Different city, different round, same late-inning magic for the Mets.
After being shut down by ex-Met Zack Wheeler, New York uncorked a five-run eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies’ bullpen to shock the best team in the National League, 6-2, in Game 1 of the NLDS from Citizens Bank Park on Saturday evening.
Late-game magic has become commonplace for the Mets over the last week, with the stage getting increasingly larger in the process. On Monday, a ninth-inning Francisco Lindor home run shocked the Braves in Atlanta to clinch a postseason spot. Three nights later, Pete Alonso’s three-run home run in the top of the ninth punched New York’s ticket to the NLDS in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series in Milwaukee against the Brewers.
After going 1-for-21 against Wheeler in the first seven innings, the Mets recorded four hits in their first four at-bats in the eighth inning against Philadelphia’s bullpen to turn the game on its head.
Against reliever Jeff Hofman, Francisco Alvarez led off with a single and was lifted for pinch-runner Harrison Bader and Francisco Lindor drew a walk to put two on with none out.
On a 1-2 slider down and away, Mark Vientos golfed a game-tying single down the left-field line and advanced to second on the throw to third, where Lindor slid in safely. Brandon Nimmo put the Mets ahead against Matt Strahm, who relieved Hoffman, when he punched an 0-2 four-seam fastball into right field to score Lindor.
Alonso lifted a sacrifice fly to dead center for the first out of the inning to bring in Vientos and go up 3-1. Jose Iglesias, the last batter Strahm faced, worked a 10-pitch at-bat by fouling off seven-straight pitches before singling up the middle.
While the Phillies turned to Orion Kerkering, the Mets went to JD Martinez to pinch hit, and it worked. The veteran DH snuck a single up the middle to score Nimmo from second and move Iglesias to third. Starling Marte drove in the fifth run of the frame with a sacrifice fly to center.
Kyle Schwarber provided the only run of the game’s first seven innings on its third pitch, jumping on a Kodai Senga fastball and pulling it 425 feet into the second deck in right field.
It was the only mistake Senga made in a limited return to action after recovering from a strained calf that had him sidelined since July 25. The Japanese right-hander, who pitched just 5.1 innings during the regular season after dealing with a shoulder injury for the first four months of the campaign, threw 31 pitches in two innings of work, allowing one hit with three strikeouts and a walk.
He was relieved by David Peterson, the southpaw who closed out the Mets’ remarkable Game 3 win in the Wild Card Series just two nights earlier. While Wheeler continued to baffle his old team, Peterson worked around one hit and three walks to keep the Phillies off the board for three innings.
The Mets’ lone hit against Wheeler came in the fourth inning when Vientos led off with a single. Following a Nimmo walk, the Mets had two on with no outs, but the Phillies’ ace bore down to strike out Alonso before coaxing an inning-ending double play from Iglesias.
Wheeler, who struck out nine and walked four on 111 pitches, induced 30 swings and misses in his outing, which is the third most in an MLB postseason game since 2008.
Following the Mets’ big inning, the Phillies put runners on the corners with two outs in the eighth against reliever Phil Maton, who took the loss in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series. This time, though, the right-hander got Alec Bohm to ground into a force out to get out of the jam.
The Mets picked up an insurance run in the top of the ninth when Nimmo’s liner skimmed off the outstretched glove of a diving Bryson Stott, who moments earlier bobbled a tag that would have caught Bader stealing. Instead, Bader came around to score to give New York a five-run lead.
The healthy lead allowed the Mets to give closer Edwin Diaz another day of rest two days after throwing 39 pitches, turning to Ryne Stanek to close out the Phillies. He allowed one run in the ninth on a Kody Clemens two-out double.
