The Philadelphia Phillies will have to wait at least one more day to secure their first National League East title since 2011. The New York Mets defeated them 6-3 on Saturday afternoon, keeping the Phillies’ offense to four hits while taking advantage of eight walks (including one hit batter) by the pitching staff. Orion Kerkering took the loss on the day for the Phillies.
Solo Shots Galore
Kyle Schwarber led off the contest with a solo home run, taking the second pitch of the game 406 feet into left-center field for his 15th leadoff home run of the season.
In his recent starts, Ranger Suarez has struggled with locating his pitches. Those struggles continued to manifest against the Mets. He managed to work around a leadoff double from Jose Iglesias in the bottom of the first, getting out of the inning unscathed. He was not so lucky, however, in the second inning when he gave up two solo home runs to Francisco Alvarez and Luisangel Acuña. Suarez’s first 1-2-3 inning of the day would not come until the bottom of the fourth inning.
Meanwhile, Sean Manaea strung together 12 consecutive outs while following Schwarber’s leadoff home run. Nick Castellanos finally broke the streak in the top of the fifth, smacking a home run into left field to tie the game at 2-2.
Despite his early struggles, Suarez exited the game following five innings of work, allowing only two runs on five hits while striking out four. Suarez also walked batters on three occasions, each of those batters being named Pete Alonso.
Bullpen Struggles Give the Mets the Lead
Coming in to pitch the bottom of the sixth, Jose Ruiz looked to continue his sublime season out of the bullpen. After walking Harrison Bader on a full count with two outs, Ruiz lucked out as Acuña hit a fly ball down the right field line. Just out of the reach of a sliding Castellanos, the ball tracked to be at least a triple, if not an inside-the-park home run it remained in the ballpark.
Instead, the ball tailed into the stands resulting in a ground-rule double, putting runners on second and third for the Mets. Ruiz then managed to get himself out of the jam, fielding a comebacker from Jose Iglesias and then gunning the runner out at first to end the inning.
Relieving Ruiz for the seventh inning, Orion Kerkering worked himself into trouble, walking Starling Marte to lead off the inning. Then, after Mark Vientos’ fourth strikeout of the game, Kerkering hit Pete Alonso square in the back with a sinker to put two runners on for the Mets. Brandon Nimmo then scored the go-ahead run, hitting an RBI single into left field, advancing Alonso to third. Two batters later, Francisco Alvarez slapped a double into left-center field, scoring both runners and giving the Mets a 5-2 lead. The three runs are Kerkering’s first earned runs allowed since August 15th.
Jose Alvarado then entered the game to face Bader, striking him out on four pitches to stop the bleeding for the Phillies.
Comeback Efforts for Phillies Fall Short
In hopes of responding to the Mets’ three-run inning, J.T. Realmuto led off the top of the eighth with a single up the middle, serving as the final batter for Manaea as the Mets went to the bullpen. With the lefty out of the game and right-hander Reed Garrett in to pitch, the Phillies responded by stacking the lineup with several left-handed pinch-hitters. Bryson Stott was the first, pinch-hitting for Edmundo Sosa. Stott hit a single into right field, advancing Realmuto to third base.
Brandon Marsh then popped out to shortstop after stepping in for Weston Wilson. In for Johan Rojas, Cal Stevenson hit into a fielder’s choice, getting Stott out at second base while Realmuto scored from third.
With the top of the order due up, the Mets made a change, bringing in closer Edwin Diaz to face off against Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber got rung up on a full-count fastball to the inside corner.
In to pitch the bottom of the eighth, Tanner Banks walked two batters before a bloop single from Pete Alonso gave the Mets an insurance run, bringing the score to 6-3 going into the ninth inning.
Diaz made quick work of the Phillies in the top of the ninth, shutting down Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, and Alec Bohm to earn the four-out save for the Mets, putting the Phillies’ NL East celebrations on pause.
Magic Number Update
The Phillies’ magic number to secure the NL East remains at one moving into Sunday’s series finale against the Mets. Their magic numbers for a first-round bye and first place in the National League remain at four and eight, respectively, but could still drop today depending on the outcomes of tonight’s matchups between the Diamondbacks and Brewers, and the Rockies and Dodgers.
What’s Next for the Phillies
The Phillies will hope to clinch the NL East on national television as Zack Wheeler faces off against Tylor Megill for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball matchup. After concluding the series, the Phillies return home to face the Chicago Cubs in their final regular season home series.
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
