Mets Late Comeback Not Enough In 7-5 Loss To Phillies

After an extra-inning loss to the Phillies on Friday night, the Mets and Phillies continued their series on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. The Phillies (86-69) had a magic number of “four” coming into Saturday’s matchup in order to clinch a postseason birth via the wild card. The Mets (71-84) were eliminated from playoff contention on Friday with their loss to the Phillies.

Having been eliminated, the Mets sent José Quintana (3-5, 3.02 ERA) to start against the Phillies.

The name of the game was extra bases for both teams on Saturday. Brandon Nimmo had a triple for the Mets, and Schwarber and Bohm hit doubles for the Phillies. Castellanos also had a triple, while Harper and Bohm both hit home runs in the Phillies’ win.

After both teams went down quietly in the first, the Mets drew first blood in the top of the second on heads-up baserunning by the rookie Ronny Mauricio. After Brett Baty grounded into a fielder’s choice, DJ Stewart scored on a fielding error by Trea Turner. The error allowed Mauricio, who was paying close attention to Turner hanging his head, to round third and score. The physical and mental error by Turner gave the Mets an early 2-0 lead.

The Phillies, however, got their momentum started in the second. Bryce Harper got Philadelphia on the board with a 451-foot solo homer. Then, Nick Castellanos tripled later in the inning with a runner on to tie the game 2-2.

In a less-than-usual performance, Quintana gave up his second home run of the game in the third, a solo home run to Alec Bohm. The solo shot by Bohm gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead, which they would never surrender.

Two run triple for @You_Found_Nimmo! #LGM pic.twitter.com/A8Vke6meR3

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 23, 2023

The Phillies extended their lead in the fifth as Turner reached on a fielder’s choice with two on to score Johan Rojas, extending the Phillies’ lead to 4-2. Later in the inning, Harper collected his second hit of the day, a two-RBI single that scored two runs and gave the Phillies a 6-2 lead over the Mets.

The Mets were not giving up though as things got interesting again in the top of the seventh. With two on, Brandon Nimmo hit his sixth triple of the year to get two runs back, making it a 6-4 game and decreasing the Phillies’ lead to two runs.

He was followed by Francisco Lindor, who drove in his 90^th RBI of the season on a sacrifice fly to left field that was deep enough to score Nimmo, cutting the Mets’ deficit 6-5.

The Mets went to their bullpen for the first time in the bottom of the seventh. They brought in Reed Garrett (7.98 ERA) to relieve Quintana after six innings. During his outing, Quintana struck out 10 for his first double-digit strikeout game as a Met.

While Quintana struck out 10, he was far from perfect on Saturday. He allowed eight hits, five runs, and two homers in six innings. The start ballooned his ERA to 3.39.

The Phillies answered right back in the bottom of the seventh, however. With one on, Realmuto singled to center field to score Bohm who doubled in the inning to extend Philadelphia’s lead to 7-5 over New York.

The Mets put the tying runs on base in the eighth, but they failed to score against Gregory Soto.

The Phillies didn’t look back from there as they went on to defeat the Mets 7-5. They now have a magic number of two to clinch a spot in the 2023 postseason.

Wheeler (13-6, 3.64 ERA) was credited with Saturday’s win. Wheeler was solid against his former team, striking out six and giving up three runs in seven innings. Alvarado (10, 1.83 ERA) got the save, his tenth of the season.

Meanwhile, Quintana (3-6, 3.39 ERA) was credited with the loss. Garrett finished the game after relieving Quintana. He allowed three hits and one run in two innings of work.

Metsmerized Player of the Game:

The Metsmerized Player of the Game is Brandon Nimmo, who drove in two runs on his sixth triple in the Mets’ loss.

On Deck

The Mets and Phillies close out their series on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 PM ET. José Butto (1-2, 3.09 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets against Cristopher Sánchez (2-5, 3.55 ERA) for the Phillies. The game will be televised on WPIX 11 and MLB Network (blackout restrictions apply). The series finale can be listened to on WCBS 880.

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