Phillies’ plans to clinch NL East title will have to wait after falling to Mets

NEW YORK — Hold the celebration.

Less than 24 hours after clinching a playoff spot for the third consecutive year, the Phillies’ idea of a Saturday night in the big city was dousing the visiting clubhouse at Citi Field in beer and bubbly.

Instead, Ranger Suárez slammed his mitt on the bench after lasting only five innings and Orion Kerkering gave up his first earned runs in 37 days. It added up to a 6-3 loss before 44,152 patrons, most of whom were as giddy about the Phillies’ evening plans being ruined as the Mets’ holding firm to the final National League wild card spot.

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“You always have that thought in your mind when you go into this type of game,” Suárez said through a team interpreter of the chance to pitch the Phillies to their first NL East title since 2011. “I tried to keep the game as close as I could. Obviously, it didn’t happen today for us.”

And so, the magic number stayed frozen at two. (In reality, though, it’s one, because the Phillies own the tiebreaker over the Mets by virtue of winning the season series). Bottom line: If the Phillies win the series finale on Sunday night — behind ace Zack Wheeler — they can still celebrate in New York.

If not, well, it will drag into next week at Citizens Bank Park.

“The biggest thing for us is that we want to be able to get the division,” Kyle Schwarber said. “But also, two, we want to keep winning baseball games until the end of the season.”

Indeed, the Phillies have bigger goals than merely making the playoffs, which is why they chose not to party hard Friday night. They still have a six-game lead over the Mets with seven games remaining. And they’re closing in on clinching a bye in the treacherous best-of-three wild-card series.

Saturday’s loss doesn’t make any of that less likely.

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Here, though, is what it didn’t do: Alleviate concerns about Suárez in the postseason starting rotation.

Although manager Rob Thomson and Suárez were encouraged that he pitched better than other recent starts after making a mechanical adjustment earlier in the week — one that incorporated his legs and hips more in his delivery — he still lacked precision command, especially of his curveball.

Suárez fell behind in counts and was unable to land his curveball in the dirt to force bad swings. He walked Mets slugger Pete Alonso three times, one of which was followed by a 10-pitch duel with Brandon Nimmo that ratcheted up Suárez’s pitch count.

“He was spiking a lot of [curveballs],” Thomson said. “But I thought he was better today.”

Maybe, but it wasn’t a high bar. Suárez entered with a 4.44 ERA in five starts since returning from a month on the injured list with a sore back. He hasn’t completed six innings in a start since July 12. After posting a 1.83 ERA through his first 16 starts, he has a 5.72 mark in his last 10.

In five innings, Suárez faced 23 batters and threw 91 pitches. At this rate, he won’t get as much rope in the postseason.

“My last couple outings have not been good at all, in my opinion,” Suárez said. “I just tried to go out and have a good one for the team today. I think that’s been motivating me a little more recently.”

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Thomson turned to the bullpen in the sixth inning. With the game tied 2-2 in the seventh, he went to Kerkering for the third time in four games. And when the rookie righty issued a leadoff walk to Starling Marte, it was clear that he wasn’t sharp.

Kerkering hit Alonso before giving up a go-ahead RBI single to Brandon Nimmo. Two batters later, Francisco Alvarez dropped a two-run double between a sliding Weston Wilson in left field and Johan Rojas in center to open a 5-2 lead.

Wilson was starting in place of lefty-hitting Brandon Marsh against Mets lefty starter Sean Manaea. Marsh rarely plays against lefties and probably won’t in the postseason, either. But he is the Phillies’ best defensive left fielder.

Could Wilson have gotten a better jump on the ball?

”I’d have to look at the tape,” Thomson said. “It’s hard to see left field from where I’m standing.”

The Phillies got one run back in the eighth. But the Mets turned to closer Edwin Díaz for a four-out save, and he came through by striking out Kyle Schwarber to end the eighth and retiring Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, and Alec Bohm in the ninth.

For seven innings, the Phillies were flummoxed by Manaea. Schwarber hit a leadoff homer, extending his single-season major-league record to 15. But Manaea retired the next 12 batters before allowing a solo shot to Nick Castellanos, then sat down nine in a row after that.

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Manaea did it with mostly heavy sinkers and bat-slowing changeups, a formula that typically works for Suárez. So, while the Phillies are virtually guaranteed to clinch the NL East within the next day or two, they’ll have to wait longer to see if Suárez is able to regain his pre-All-Star break form.

It’s much less of a certainty.