Here's a Tip: Mets Beat Phils on Semien's Triple, Soto's Homers

Mets 6 Phillies 4 (Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia PA)

Mets record: 34-41

Mets streak: Won 2

WP - Huascar Brazoban (4-1)

LP - Jose Alvarado (3-2)

SV - Devin Williams (11)

Seat on the Korner: Juan Soto

We select a Star of the Game and virtually invite him to take his Seat on the Korner — just as Ralph Kiner did on WOR-TV Channel 9 during the early days of the New York Mets.

Continuing the tradition of Rheingold Beer sponsoring Kiner’s Korner, this season every seat is proudly presented by The Main Event Restaurant & Sports Bar.

With locations in Plainview and Farmingdale, The Main Event features 80+ HD TVs, fresh daily seafood, and Black Angus certified steaks—so you never have to choose between great food and the big game.

Juan Soto likes Citizens Bank Park -- going into the game, he had a .333/.435/.669 slash line, with 16 homers in 45 games and 45 RBI, and he added to all of those numbers in his first two at-bats to help set the tone for the game. But the most surprising part of Soto's night came not in the batter's box, but in left field -- a sliding catch of a fading Bryce Harper fly ball with the Mets clinging to a 3-1 lead and a runner on second in the bottom of the third. So we wonder: as Soto takes his figurative seat with Ralph, will he want to tall about his dingers (ho-hum, he now has 261 of them) or his flashy glove (you can count the great plays on one hand)? By the way, Soto is firmly in the midst of one of those extended tears: He had reached base safely in 11 straight games, and is hitting .420 over that stretch, with eight runs, three doubles, four homers, nine RBI and 11 walks.

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Need to Know

• The game was the Mets' first against the Phillies this season.

• The Mets have scored five or more runs in each of their last 11 wins, dating back to May 29. Going into last night's game, the Mets were batting .283/.355/.468 in their wins and .186/.246/.285 in their losses.

• The Mets are 12-8 over their last 20 games and 24-20 over their last 44.

• Vidal Brujan, DFA'd to make room for Zack Short on the roster, went unclaimed and will join the Syracuse Mets.

• Bo Bichette's multiple-hit hitting streak ended at six as he went 0 for 5. That streak was two games short of the Mets record, held by Steve Henderson, who had eight consecutive multiple hit games in 1979.

• For once, positive injury news: Francisco Lindor, out since April 24 with a calf strain, will begin a rehab assignment at AA Binghamton Friday. Tyrone Taylor is also scheduled for a rehab stint.

• The Mets have an unusual mid-series off-day Friday, as the Citizens Bank Park parking lot will be needed for the Brazil-Haiti World Cup soccer game being played at nearby Lincoln Financial Field. In case you care, 88 tickets are available (not counting the secondary market), starting at $1,418.

• Of course, the Mets may have a better time playing Brazil over the weekend than the Phillies. The Phils are sending Cristopher Sanchez to the mound Saturday and Zach Wheeler Sunday. The Mets are countering with Freddie Peralta and the Mystery Starter.

Turning Point

Can a foul tip be the turning point of a game? An argument could be made that it was in this one. Top of the seventh, two out, men on first and second after an Eric Wagaman pinch hit single to give the Mets a slim, 4-3 lead. Marcus Semien came to the plate and worked the count full. Pitch six: another foul. Pitch seven: a swing at a Jose Alvarado cutter, low and away, that Semien appeared to have missed for an inning-ending strikeout. But home plate umpire Brian Walsh ruled that Semien had tipped the ball and that catcher J.T. Realmuto did not field the tip. Realmuto did not appeal the call, although the replay suggested he should have. Semien hit the next pitch to the State Farm sign in center field for a triple, plating two and essentially breaking the game open.

Three Keys

No Opener Needed

Sean Manaea has worked his way fully back into the rotation Circle of Trust. Manaea, in his second start of the season, worked into the sixth and held the scary Phillies lineup to six hits and two earned runs. Manaea has turned things around after a dreadful start of the season (following his dreadful 2025), and at a time when the Mets' rotation is in a shambles because of injuries and ineffectiveness, a 2024 model of Manaea taking the mound every five days is just what manager Carlos Mendoza needs.

Wag Not A Dog

With Tyrone Taylor set to begin a rehab assignment, Eric Wagaman's days on the major league roster may be numbered. But more hits like tonight's key pinch hit -- a single that gave the Mets the lead -- will make it harder for the Mets hierarchy to make him the roster casualty.

The Bullpen Does It Again

This is not a "three key" left over from Thursday's game. Once again, the bullpen came up big. Huascar Brazoban, taking over from Sean Manaea in the sixth, got three key outs. A.J. Minter followed with two more. Luke Weaver struck out the side -- again. And Devin Williams' numbers would have looked better if Zack Short and Marcus Semien had been able to turn what looked like an easy double play and/or had Bo Bichette made a better thrown on ball he fielded cutting in front of Short. That left Williams facing Kyle Schwarber with the tying runs on base, and when Schwarber hit a liner, it landed in Brett Baty's glove in right field. Whew!

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