QUEENS, NY — Brandon Nimmo’s solo home run in the sixth inning proved to be the game-winner as starter Tylor Megill and three Mets relievers combined to stifle the NL-best Philadelphia Phillies in a 2-1 victory on Sunday night at Citi Field.
It was the second big hit in as many games for Nimmo, who poked a go-ahead single in the seventh inning of Saturday’s 6-3 win.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Nimmo said. “I’m so proud of these guys. They are fighting every pitch. This is a playoff atmosphere, playoff baseball. You see how much more every pitch means in these games and it carries so much weight and these guys are rising to the challenge. It’s a beautiful thing to see.”
With just six games now remaining in the 2024 season, the Mets (87-69) remained hot with three wins out of four against the vaunted Phillies and six victories in their last seven. Sunday night’s win — the regular-season home finale — not only kept them two games ahead of the Atlanta Braves, who they play in a three-game set beginning Tuesday, but they pulled into the No. 2 Wild Card spot after the Arizona Diamondbacks choked away an 8-0 lead in a 10-9 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
With the Mets’ offensive production limited against former teammate Zack Wheeler, Megill along with Phil Maton, Jose Butto, and Edwin Diaz yielded five Phillies hits and that lone run, which included a stretch of eight shutout innings.
Diaz recorded a six-out save to secure the win — the first time this season he accomplished such a feat.
“I’ve been feeling pretty good but right now I feel like I’ve got the rhythm,” Diaz said. “I’ve been throwing the fastball the way I want to. The command is really good. I feel really great, I just want to continue to do what I’m doing.”
Wheeler found himself on the end of a hard-luck loss after going seven-plus innings and allowing just two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts.
The Phillies snatched an early lead in the top of the first when Alec Bohm lined a two-out single to score Trea Turner. Megill sank deeper into trouble when he loaded the bases but got JT Realmuto to line out to center to limit the damage.
The Mets mounted a two-out rally of sorts to level things in the second inning. Mark Vientos doubled to left-center before red-hot fourth outfielder Tyrone Taylor brought him home with a single to left.
With that hit, Taylor, a former Brewer brought to New York by David Stearns, improved to 11-for-his-last-27.
“He’s a pro,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s always ready. He knows his role even when he’s not playing every day. There are times when he goes six, seven days without getting an at-bat or being in the starting lineup and he’s always ready… Before you know it, you put him in the lineup and he’s going to give you quality at-bats.”
Despite not allowing another run, Megill was given the hook after the fourth inning and at 83 pitches, finishing his night with one run allowed on four hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
Maton went two scoreless innings in relief, marking just the first time he recorded six outs in a single outing with the Mets.
Nimmo led the sixth inning off with his 22nd home run of the season, sending a first-pitch four-seam fastball from Wheeler just over the outstretched glove of Nick Castellanos in right and into the seats.
“I know [Wheeler is] an amazing pitcher,” Nimmo said. “I know he has a great fastball, I know he’s got a great cutter, a great two-seam/four-seam. You just kind of have to go after him and be as short as possible and try to find the barrel. You cannot try and do too much with him because he has so many weapons that can beat you… Fortunately, I was able to do that.”
With a slim lead, Butto kept the Phillies off the board with a 1-2-3 seventh inning which featured two strikeouts before Mendoza turned to Diaz to face the top of the Phillies’ order in the eighth.
“I wanted my best guy against their best hitters,” Mendoza said of bringing Diaz out for the eighth.
Diaz struck out Kyle Schwarber before allowing a single to Turner. While the Philadelphia speedster stole second and third, Diaz struck out Bryce Harper and got Alec Bohm to ground out.
“Once he got through that eighth on 11 pitches, that’s when I was like, ‘I’m probably going to send him back out,” Mendoza said. “I checked with him. He said ‘I’m good,” and I told him that this was his game.”
Bryson Stott walked with one out in the ninth and also stole second and third — the Mets getting lucky when Francisco Alvarez’s throw to third after striking out Realmuto for the second out struck third base and stayed in front of Mark Vientos to prevent the Phillies from scoring the tying run. Diaz then struck out Kody Clemens to end the game.
