Mets Series Review: Philadelphia Closeout
The New York Mets finished their season series with the Phillies, posting a record of 14-5 in 19 games. It matched the Mets' highest win total in any season against the Phillies. The Mets won all six series against the Phillies, with one sweep thrown in. They had a No-Hitter and memorable comebacks, including their win on Sunday as they took three of four to improve to 79-44 on the season.
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The series started on Friday night, as the Mets, after losing three of four in Atlanta, needed a strong start from Chris Bassitt with a doubleheader looming on Saturday. The Mets gave Bassitt an early run against Aaron Nola as Alec Bohm, trying to turn a double play, threw a ball to second that was wide of the bag, allowing Brandon Nimmo to score. The Mets added two runs in the third on a home run by Pete Alonso, while Jeff McNeil singled home Daniel Vogelbach. The Mets added a fifth run in the fifth, as Starling Marte stole home on a double steal. The Phillies scored two in the fifth, but Chris Bassitt gave the Mets what they needed six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts.
Brett Baty had a two-run single in the seventh to stretch the Mets' lead to 7-2. From there, the Mets bullpen did the rest. Adam Ottavino had a shaky seventh, allowing two hits, while Joely Rodriguez and Trevor May slammed the door to help the Mets take the opener while matching the 77 games they won in 2021.
In May, the Mets had two rainouts in their series at Citizen's Bank Ballpark; one forced a doubleheader on Mother's Day, and the other game was rescheduled for a day-night doubleheader on Saturday. With the Mets pitching thin, Trevor Williams was forced into starting the opener as David Peterson, who rejoined the rotation with Carlos Carrasco on the shelf, started the nightcap. The Mets also had a full taxi squad as pitchers that were nowhere near the team's plans were forced into the bullpen as the Mets looked to survive a tough stretch.
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Trevor Williams gave the Mets more than they could have imagined as he pitched into the fifth inning, allowing four hits and two walks with allowing a run. He was helped out as the Phillies ran themselves out of an inning, attempting the same double steal the Mets did on Friday. This time it did not work as the fundamentally sound Mets successfully completed the throw home with Michael Perez tagging Bryson Stott out at home. The Mets took the lead in the fifth as Perez had a two-out, two-run single.
After Trevor Williams walked the leadoff hitter in the fifth, Seth Lugo came into the game and struck out the side. The Mets added to their lead in the sixth, as Francisco Lindor had an RBI triple and scored on a single by Jeff McNeil. Lugo remained in the game and got on out before Nick Castellanos singled. Joely Rodriguez came in and gave up a double to Bryson Stott but got the next two batters, limiting the Phillies to one run on a sac-fly by Jean Segura.
Joely Rodriguez pitched a perfect seventh, while Adam Ottavino slammed the door in the eight. With Edwin Diaz on hand, the Mets padded their lead in the ninth, scoring four runs to make it 8-1. No longer a save situation, the Mets called on Sam Clay, who made his Mets debut. Clay got the first two outs before walking Garrett Stubbs. The following two batters reached on errors, giving the Phillies an unearned run before Clay finished the game by striking out Kyle Schrawber.
The Mets had won the opener of the doubleheader and looked for the sweep, knowing that they had won all nine games against the Phillies that were started by Aaron Nola and Zach Wheeler, who bristled and the Mets handing him a loss in the opener, calling all their hits lucky. The Mets got a run in the first inning on a wild pitch by Bailey Falter. However, David Peterson struggled and gave up a leadoff double to Schrawber, who scored on a single by J.T. Realmuto. In the third inning, the Phillies took the lead as Alec Bohm had a two-run double. Peterson was roughed up, allowing three runs on eight hits, as he did not make it past the fifth inning.
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The Mets got effective relief from Stephen Nogosick, who allowed one hit in one and two-thirds innings. Rob Zastrzynzy replaced Sam Clay in the bullpen and allowed one run as the Mets had a revolving door throughout the series, trying to keep the frontline relievers fresh. The Mets, meanwhile, never figured out Bailey Falter and lost 4-1, collecting just three hits as the bats were silenced.
With Taijuan Walker still dealing with a minor back strain, the Mets were forced to call upon Jose Butto to start the finale on Sunday. Butto, a pitching prospect, had followed Brett Batty from Binghamton and made just a few starts in AAA before making his major league debut. The Mets also called former bank teller Nate Fisher to be the long man in the bullpen. Both players were making their major league debuts. Butto's debut could not have gotten off to a worse start as the Phillies had a 4-0 lead before recording an out as Alec Bohm hit a three-run home run, while J.T. Realmuto had a ringing double and scored on a single by Nick Castellanos.
Jose Butto settled down as Kyle Gibson helped the Mets get back into the game by walking Daniel Vogelbach to start the second inning. The inning was extended by an error by Alec Bohm as Michael Perez had a two-run single to put the Mets on the board. While Butto pitched two scoreless innings, the Mets battled back to tie the game as Vogelbach had an RBI single in the third and Starling Marte had an RBI single in the fourth. However, Bohm hit a second three-run home run off Butto in the fourth that barely cleared the fence and ticked off the foul pole. Jose Butto left the game after the fourth, allowing seven runs on nine hits, with five strikeouts in his debut.
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Down 7-4, the Mets called on Nate Fisher, who was out of baseball last season, working at a bank in Nebraska. Fisher pitched three remarkable innings, allowing one hit and two walks while pitching around a 45-minute rain delay. After the game resumed, the Phillies called in Connor Brogdon to pitch the seventh. Brogdon pitched nearly two innings on Saturday and appeared to be on fumes as Mark Canha hit a game-tying three-run homer. Fisher pitched the seventh, picking Bryson Stott and striking out Nick Matson for his first career K.
The Phillies regained the lead in the eighth, with Jean Segura going full celebration mode with a pinch-hit home run off Trevor May. May limited the damage to one run as David Roberston came in to get the save for Philadelphia. Robertson pitched two innings in the nightcap on Saturday and was clearly gassed as Jeff McNeil had a leadoff double. Mark Canha followed and flipped off the Phillies with a two-run home that gave the Mets their first lead of the game. Brandon Nimmo added a home run off Tyler Cyr as the Mets handed the ball to Edwin Diaz with a 10-8 lead.
Edwin Diaz was on for the save but did not have his best stuff, as the Phillies got hits on the first two pitches he threw. Buck Showalter looked to settle down the closer as Bryson Stott stepped up, looking to do damage. Stott hit the ball to the warning track as Starling Marte and Brandon Nimmo nearly collided on the catch. There was one out as J.T. Realmuto tagged up and moved to third, but Starling Marte kept Nick Castellanos at first with a solid throw to second. Nick Matson followed with a sac-fly to center to cut the lead to 10-9, ending Diaz's 21-game scoreless streak. Jean Segura, who had a walk-off home run against Edwin Diaz in 2019, walked to push the tying run to second. Digging deep, Diaz struck out Darick Hall looking to end the game and preserve the win for the Mets, who now head to the Bronx for the second leg of the Subway Series.