It was another night of action in South Philly as the Phillies hosted the Mets.
After taking a lead late in the game, the Mets would fight back to try and steal a victory. More late-inning heroics from Bryson Stott helped send the game into extra innings.
It would not be enough Thursday night, as the Mets would earn a victory, 6-5.
Taijuan Walker Injury
Taijuan Walker took the mound for the Phillies in Thursday’s finale with the Mets.
Walker, who had spent two seasons with New York, entered the game with a 3-0 record and a 4.82 earned run average. It was his fourth start of the season after missing the start of the season with right shoulder soreness.
In the top of the first inning, New York would strike first. Pete Alonso went deep to give the Mets the lead, and they would follow it up with an RBI double by Brett Baty in the second inning.
Taijuan Walker started to settle in and was working his way through the fourth inning when he took a comebacker off his foot. Taijuan was in a lot of pain and had to exit the ballgame.
Matt Strahm would enter in relief and despite coming in on the spot, he delivered 1.2 scoreless innings for the Phillies. Strahm’s ERA is now down to 1.00 on the season.
The Phillies Never Give Up
All was quiet on the offensive front until the sixth inning for the Phillies. JT Realmuto and Bryce Harper would reach base, giving Alec Bohm a chance to deliver. Bohm would do just take, driving in JT Realmuto for his 35th RBI on the season.
Harper would then score on a Nick Castellanos sacrifice fly, tying the game at 2 each.
The Phillies would jump in front in the bottom of the 7th inning. Bryson Stott would pinch hit and work a walk, giving Kyle Schwarber an opportunity. Schwarbs would rip a double, driving home Bryson to take a 3-2 lead.
One Too Many Mistakes
After taking the lead in the bottom of the 7th, the Phillies called on Jeff Hoffman to keep the lead in the top of the 8th.
Tyrone Taylor would lead the inning off by reaching on an error by Bryson Stott. This is Stott’s second error at short this season, despite the limited action. Pete Alonso would walk, giving JD Martinez and Francisco Lindor a chance to drive in some runs.
Hoffman would get both batters to strike out, flipping the momentum of the inning. However, Harrison Bader would hit a ball back up the middle, hitting the Phillies’ reliever in the back, and scoring the tying run.
Jeff Hoffman followed that up with a wild pitch, letting Pete score from third, giving New York a 4-3 lead in this game.
Jose Ruiz would toss the 9th for the Phillies. His job was to keep the game at a 1-run deficit and he did just that. He shut down the Mets 1-2-3 and got two strikeouts for good measure. Jose has been solid since joining the team to fill Yunior Marte’s spot.
Twice As Nice
Chase Utley was in the building tonight for the Phillies-Mets game to promote their upcoming series in London.
Utley is known for his history against the Mets and he dominated the franchise during this big league career. As a Met-killer, Chase always found a way to deliver, and Bryson Stott has that same gene.
Stott hit a solo home run in the 9th inning in New York on Monday night to start an unbelievable rally, leading to a Phillies victory.
Bryson delivered once again in the 9th inning of Thursday’s game. Stott would drive in Brandon Marsh to tie the game against Edwin Diaz, making it a 4-4 ballgame. He would then steal second base, before the inning would end in a tie.
Extra, Extra, Read All About It
Jose Ruiz would remain in the game during the top of the 10th. Ruiz would get the first two batters of the inning to ground out, allowing the ghost runner to move to third base.
With two outs, Francisco Lindor stepped to the dish. In a 3-2 count, he got the former All-Star to go down swinging. Lindor went 0/17 in the four games between the clubs.
The Phillies had Alec Bohm at the plate with a chance to win the game in the bottom of the 10th. He would ground into a double play with Bryce Harper sliding into second base to try and break it up. Second baseman Jeff McNeil did not take too kindly to that.
Jose Alvarado would take the ball in the top of the 11th inning. A first-pitch single by JD Martinez would give the Mets a 5-4 lead. Harrison Bader would follow that hit with a double. Putting two runners in scoring position with nobody out.
Starling Marte and Mark Vientos would strike out, but a wild pitch from Jose Alvarado would allow an additional run to score. New York would take a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the frame.
Former Phillie Jake Diekman would enter the game with a chance to close this one out for the Mets. He faced Whit Merrifield to start the inning, getting him to fly out to center.
Brandon Marsh would be the next batter, beating out an error from Pete Alonso to reach base. This brought Kody Clemens up to the dish with a chance to win the game. He would walk, loading the bases for Bryson Stott.
With a chance to win the game, Stott would ground into a fielder’s choice. This drove in a run but resulted in the second out of the frame. Kyle Schwarber would be the last hope but would strike out to end the game.
The Phillies and Mets split the series 1-1 and the Mets would win this one 6-5.
Photo Credit: (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
