The Mets took the first game of their first series of the season against the Phillies, winning 6-4 on a windy evening in Philadelphia in part due to two home runs from Juan Soto and another solid performance from Sean Manaea.
After Soto got things going for the Mets with a two-out home run in the first inning, Jared Young followed up by hitting a ball that Aaron Nola could not keep in his glove for the tag. Young reached first base on the error, and A.J. Ewing bashed an RBI double into right field,
allowing Young to score. Unfortunately, Manaea started his outing by plunking Trea Turner on the back of the calf and followed up by allowing a single to Kyle Schwarber that moved Turner to second base. Bryce Harper grounded into a force out that allowed Turner to move to third, and Alec Bohm tapped an RBI single into right field to score the Phillies’ first run. However, the inning ended on a strikeout double play when Brandon Marsh struck out swinging, and Harper was caught stealing third base on a throw from Francisco Alvarez to Brett Baty, allowing the Mets to keep a 2-1 lead.
In the second inning, Alvarez and Carson Benge both hit two-out singles but were ultimately stranded when Bo Bichette grounded out. Manaea allowed a leadoff triple to Edmundo Sosa, who was also stranded after Manaea successfully induced outs from the next three hitters in succession. At the top of the third inning, Soto hit a second home run, this one carried by the wind to unexpected heights. Marcus Semien knocked a single into center field but was stranded when Baty popped out. At the bottom of the third, Schwarber struck out, but because of a passed ball and a subsequent throwing error to first base by Alvarez, he reached second base. After Soto made a great catch in left field on a fly ball from Harper, Benge could not duplicate it in right field on a fly ball from Bohm. Bohm came up with his second RBI of the night, a double that allowed Schwarber to trot in. Marsh grounded out to end the third inning with a score of Mets 3, Phillies 2.
At the bottom of the fourth inning, Bryson Stott tapped an infield hit to Bichette, who could not get it to first base in time. Stott then stole second base and scored when Derek Hill smacked a single to Ewing in center field. Ewing’s throw to home hit the mound and bounced hard, preventing any chance of getting Stott out, in part because Manaea was not backing up home plate. The inning ended on a ground out from Justin Crawford, but the score was now tied 3-3.
Soto walked at the top of the fifth inning, and Ewing smacked an infield hit for a single, but both were stranded again when Semien grounded into a force out. Manaea walked Harper, but then Bohm grounded into a double play to end the fifth inning and keep things tied. After striking out Marsh in the sixth inning, Manaea was replaced by Huascar Brazobán, who finished the sixth efficiently.
At the top of the seventh, Carson Benge hit a single on a line drive into center field off of José Alvarado. Benge stole second base and moved to third base on a wild pitch from Alvarado, and Mark Vientos walked while pinch-hitting for Young. Eric Wagaman pinch-hit for Ewing and came up with an opposite-field RBI single, scoring Benge. With two outs, Semien had a second chance at his at-bat when the umpire determined he had fouled instead of foul-tipping a pitch, and he made the most of it with a two-RBI triple that scored Wagaman and Vientos. Brazobán walked J.T. Realmuto to start the bottom of the seventh, but struck out Hill before A.J. Minter took over to dispatch the next two batters in the Phillies lineup and end the seventh inning, Mets 6, Phillies 3.
M.J. Melendez led off with a walk at the top of the eighth inning, but was the victim when Alvarez grounded into a force out in the next at-bat. Benge smacked his third hit of the night, a single into left field, but then Bichette grounded into a double play that ended the top of the inning. Luke Weaver came in for the bottom of the eighth to work a 1-2-3 inning, and Devin Williams took over for the ninth.
Williams allowed Stott to walk, and then Realmuto grounded into a force out. Realmuto advanced to second base on defensive indifference, and Gabriel Rincones, Jr, hit a single that allowed Realmuto to move to third when Bichette’s throw to Vientos was wide. Justin Crawford followed up with an RBI single that also moved Rincones to second and brought up Schwarber. After an injury delay for an unfortunate foul off of Alvarez, Schwarber lined out to Baty to end the game with a Mets win: Mets 6, Phillies 4.
Freddy Peralta will face off against Christopher Sánchez when the series picks up on Saturday after a break tomorrow for a World Cup match in Philadelphia.
SB Nation GameThreads
Box scores
Win Probability Added
Big Mets winner: Juan Soto/Eric Wagaman tied at +18% WPA
Big Mets loser: Bo Bichette -17% WPA
Mets pitchers: +19% WPA
Mets hitters: +31% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Marcus Semien’s 2 RBI triple, +20.6%
Teh sux0rest play: Derek Hill’s single/A.J. Ewing’s throwing error, Bryson Stott scores, -13.5%
