Phillies 6 Mets 4 (Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA)
Mets record: 81-67
Mets streak: Lost 1
WP - Orion Kerkering (5-2)
LP - Danny Young (4-1)
SV - Carlos Estevez (26)
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.
Bryce Harper and his two home runs had this seat for about an inning and a half until Cal Stevenson stole it from him ... much like he stole J.D. Martinez's tying home run in the 8th inning.
Need to Know
The Mets are 3-5 against the Phillies this season with five more to go.
Cal Stevenson went 2-for-3 in his third career start, including the go ahead double off Reed Garrett in the 7th inning.
Bryce Harper's two home runs against the Mets gave him 39 homers against the Mets overall in his career, most by a Mets opponent who is still active.
Besides the Harper home runs, Luis Severino pitched very well. The homers were two of the three hits that Sevy allowed, only walking one and striking out five on 86 pitches through six innings.
Kolby Allard struggled with his control and gave up four runs in his start which lasted three innings. But Taijuan Walker came in and pitched three scoreless innings where he only gave up three hits.
Starling Marte's 2 run triple in the third inn and gave the Mets a 4-0 lead. He would have three RBI on the day. Marte came into the game with a .371 lifetime batting average versus the Phillies.
But in the 8th, Marte was hit in the forearm with a pitch and his going for x-rays.
Francisco Lindor missed today's game with back soreness suffered on Friday night. This is only the second game he hasn't started all season, and his streak of 193 consecutive games played was broken.
In his place, Luisangel Acuna made his major league debut playing shortstop and batted 9th. Acuna singled in the fourth off of Taijuan Walker for his first major league hit. He would also single in the 9th to put the tying run at the plate for a 2-for-4 debut.
Jose Iglesias batted leadoff for the 14th time in his career, and the first time as a met in place of Lindor.
Turning Point
In a game filled with turning points (all in favor of the Phillies), I'll go with the play that turned the game twice. J.D. Martinez was about to turn the game for the Mets with a drive to center field after Cal Stevenson gave the Phillies the lead in the bottom of the 7th.
But Cal turned it right back, for good:
Three Keys
Bullpened
The Mets bullpen has been pitching very well lately. And to be more than fair Danny Young who took the loss, was victimized by a bloop hit by Bryson Stott and a single by JT Realmuto on a ball that was right on the corner that Realmuto just went out and got. After a sacrifice that brought the runners to second and third, Reed Garrett came in and got Weston Wilson looking for the second out.
But couldn't get Stevenson out for the third.
Bryced
With the Mets up 4-0 and Luis Severino cruising, Bryce Harper took matters into his own hands. First, a solo jack to make it 4-1 in the 4th.
Then in the 6th with a runner on, Severino threw two sweepers in a row with the count 2-2. Harper fouled the first one off and took the second for ball three. I thought at that point Severino might go with the fastball and either try to slow down his bat, or get him to chase high. But he threw his third sweeper in a row and I think Harper was looking for it.
Didn't help that it was in a horrible spot.
A Glimpse To The Future
Luisangel Acuna's debut was strange because he was playing shortstop and his first fielding chance didn't come until the 8th inning (on a pop-up). But a two hit debut is always special, especially when your second hit is off a top notch closer and it brings the tying run to the plate.
Comments