Mets Capture Series From Phillies; Take Two Game Lead to Atlanta

The New York Mets aimed to close out their final home series of the season against the Philadelphia Phillies with a win. Thanks to Brandon Nimmo and a strong performance by the pitching staff, they managed to hold Philadelphia’s potent offense to just one run, securing a 2-1 victory in a tense series finale.

This crucial win keeps the Mets two games ahead of the Atlanta Braves while also helping them gain ground on the Arizona Diamondbacks, who lost earlier in the day to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Mets, who are now even with the Diamondbacks, own the tiebreaker.

Pitching dominated the game as both starting pitchers and bullpens allowed just three runs combined. Facing his old team, Zack Wheeler delivered another solid outing with seven innings of work, allowing seven hits, two runs, and striking out eight.

Tylor Megill, after a shaky start, settled in and limited the Phillies to one run on four hits with six strikeouts over four innings. Both bullpens were impeccable, keeping the game tight and scoreless for the remainder of the game. Phil Maton and Jose Butto were crucial for the Mets in filling in the gap from Megill to Edwin Díaz, with Maton picking up the win, pitching two scoreless innings.

Wind played a major role, particularly with fly balls, killing multiple home run opportunities, especially for Kyle Schwarber. Offensively, the Mets tallied seven hits, highlighted by a Tyrone Taylor single in the second inning and a game-changing home run from Brandon Nimmo in the sixth. The Mets went 2-for-3 with runners in scoring position but left five men on base.

In what may have been Pete Alonso‘s final game at Citi Field, he received standing ovations for each at-bat but struggled at the plate, going 0-for-4. Edwin Díaz was called on for a six-out save after notching a four-out save on Saturday. Despite a few tense moments, he secured the win by striking out Kody Clemens to end the game.

Statistic of the Game: Magic Number At Five

Although the Braves defeated the Miami Marlins earlier this afternoon, the Mets’ win against Philadelphia puts the magic number to clinch at five, with a crucial series in Atlanta coming up on Tuesday. Taking two-of-three from Atlanta would clinch the Mets a playoff berth, as two wins would ensure the Mets the tiebreaker.

Player of the Game: Edwin Díaz

After notching a four-out save yesterday, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza entrusted Diaz for two innings to get his 20th save and he came through, getting all six outs, and striking out four.

Díaz has been tremendous as of late, allowing only one run to go along with 25 strikeouts over his last 13 1/3 innings.

On Deck

The Mets have an off-day tomorrow but will fly out to Atlanta to face the Braves for a crucial series that can decide the fate of the season. Confirmed by the manager, the Mets will throw out Luis Severino (11-6, 3.79 ERA) for game one on Tuesday and Atlanta will toss out Spencer Schwellenbach (7-7, 3.61 ERA). First pitch is at 7:20 pm ET and will be broadcasted on SNY and Mets Radio 880.

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