Despite carrying an expensive payroll, the New York Mets have been the most disappointing team in baseball, languishing in last place in the National League East. On Sunday, they showed exactly why they’re such a bad team as they continually let the Phillies off to hook. The Phillies offense did just enough – including yet another home run by Kyle Schwarber – to escape Citi Field with a 5-4 win.
The Mets utilized a bullpen game, but the Phillies couldn’t take advantage early, going scoreless in the first
two innings. In the third, they broke through against Tobias Myers. Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber had one out singles and then pulled off a double steal, allowing Bryce Harper to break the scoreless tie with a sacrifice fly.
Alec Bohm followed with a double to make it 2-0, and then Brandon Marsh hit an RBI single to put the Phillies up by 3.
Jesus Luzardo made the start for the Phillies, and was in control for the most part for the first four innings. In the fifth, he ran into trouble when the Mets started the frame with a walk and a single. With one out, Carson Benge singled to cut the lead to 3-1. Despite walking Juan Soto, Luzardo got the next two batters to limit the damage.
The Phillies wasted a second-and-third, nobody out situation in the sixth, and that proved costly the following inning. Luzardo was over 90 pitches, so manager Don Mattingly had to turn to his bullpen. It took Chase Shugart three batters to blow the lead thanks to a game-tying home run by A.J. Ewing.
After another walk and single, Shugart was pulled for Kyle Backhus. Benge put the Mets in front 4-3 thanks to an RBI fielder’s choice, but Backhus got Bo Bichette to fly out and end the inning.
In the seventh, the Phillies went back on front in a familiar fashion: A Kyle Schwarber home run. Justin Crawford led off the inning with a single and after Turner predictably came up small, Schwarber hit his 30th of the year to make it a 5-4 game.
The next two innings, the Phillies’ bullpen tried its best to hand the game to the Mets, but the Mets refused to take it. Jose Alvarado started the seventh with two strikeouts, but then hit a batter and committed a throwing error to put runners on second and third. But Brett Baty grounded out and the Mets came up empty.
In the eighth, Orion Kerkering walked the bases loaded with one out. With the bases loaded, and Kerkering having thrown nine straight balls out of the strike zone, Mets third baseman Ronny Mauricio inexplicably swung in a 1-0 count and popped it up. Francisco Alvarez followed and swung at two balls out of the zone to end the inning.
Jhoan Duran also had some control issues, but once again, the Mets helped him out by swinging at numerous pitches out of the strike zone. When Luis Torrens hit a fly ball to right, the win was secured.
The Phillies have had their share of problems at Citi Field in recent years. But the Mets are in such a bad way, that despite the Phillies seemingly trying their best to lose, they still managed to escape with a series win.
