Mets rally to beat Phillies with three-run 7th inning, strong bullpen performance
PHILADELPHIA — While Jose Alvarado, the basketball player, was presumably shirtless, lighting up New York with his key to the city Thursday night, Jose Alvarado, the baseball player, was getting lit up by the Mets down in Philadelphia.
The Mets opened a series against the Phillies with a 6-4 win at Citizens Bank Park, using a three-run rally in the seventh inning and yet another solid bullpen performance. Eric Wagaman pinch hit a two-out single to right-center field off the left-handed Alvarado to break a 3-3 tie.
Another solid bullpen performance protected the Mets’ lead, with A.J. Minter, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams doing their jobs effectively.
This series was considered a litmus test of sorts for the Mets in the NL East coming into it. The Mets lost two of three in Cincinnati, turning in two downright dismal performances before salvaging the series Wednesday. In the first game of a three-game, four-day set between two divisional rivals, the two teams were about even until the seventh.
That’s when the Phillies replaced right-hander Seth Johnson with Alvarado to face the top of the order. Carson Benge led off with a single before Alvarado got Bo Bichette and Juan Soto out. It was the first time Soto was retired all night, after homering twice and walking once.
But then the Mets pinch hit for the left-handed hitting Jared Young with right-hander Mark Vientos. He drew a walk to keep the inning alive, and the Mets pinch hit for another left-handed hitter, A.J. Ewing, with a right-hander, Wagaman.
The matchup worked.
Wagaman lined a fastball to right field, scoring Benge from second base. Marcus Semien had the big hit, driving a 2-2 sinker off the left-center wall for a bases-clearing triple. To that point, the bottom half of the order hadn’t done much, but the right matchups provided the spark that lit the Mets’ match.
Left-hander Sean Manaea and right-hander Aaron Nola each gave up three runs, with only two of them earned. The first few innings weren’t pretty for either team, with errors, passed balls and misplays. Again, things were relatively even early on in the game.
But the Mets had the ultimate advantage in Soto. One of the hottest hitters on the planet this month, Soto drilled a 1-2 cutter from Nola into the right field stands with ease in the first inning. It nearly landed in the second deck, banking off one of the advertisements hanging over the lower-level seats.
Young reached on an error and scored on Ewing’s double to start the Mets off with a 2-0 lead. The Phillies (40-35) made it 2-1 in the bottom of the inning, but Soto pulled the Mets ahead again in the third, leading off with another monstrous homer. This one might not have traveled as far horizontally, but it went so high that it looked as though it was about to keep traveling into space.
The Mets (34-41) took three runs off Nola on seven hits, walking once and striking out six times. Manaea scattered three runs over 5 1/3 innings, giving up six hits, walking one and striking out five.
The series continues Saturday, pausing for the World Cup. An off day was built into the schedule to accommodate the Haiti vs. Brazil World Cup match being played across the street Friday. The next time the Mets are in Philadelphia, they’ll have a similar schedule, taking a day for the World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium.
