PHILADELPHIA— With the National League East within their grasp, the Philadelphia Phillies had to head to Citi Field to overcome their nightmares.
Including the playoffs, the Phillies were on a massive losing streak in New York. The club had lost the last seven games at Citi Field and needed to snap out of it Monday night. With a 7.0 game lead in the division, a series win could end the race once and for all.
Phillies strike first
Needing to set the tone, Trea Turner dug in the box to start the ballgame. Turner, who has been one of the best hitters in baseball this season, did not waste time against Mets’ starting pitcher Kodai Senga. Turner would smash a ball to left center fielder, where a diving Tyrone Taylor would whiff. This allowed the Phillies’ shortstop an easy triple to start the ballgame.
The next batter was Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber had a rough series against the Washington Nationals and was looking to get on the board against New York. Schwarber would ground out weakly to second base, but his effort scored Turner to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the third, the Phillies would add on. A walk by Schwarber was followed by a double from Bryce Harper. With two outs, Alec Bohm would drive a ball into right-center field, driving in both runners to make it 3-0 Phillies.
Here comes the Mets
With two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, it felt like Cristopher Sanchez was well on his way to another great outing. A single by Pete Alonso would extend the inning, opening the door for madness.
Sanchez would balk, moving the Polar Bear over to second base. A wild pitch from Sanchez would then allow Alonso to move to third base with ease. A Mark Vientos double scored the Mets’ first baseman, getting New York on the board. Vientos, who has struggled in 2025, continues to hit the Phillies well.
With a runner at second, Brandon Nimmo would join the party. Nimmo would single, scoring Vientos from second, making it 3-2 Philadelphia. A walk to Taylor was followed by a Jeff McNeil single, tying the game at 3-3.
Sanchez would get out of the inning without any more damage, but was clearly frustrated. He kicked and threw a trash can in the Phillies’ dugout to express his emotions. It was evident that the club’s starter felt the pressure of the moment, and he did not handle it well.
The Citi Field microphone incident
In the top of the fifth inning, Bohm would ground into a double play. After he was called out at first base, he mentioned to first base coach Paco Figueroa about something distracting in the outfield. Soon, Bohm would say something to the umpiring crew, and a long delay ensued.
The device was a parabolic microphone, intended to pick up crowd noise for the broadcasts. In the replay on NBC Sports Philadelphia, it appeared that the microphone had become reflective to the batter. Bohm was the first player to seemingly comment on the device. The Mets would eventually send their grounds crew to unscrew the devices and leave them sitting behind the wall.
The delay would take 19 minutes before the game of play resumed. For something so minor, the pause took much longer than you would expect. Marsh would instantly ground out to end the top half of the inning.
In the bottom of the inning, the delay certainly did not help Sanchez. After barely escaping the fourth, Sanchez would try and get back on track in the fifth. A walk to Juan Soto to start the inning was a sign of what was to come next. Sanchez would catch Soto slipping at first base and throw over to get him in a rundown. However, Harper and Stott failed to make a routine out, allowing Soto to get to second base safely.
Another walk to Starling Marte would put two men on. Sanchez would battle, but an RBI single by Vientos would give the Mets their fourth unanswered run and the lead. The Phillies’ left-hander would get Brandon Nimmo to end the inning, but not before the damage was done.
Rather than going to the bullpen in the sixth, Rob Thomson would send Sanchez back out to the mound. This was a mistake, and Sanchez should not have been allowed to start the inning. Thomson tried pushing his top pitcher, and it was not the right time to push that button.
A leadoff double by Taylor would soon be followed by a one-out double from Luis Torrens. This made it 5-3 New York, and the game was getting out of hand fast. With two outs, Juan Soto would walk, extending the inning against reliever David Robertson.
Starling Marte drove in another, making it 6-3 New York.
Romano’s last stand?
With the game still in reach, the Phillies sent Jordan Romano out to the mound to keep the game at a three-run deficit.
Romano, who entered the game with a 7.56 earned run average, would be tasked with that challenge. However, like most of this season, Romano was not up to completing the task. He would hit Vientos with a pitch to start the inning, then walk Nimmo. Taylor would single to left, loading up the bases with nobody out.
A sacrifice fly from McNeil would tack on another run, earning Romano his first out of the inning. The next batter was Torrens, who deposited a ball deep into the seats of Citi Field, extending the lead to 10-3 New York. Romano would then strike out Lindor and Soto to end his outing.
After the conclusion of the seventh, the veteran reliever’s ERA blossomed to 8.23. At this point in the season, there is not much use for the right-hander. He comes in strictly for cleanup duty situations. Despite that role, he still has not found success. For the Phillies, it might be time to look for other options in the bullpen.
Joe Ross would pitch the eighth, allowing the Mets to add three more runs. New York defeated the Phillies 13-3, inching back in the NL East. The Mets now trail the Phillies by 6.0 games with 31 games to play. New York is now 5-2 against the Phillies this season, meaning they hold the tiebreaker.
Philadelphia has a chance to redeem themselves Tuesday night when Jesus Luzardo takes the mound for game two.
Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
