a good start for the Mets.
The Phillies started to fight back in the top of the second. Back to back singles from Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos put two runners on with no outs. J.
T. Realmuto hit a pop fly near the foul line in shallow right field, and Alonso attempted to field it but dropped it allowing Realmuto to reach first and load the bases with no outs. Edmundo Sosa hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the Phillies first run and cut the Mets’ lead in half.
Peterson got Weston Wilson to strike out and Johan Rojas hit a pop-up that Alonso was able to field to end the inning. In the bottom of the inning, the Mets were mostly quiet, save for a one-out Harrison Bader walk. But he was left stranded without budging from first.
The top of the third started out well. Schwarber and Turner both went down to start the inning. But Harper and Bohm both singled to set up runners on the corners, and Castellanos doubled to drive in Harper.
A misplay led Bohm to try and score but Peterson got the ball at home well in advance of Bohm to tag him out and end the inning. The bottom of the inning featured the Mets going down in order with two strikeouts. The top of the fourth was.
..lively, to say the least.
Sosa hit a one-out single, and Wilson doubled to put two runners in scoring position for the Phillies. Rojas then hit a ball fair down the line that the ball boy fielded, resulting in a ground-rule double that drove in two runs, and subsequently stole third base. Schwarber popped out for the second out, but Petersonw as pulled from the game after that, and Adam Ottavino was brought in to try and close out the inning.
Turner singled to drive in Rojas, and then Turner stole second base. Harper was then intentionally walked to again put two runners on, and Alec Bohm put the cap on the inning by hitting a three run home run. A six run top of the fourth to put the Mets down by a bundle.
The Mets responded in the bottom of the inning by getting a one-out baserunner courtesy of a J.D. Martinez walk that was then immediately erased in an inning-ending double play.
Huascar Brazoban came in to pitch in the fifth inning. His only baserunner was Weston WIlson, who reached on a walk and stole second base but he was stranded by a Rojas striking out to end the inning. The Mets looked like they might threaten in the bottom of the inning.
After two outs to start the inning, Iglesias doubled to prolong the inning. Marte and Vientos then both walked to load the bases for Pete Alonso. Alonso struck out on three pitches, watching the third strike go by to end the inning.
In the sixth inning the Phillies’ bats were still hot. Schwarber led off with a walk, and Turner singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. Harper popped out for the first out but Bohm singled to drive in Schwarber.
The Mets then brought in Alex Young to take over on the mound. He got Castellanos to ground out but it drove in the Phillies’ tenth run of the game, putting the Mets down by eight runs. Realmuto singled to prolong the inning but Young got Sosa to ground out to end the inning.
The Phillies boring Orion Kerkering to relieve Sánchez and with the exception of Luis Torrens getting hit by a pitch with two outs the Mets did nothing, continuing to march towards a near-inevitable loss. With the exception of a Johan Rojas one-out triple, the top of the seventh was quiet for the Phillies. In the bottom of the seventh, the Phillies brought in Matt Strahm, and the Mets went down in order with two strikeouts.
The Mets swapped one Young for another, bringing Alex Young to pitch in the top of the eighth. He got two outs to start the inning, but a Castellanos single led to a Realmuto two-run home run to put the Phillies up by double digits. He got out of it after that, but the game was even farther than too far gone at that point.
The Phillies brought in Tyler Gilbert to pitch in the bottom of the inning. And with the exception of a two-out Tyrone Taylor single (he was brought in to pinch hit for Brandon Nimmo), the Mets went down without a fight. Taylor stayed in to play left field, and Eddy Alvarez was brought in to pitch.
Schwarber doubled and he hit Turner with a pitch to put two runners on, but he got out of the inning clean, with a strikeout to his name and getting Bryce Harper out as a cherry on top. Jeff Hoffman came in to close things out for the Phillies. And the Mets went out with a whimper, going down in order with two strikeouts.
The Phillies clinched a postseason berth today and are a win away from clinching the division. The Mets got a lucky break in the Braves losing to the Marlins, so they remain two games ahead of the Braves and in the WIld Card hunt no matter what happens with the Diamondbacks game tonight. But it’s so close to the end, and the Mets need every win they can get, or at least to keep every game closer so they have a chance.
But tomorrow is another day, with another game, and another shot to keep growing a lead against the Braves. SB Nation GameThreads Amazin’ Avenue The Good Phight Box scores MLB.com ESPN Win Probability Added FanGraphs What’s WPA? Big Mets winner : José Iglesias, +8.
9% WPA Big Mets loser : David Peterson, -30.1% WPA Mets pitchers : -52.6% WPA Mets hitters : +2.
6% WPA Teh aw3s0mest play : José Iglesias’ first inning home run, +10.4% WPA Teh sux0rest play : Johan Rojas 2 RBI ground rule double, -14.8% WPA.
