Nursing a one-run lead with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, New York Mets catcher Luis Torrens saved his inept bullpen by pouncing on a Nick Castellanos roller in front of the plate by turning a game-ending double play to preserve his side’s 6-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies to salvage a London Series split.
The backstop acquired from the Yankees less than two weeks ago saved the day by fielding the grounder just a few feet in front of his plate, stepping on the dish behind him, and throwing a strike to first to quell the Phillies’ final push.
In a role reversal of bullpens, Phillies closer Jose Alvarado imploded in the top of the ninth by allowing three runs. Trailing 4-3 entering their final turn at-bat, Tyrone Taylor worked a lead-off walk and moved to third on Jeff McNeil’s single, all with no outs. He came in to score on Mark Vientos’ chopper up the third-base line that could not be held by Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm to tie the game at four. Torrens then drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases.
Alvarado hit Pete Alonso in the thigh to bring in the go-ahead run and threw a wild pitch to gift an insurance run that came in handy.
With a 6-4 lead, Mets reliever Reed Garrett continued his club’s season-long bullpen anxieties when he allowed a Christian Pache lead-off single before hitting JT Realmuto to put two on with one out. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza turned to Drew Smith to face Bryce Harper, who ripped a single to load the bases.
Smith proceeded to walk Bohm to bring the Phillies within a run before coaxing Castellanos’ game-ending double play.
The Mets (28-36) erased a 3-0 deficit by scoring three runs in the sixth inning to tie things up against what was once an unhittable Phillies bullpen.
With two outs and two on with that three-run lead, Philadelphia pulled starter Taijuan Walker for reliever Gregory Soto, who immediately yielded an RBI single to Brandon Nimmo to bring the Mets to within two. JD Martinez followed with a two-run single to draw New York even.
Two of the three runs were charged to the ex-Met Walker, who allowed just two hits and a walk with six strikeouts across his 5.2 innings of work.
Mets starter Jose Quintana was touched up for three runs in 3.2 innings of work. Loading the bases with no outs in the first inning, he limited the damage to just a singular run on a Bohm double play. The Phillies nabbed a pair in the fourth thanks to an RBI double from Edmundo Sosa and a run-scoring single from Whit Merrifield.
David Dahl hit a pinch-hit solo home run off reliever Dedniel Nunez to lead off the seventh inning to give the Phillies a slim margin late, which Alvarado ultimately could not secure.
