Phillies 7 Mets 2 (Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, UK)
Mets record: 27-36
Mets streak: Lost 1
WP - Ranger Suarez (10-1)
LP - Sean Manaea (3-3)
Seat on the Korner:
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Whit Merrifield's three run homer in the 4th highlighted a 5 run inning for the Phils which put the Mets away on Saturday in the first game of the London Series.
Need to Know
Sean Manaea threw three good innings but an awful 4th inning doomed him. He would up going 3 and 2/3's, giving up 6 runs on 7 hits and a walk while striking out 3 and giving up 2 dingers.
Ranger Suarez wasn't quite as dominant as he has been this season, but he was plenty effective when it mattered. He went 5 and 2/3's while giving up two runs on 8 hits and a walk while striing out 6 Mets.
Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Starling Marte, and Jose Iglesias all had two hits for the Mets, who had 8 hits total.
Bryce Harper went 3-for-4, including the hit that we feature in our ...
Turning Point
This one is an easy one. Sean Manaea cruised through the first three innings and had a 1-0 lead. He had just thrown a nine pitch top of the 3rd. Then in the 4th, Bryce Harper did what Bryce Harper does: crush souls.
The Phillies would go on to score five more runs that inning, which we'll talk about in the ...
Three Keys
A Dodgy Fourth
The Harper home run might not have been so lethal had it not been for the rest of the inning. And the rest of the inning could have been easily avoided if Manaea had put away Bryson Stott with two outs, a runner on first, and the count 0-2. But Manaea lost Stott and the rest of the inning was minging.
First, Edmundo Sosa drove home Alec Bohm on a fly ball to right which looked like either Starling Marte either misplayed it, or he was too conservative in fear of the high bounce turf sending the ball over his head. Either way, he was caught in two minds as he has been for much of the season in the outfield.
Then came the Merrifield homer on an inside changeup. You can talk all you want about advancements in pitch sequencing and changes in pitching philosophy over the years, but inside changeups are still usually a bad idea in 2024.
A double, single, and another run later, Manaea got the (butcher's) hook and the game was all to pot.
Mets Cock Up In The Clutch
The Mets did have their chances after the Phillies' big inning. With runners on second and third with two outs in the bottom of the 4th, Wednesday's hero Luis Torrens struck out . The Mets then led off the 5th with a Lindor single and a Pete Alonso double. But Brandon Nimmo struck out, J.D. Martinez grounded out to bring him a run, then Marte grounded out to end that threat.
Then in the 6th, the Mets conjured up a two out rally on the strength of two singles by Iglesias and Torrens. But the Phillies then replced Suarez with Orion Kerkering, who struck out Lindor looking on a nasty bender.
The Mets even attempted a rally down by 5 in the 9th. They loaded the bases and brought up Martinez with the tying run on deck and one out. But Martinez grounded into a double play to end it.
A Bloody Long Drive To Left
It was simply wondow dressing, but if for no other reason than it waas a moon shot, here's Nick Castellanos' satellite off of Danny Young in the 8th:
Somewhere, someone was apologizing to somebody over something.
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