The New York Mets continue to pass the litmus tests of competing in the difficult National League East, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 6-0 on Sunday to take the rubber game of their three-game set to ensure another series victory against a hot team that entered the weekend tilt having won 40 of their last 60 games.
Buck Showalter’s men have now won 17 of their last 22 games and 20 of their last 26 to maintain a 5.5-game lead in the NL East over the Atlanta Braves, who defeated the Miami Marlins 3-1 on Sunday and will be hosting the Mets (75-50) for a four-game set beginning on Monday night.
“I knew we were going to get challenged for three games like we’re going to for four games [in Atlanta],” Showalter said. “It’s what it is. Just line ’em up and take them one at a time.”
Chris Bassitt pitched five innings of scoreless ball, allowing just four hits with five strikeouts to piggyback on the momentum of sterling Mets pitching started by Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom in the first two games of the series.
While four other relievers finished off the game — Trevor Williams, Mychal Givens, Joely Rodriguez, and Adam Ottavino — New York pitching held a dangerous Phillies offense to just two runs in three games. That includes two straight shutouts on Saturday night and Sunday.
“To me, that’s the story of this series,” Showalter said. “The way our guys pitched. They were just solid.”
Bassitt, who did work out of a few jams throughout his day, was ultimately supported by an offense that found its legs after being held to just two runs in the first two games of the series.
The Mets managed to hang six runs on Phillies ace and old friend Zack Wheeler, including four in the fourth inning.
Francisco Lindor opened things in the first inning with a run-scoring single to put the Mets ahead early. It was his 82nd RBI of the season, setting a new franchise record for most in a single season by a shortstop.
After Bassitt worked around a pair of lead-off singles in the fourth, the Mets gave him all the insurance needed in the bottom half of the frame while doing it all in typical style with two outs.
It appeared as though Pete Alonso’s one-out double would be for naught after Daniel Vogelbach struck out, but Mark Canha drove the Mets slugger home with a single to double their advantage. The throw home allowed Canha to move advance to second.
He came around to score on Luis Guillorme’s single, which was followed by a Jeff McNeil walk.
James McCann kept the rally going with a bloop single to shallow center allowing Guillorme to score. A hustling McNeil was able to advance to third but continued a mad dash home when Phillies center fielder Brandon Marsh lobbed the ball into second.
The throw home beat him, but Phillies catcher JT Realmuto wasn’t able to reel it in, and the Mets had a 5-0 lead.
“It’s opportunistic… It’s something they’ve embraced and it’s something they want to be about. Outs are precious… Guys look for opportunity, look for a way to move up… Sometimes it’s just baseball player plays.”
Guillorme would leave the game following that play with left groin tightness, according to the team.
Daniel Vogelbach provided the exclamation point with his 15th home run of the season — his third as a Met — to make it a six-run game.
It was the first and only home run of the series hit by either team, further cementing the notion that the Mets don’t need the long ball to be successful.
“I enjoy the style [of offense] that has the Mets having score more runs than other teams after nine innings,” Showalter said. “I don’t care how we get there, if it’s aesthetically pleasing.”
