When we last left the Mets, this author surmised that the Mets should be able to fatten up on division rivals like the Phillies and Nationals before their rough June stretch. Friday night was the perfect illustration.
First play of the game was an error by Bryson Stott on what should have been a routine play. From there, the Mets would load the bases and score twice on sacrifice flies to short right field. Maybe if it was someone else in right, Brandon Nimmo and/or Starling Marte don’t test their arm. But with Nick Castellanos out there, they decided to test it. The first sac fly was a decent throw but Garrett Stubbs couldn’t corral the hop. The second sac fly wasn’t even close as Castellanos’ throw was off the mark. The Mets added a third run on a Mark Canha single and they had three unearned runs to start the game.
It turned out to be not only a microcosm of their season, but a huge factor in this game. The Mets, with the help of Pete Alonso, scored four runs in the 3rd and 4th … two in the 3rd on a homer off Bailey Falter, and two more in the third on a Francisco Lindor single (after an error by Stubbs send Starling Marte to third on a stolen base), and a Pete Alonso double to right where Castellanos kinda sorta could’ve hit the cutoff man, and the Mets had a seemingly comfortable 7-0 lead.
But the Phillies dinked and dunked Carlos Carrasco to death before Buck Showalter made the decision to go to Chasen Shreve to pitch to Stubbs with the score 7-3 and two men on. This was the opposite of Buck not going to the lefty Rodriguez against San Francisco, sticking with Smith to pitch to Joc Pederson who smacked his third dinger of the night in the 8th inning. (Pederson wound up being on the receiving end of a smack tonight.) So Shreve tries to throw a splitter, but it turns out to be the worst splitter in the history of splitters as it would up in the middle of the plate for Stubbs to turn on and make it a 7-6 game. Now it’s hairy scary time as the Phillies threatened to get revenge for the 7-1 comeback. But the worst part of the home run might have been that for the first time in years I had to read the phrase “Utley’s Corner”.
Forever Utley’s Corner pic.twitter.com/lFi0NaOWRW
— John Foley (@2008Philz) May 28, 2022
GARRETT STUBBS INTO UTLEY'S CORNER
— Absolutely Hammered (@ah_pod) May 28, 2022
not only are you the lil scrappy guy that philadelphia is already loving at the moment but then you go and blast one into UTLEY'S CORNER? future wall of famer
— baseballin' (@inthephanattic) May 28, 2022
It’s honestly as nervous as I’ve been all season.
The Mets have been really good at scoring in the half inning following an opposing team’s rally. Even though it was only one run on a ground out, it gave the Mets a chance to breathe a little bit after having their hearts stop after that six run rally. But I thought the key to the game was Drew Smith in the top of the 7th. The aforementioned outing that culminated in the Pederson home run was a rough one. And after leading off the 7th with a walk to the garbage bin assaulter, Smith downshifted and went primarily with the slider, staying away from the gopher ball and striking out Alec Bohm, and getting Bryce Harper and Castellanos to ground out to get out of the jam.
It led to the 8th inning, where Joely Rodriguez, just as Smith did, led off the inning with a walk. And after a fielder’s choice, Odubel Herrera doubled off the glove of a diving Brandon Nimmo to put runners on second and third with one out. But Rodriguez would bounce back to strike out Stubbs to keep him off the Phillies Wall of Fame for the time being, and then Buck brought in Seth Lugo to face JT Realmuto (he of the .611 OPS) with first base open. Realmuto somehow turned a 3-0 count into a foul pop to first to end the inning and Lugo was out of that jam.
Edwin Diaz gave up a soft contact hit to Alec Bohm with one out in the 9th but other than that, he deployed his wipe out slider to strike out Rhys and Harper, while getting Castellanos on a 101 mph fastball to end it. Outside of Shreve’s splitter which caused Dan Petry to regret ever having invented the pitch, the Mets played cleaner baseball than the Phillies did and won a game that turned into a coin flip at the end. Every little bit counts, and the Mets made every one of their little bits count while the Phillies were just …
Today’s Hate List
… typical Phillies
Minor-leaguers rip ‘typical Phillies’ for putting them up in hotels: ‘We don’t have a home’ https://t.co/cjtBuGuFuC
— Philadelphia Inquirer Sports (@phillysport) May 27, 2022
The Phillies are essentially asking their fanbase to trust them in their pursuit of better results from their farm system after years of failure. How could fans trust the new regime if they can’t get the most basic issue resolved?
— Destiny Lugardo (@destiny_lugardo) May 27, 2022
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