The warm, muggy feeling of a summer in Southeastern Pennsylvania descended upon Citizens Bank Park on Sunday evening. As Jesús Luzardo took to the mound, the real feel temperature sat at 92 degrees. The rain cells of the early afternoon had passed. It was time to play baseball.
For the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets, this particular game meant a lot. Both teams sat at 46-31 on the season and had split the previous two games of the series. A Sunday night southpaw showdown in South Philadelphia between Luzardo and David Peterson.
Thwarted attempts for the Phillies and the Mets
Francisco Lindor led off the game with a single to first-time left fielder Otto Kemp. A few batters later, with two outs and Lindor on first, Pete Alonso stepped up to the box. In 22 at-bats against Luzardo, Alonso had a .090 batting average.
Working the count to 3-1, Alonso took on a fastball high and inside, chucking the bat aside to make his trot down to first base. After the umpire called it a strike, he picked up his bat to get back into the box. Luzardo then threw a sweep low and away, forcing Alonso to watch the strike three call to get out of the inning.
The Phillies went down in order through the first two frames, only forcing Peterson to throw 22 pitches. Edmundo Sosa broke the ice and his bat to lead off the bottom of the third, beating out the throw from shortstop Lindor to reach base.
Buddy Kennedy, in his first plate appearance of the season, kept his bat on his shoulder, working a full count walk to put two runners on.
Johan Rojas squared up on the first pitch, bunting it foul with both runners in motion. He wouldn’t get the chance to do so again, as Peterson coerced Lindor to pick off Sosa at second base before the next pitch. Rojas then reached base on a fielder’s choice, resulting in Kennedy’s out at second. Despite stealing second base, the Phillies would not score Rojas, as Trea Turner struck out to end the inning.
Luzardo put down the next ten Mets’ batters in order before allowing a four-pitch walk to Juan Soto. Brandon Nimmo followed up two batters later with a single into right field. The southpaw worked Luis Torrens into a ground ball up the middle to end the inning on a fielder’s choice.
Hanging sliders and misplaced pickoffs
Stepping up to lead off the bottom of the fourth, Kyle Schwarber made his mark. Eyeing a 1-2 red zone slider, Schwarber sent the ball 432 feet into straightaway center field. The home run, his 24th of the season, gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead.
Later in that inning, Nick Castellanos strung a line drive down the left field line for a double, keeping the momentum up for the Phillies. J.T. Realmuto was patient at the plate, working a full-count walk to put a second runner on for the Phillies.
Rookie Otto Kemp then ripped a single, ricocheting off the glove of Lindor, to score Castellanos. Realmuto advanced to third on the single.
With two runners on, Edmundo Sosa stepped up to the plate. Before the game, Thomson was asked what it would require to get Sosa’s bat going again after batting sub-.100 after the last month of play. Thomson’s response? More reps. With two runners on, Sosa took advantage of a slider right over the plate, hitting it 430 feet into right center field to give the Phillies a commanding 5-0 lead.
With two outs, Rojas kept the inning going, laying off four outside pitches. Turner then slipped a single up the middle past an outstretched Lindor. Peterson then attempted to pick off Rojas, but the errant throw connected with Rojas’ helmet instead. Rojas stayed down for a moment, needing to be checked by the team’s athletic trainers, but he remained in the game.
Sosa recorded his third hit of the day, a double into left-center field. Though he would not score in the inning, it would put Sosa one triple away from hitting the first cycle of the season for the Phillies.
Lights out Luzardo
If tipping pitches to baserunners was truly the problem for Jesús Luzardo, he found the simplest solution Sunday night: do not let runners on base. In 6.2 innings of work, Luzardo allowed only three hits and one walk. He shut down the Mets after they scored 11 runs just the night prior. He required 107 pitches to do so, striking out seven batters.
Jordan Romano entered the game with two outs in the top of the seventh. With one inherited runner, Brandon Nimmo at first base, from Luzardo, Romano closed the book quickly, working a fielder’s choice out of Tyrone Taylor to end the inning.
Tacking on insurance runs
While a five-run lead might be a safe one under most circumstances, the winning team in the two previous games between the Phillies and Mets each scored at least 10 runs. The Phillies looked to add some insurance to their tally in the bottom of the seventh.
Turner and Schwarber hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. With Turner advancing to third on Schwarber’s single, he was in the perfect position for a sacrifice fly from Alec Bohm.
Castellanos followed suit, hitting his second double of the game into left-center field, scoring Schwarber from first to increase the Phillies’ lead to seven runs.
Match point
Up seven runs, the Phillies turned to Max Lazar to pitch the top of the eighth. Lazar pitched two scoreless innings in the Phillies’ victory over the Mets Friday night. Turner bare-handed a short-hop dribbler from Luisangel Acuña to keep the bases clear for Lazar. As “Eagles” chants rained down from the Philadelphia fandom, Lindor connected on an inside fastball from Lazar, sending it into the stands in right field to put the Mets on the board.
Matt Strahm, who has not been called upon since Wednesday’s victory over the Marlins, entered to pitch the top of the ninth. Strahm pitched a clean frame to wrap up the Phillies’ victory over the Mets, 7-1.
That’s a wrap!
With the victory came a series win over the Mets, the Phillies’ 17th series win in their first 25 series. Regaining the inside track in the race for the NL East title, the Phillies (47-31) are now 2-4 on the year against the Mets (46-32).
The two teams will not see each other for another two months. Their next action will be at Citi Field on August 25-27.
Edmundo Sosa led the way on the day, going 3-for-4 with a three-run home run, ending the day a triple short of the cycle.
“He’s an electric guy,” said Rob Thomson postgame on Sosa. “There are nights when he looks like he’s an all-star. He hasn’t had many at-bats lately, so good for him that he comes in tonight and does that.”
Kyle Schwarber also went yard on the day and joined Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos with two hits each.
Jesús Luzardo dazzled on the mound for the Phillies, earning his seventh win of the season while dropping his ERA to 4.08. His 104 strikeouts have him tied with Robbie Ray for the 11th most strikeouts in baseball.
“He was really good tonight,” Thomson explained about Luzardo. “Velocity was good. They put some pitches on him the first couple of things; I think it was 38 after two, 54 after three, something like that. But then he settled in and really started pounding the zone and attacking, and that’s what he needs to do.”
To Houston and beyond!
The NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies will have an off day on Monday as they travel to Houston for their upcoming series against the Astros. Ranger Suárez will tee up against familiar foe Framber Valdez in game one on Tuesday evening. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. With the weekend’s national broadcasts behind them, Tuesday’s game will return to NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
