After getting one hit for seven innings, the Mets came alive.
The Mets continue their magic run with a come from behind win against the Phillies’ best starter and some excellent relief pitchers, winning 6-2 in South Philadelphia.
Old friend Zack Wheeler started for the Phillies, and made quick work of the Mets in the first. Francisco Lindor lined out to Bryce Harper to start the game, and Wheeler struck out both Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo swinging to start the game off strongly.
Kodai Senga returned to a Major League mound for the first time since collapsing in a heap with a calf injury during his sole appearance this season. However, Kyle Schwarber took him deep – really, really deep – on just the third pitch of the game to put the Phillies up 1-0.
Senga settled in after that, allowing a walk to Bryce Harper in between strikeouts to Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos. The frame ended with a Alec Bohm pop out to the right side of the infield. In the second, Senga looked strong, striking out J.T. Realmuto and inducing two fly ball outs. While not a very long appearance, Senga looked good, and this bodes well for future appearances this postseason.
David Peterson was next up for the Mets. Schwarber muscled a single off his hands, but was erased on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Turner. A snap throw to first almost erased Turner, even when a replay seemed to confirm that Pete Alonso tagged Turner on the leg before the oven mitt hit the first base bag. A second walk to Harper put two on for Castellanos, who flied out to Starling Marte to end the inning.
While Jesse Winker walked in the second, the first hit for the Mets came in the fourth inning when Vientos lined a single to left field. Nimmo then walked to put two on with no outs. A borderline high strike sat down Alonso for the first out. José Iglesias, after some bogus strike calls of his own, hit a ball back up the middle that Wheeler deflected, and led to an inning ending double play.
Home plate umpire Andy Fletcher was incredibly inconsistent for both teams, but for the Mets, the inconsistency was especially noticeable, as Wheeler was so on his game today that the Mets needed a fair strike zone to give them a fair chance. Fletcher denied them that.
Marte was hit on the forearm in the top of the fifth, but Wheeler was able to work around the baserunner and keep the Mets off the board.
Peterson started to tire in the fifth, but ended his day with a strikeout of Harper to keep the Mets within a run. Following Peterson’s three innings, Reed Garrett came in and pitched two perfect innings with a strikeout.
Wheeler was excellent all day, allowing just one hit, while getting thirty (!) swings and misses. Whle he was a little wilder than usual, walking four, but he struck out nine and had the Mets totally off-kilter all game.
Once Wheeler was out of the game in the eighth, Francisco Alvarez greeted new pitcher Jeff Hoffman with a single. Harrison Bader replaced him on the base paths when Francisco Lindor came to the plate. Lindor worked a walk to put two on with no one out.
Vientos drove a Hoffman pitch over the third base bag, scoring Bader and pushing Lindor to third, tying the game. After Matt Strahm entered the game, Nimmo laced a ball the other way to score Lindor and give the Mets the lead. Vientos then scored on an Alonso sacrifice fly to give themselves a little breathing room.
Iglesias then had a nice, long at bat that ended in a single up the middle, ending Strahm’s day. Orion Kerkering was next up for Philadelphia, and pinch hitter J.D. Martinez laced a single up the middle, scoring Nimmo and pushing Iglesias to third. A Marte sac fly plated Iglesias for the fifth run of the eighth. A Tyrone Taylor foul out ended the inning, but the damage was done.
Phil Maton got the bottom of the eighth for the Mets and started the frame by freezing Schwarber, the owner of the only two hits thus far for the Phillies. After a strikeout by Turner, Harper collected the third Phillies’ hit on a double down the right field line. Castellanos was next, and banged a single under Lindor’s glove to put men on the corners with two outs. Bohm grounded out to end the eighth, and put the Mets just three outs away from taking the first game of the series.
Tanner Banks took over pitching for Philadelphia in the ninth, and he was greeted by a two-strike hit up the middle by Bader. Lindor struck out for the first out. Luisangel Acuña, who entered the game as a defensive replacement, was up next. During Acuña’s at-bat, Bader took second and was almost called out, save for a bobble of the ball by Bryston Stott. After Acuña struck out, Nimmo lined a single off of Stott’s glove to drive in Bader to take a 6-1 lead.
Ryne Stanek took the ball for the ninth and began by striking out Stott, pouring the salt in his ninth inning wound. Stanek walked J.T. Realmuto, but a Brandon Marsh fly out brought the Phillies down to their final out. Kody Clemens came off the bench and had a long, tough at bat against Stankek that ended in a run scoring double, bringing the Phillies within four runs.
Schwarber then bluffed a bunt (?) to start his at-bat. He didn’t bunt, he flew out to right to end the game and out the Mets up 1-0 in the best of five National League Division Series.
Tomorrow, the Mets will throw Luis Severino against Cristopher Sánchez at 4:08 ET.
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Box scores
Win Probability Added
Fangraphs.com
Big winner: Mark Vientos, +25.0% WPA
Big loser: José Iglesias, -15.5% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +25.2% WPA
Total batter WPA: +24.8% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Vientos’s RBI single, +29.9% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Kyle Schwarber’s leadoff home run, -9.9% WPA