News Every Day | 20 August 2022, 23:56

Mets Pile On Late In 8-2 Win Over Phillies

Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

Unlikely heroes set the tone early for the New York Mets (78-43), who emerged victorious against the Philadelphia Phillies (65-54) by a score of 8-2 on Saturday afternoon. Trevor Williams continued to push all of the right buttons on the mound, reserve catcher Michael Pérez had big moments both behind the dish and with the bat, and the Mets improve to 13-4 against the Phillies this season.

Williams entered the game riding a 20-inning scoreless streak, coming mostly in relief appearances. He was making his first start since firing seven shutout innings against the Miami Marlins in early July, the appearance that kicked off this streak. He allowed two runners to reach base in the first inning but did well to work his way out of the jam, getting through the second and third innings without much trouble.

Williams was matched toe-to-toe by Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, who walked Brandon Nimmo to lead off the game but retired nine straight after that. Wheeler allowed six runs across six innings in his last start against the Mets, and early on it looked as if he was on his way to a much better outing.

The first real scoring chance for either team came in the bottom of the fourth, as the Phillies had runners on the corners with just one out and Garrett Stubbs coming to the plate. However, Williams struck out Stubbs, and Francisco Lindor nailed Bryson Stott at home on a double steal attempt with some help from a great fielding play by Perez.

Perez puts us on top! pic.twitter.com/GYJzk2wgrP

— New York Mets (@Mets) August 20, 2022

Pérez carried the momentum of that play into the top of the fifth, lining a two-run single to right field to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. Pérez entered that at-bat mired in an 0-for-19 slump and hitting just .048 with runners in scoring position this season, but he came through in a massive way, notching his first hit as a Met in the process.

Williams walked the leadoff batter in the fifth inning and was pulled after 71 pitches. He gave way to Seth Lugo, who struck out all three batters he faced in the frame. Williams allowed four hits and struck out three batters in his four innings of work, pushing his consecutive scoreless inning streak to 24 innings.

The Mets did more damage against Wheeler in the top of the sixth inning. Lindor hit an RBI triple to score Starling Marte, and three batters later Jeff McNeil scored Lindor with an RBI single to push the lead out to 4-0. McNeil entered the game 3-for-23 in his career against Wheeler, but he had a multi-hit day against Wheeler in this one.

https://twitter.com/Mets/status/1561067373452460037?s=20&t=3CmFMaAMW9XrHlKkzqt3QA

Wheeler was pulled after 5 1/3 innings, and although the Mets failed to score any more runs off his replacement Connor Brogdon, they still did plenty of damage to Wheeler’s stat line. He allowed four runs on five hits with four walks, and he has given up 10 runs across his last two starts (11 1/3 innings) against his former team.

The Phillies got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring Nick Castellanos on a sacrifice fly from Jean Segura to make it a 4-1 game. The run was charged to Lugo, who allowed Castellanos to reach base on a single, and it was Joely Rodríguez who worked his way out of the inning to keep the Phillies to just one run.

The Mets tacked on some insurance runs in the top of the ninth off Phillies reliever Nick Nelson. Brandon Nimmo scored Brett Baty with an RBI double, Starling Marte collected his third hit of the day with an RBI single, and Darin Ruf even got in on the action with a sacrifice fly. McNeil added one more run for good measure with an RBI single off position player Darick Hall, giving the Mets an 8-1 lead heading to the bottom of the ninth.

Sam Clay got the final three outs on the mound, allowing an unearned run in his Mets debut. Former Gold Glover Yolmer Sánchez also made his Mets debut in the inning as a defensive replacement, making an error that allowed a run to score.

Player of the Game: Jeff McNeil

McNeil has been one of the hottest hitters on the planet over the past few weeks, and he showcased every bit of that on Saturday. He collected three hits, drove in two runs, and scored once. Although one of those hits came against a position player, the other two were off a bonafide ace in Wheeler, who had really had McNeil’s number in their previous matchups. McNeil is hitting .423 in the month of August; it doesn’t get much better than that.

Final line for McNeil: 3-for-5, 2 RBI, R

On Deck

The Mets will suit up for another game against the Phillies on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park. First pitch is set for 7:15pm ET, and the game will be broadcast on FOX. The Mets will have David Peterson on the mound, while the Phillies are set to counter with Bailey Falter.