Phillies get swept by the Mets with a 10-inning defeat: ‘Got to flush this series, quick as possible’
The Phillies dropped their fourth straight and are five games behind New York in the NL East.
NEW YORK — The Phillies surely were glad to leave Citi Field behind on Wednesday evening.
Starling Marte’s walk-off hit in the 10th inning completed the New York Mets’ three-game sweep of the Phillies, 4-3. It marked the Phillies’ seventh straight loss at the ballpark, including the 2024 postseason.
“Not playing good baseball, obviously,” Bryce Harper said. “We got to figure it out sooner rather than later. Got to flush this series, quick as possible.”
» READ MORE: Cristopher Sánchez feels ‘normal’ day after exiting game with forearm tightness; no plans for MRI
With the score tied, 2-2, since the fourth inning, the Phillies finally broke through in the top of the 10th with a single from Nick Castellanos, which scored ghost-running Harper from third. It marked the Phillies’ first lead in any game of the series.
It didn’t last long. Jordan Romano gave up an RBI double to Pete Alonso to tie things back up, before Marte’s single ended the game. It wasn’t hit very hard, just a 70.2 mph bloop to no-man’s land in center field.
Meanwhile, the Phillies hit five balls on Wednesday harder than 100 mph that resulted in outs.
“It’s the randomness of the game,” said manager Rob Thomson. “It really is. I mean, we’re not going to tell guys to start swinging uphill. You hit a ball hard, you hit a ball hard.”
The Phillies had plenty of missed opportunities, leaving 12 on base. All of their 11 hits were singles, and the go-ahead run was thrown out at home in the eighth inning. Max Kepler singled to right field with runners on first and second, but Juan Soto threw out Castellanos at the plate by a foot.
Phillies starter Zack Wheeler posted another quality start to keep the Phillies in it early. He kept the Mets off-balance with his four-seam fastball, which touched 98.3 mph. They whiffed 14 times on the pitch.
» READ MORE: ‘Phillies Extra’ Q&A: Farm director Luke Murton on Crawford, Painter, a sleeper to watch, and more
He made just one mistake, a cutter that didn’t get in far enough to Brett Baty, who hit a 113.9-mph rocket to the second deck in right field. The two-run shot in the second inning accounted for the only runs Wheeler allowed over six innings, as he scattered five hits with nine strikeouts and two walks.
“We know what type of team we are,” Wheeler said. “We know how good we are. We just got to play better and play more consistent. All around, everybody, including us starters. So it’s just a matter of doing it.”
But the Phillies’ issues with cashing in with runners in scoring position persisted. They loaded the bases with one out in the second inning on two singles and a Mets error, but did nothing with it.
Johan Rojas flied out to right, but not deep enough to score Alec Bohm from third, and Trea Turner grounded into a forceout to end the inning.
Even when they tied the game up in the fourth, the Phillies still missed the opportunity to add on. They strung together four singles to plate two runs, but Harper grounded out to end the rally with two on.
Until Romano served up an 0-2 slider to Alonso, the bullpen had been effective. Matt Strahm pitched the seventh and allowed Francisco Lindor aboard with a single, but he rebounded to strike out Soto looking to end the frame.
» READ MORE: Brandon Marsh is nearly ready for a rehab assignment, Phillies say
José Alvarado pitched two scoreless innings for his longest regular-season outing since June 16, 2021, to force extras.
“He fought, did a great job,” Thomson said. “We had Romano ready. So once that pitch count got to a place where I wasn’t comfortable with it, we were going to go get him. It didn’t matter which hitter we were at. But he did a great job.”
After Castellanos’ RBI single gave the Phillies the lead in the 10th, Mets closer Edwin Díaz was called for a balk, apparently allowing Castellanos to advance to second. Pitchers are limited to two disengagements per plate appearance, and Díaz had stepped off the rubber three times with J.T. Realmuto at the plate, resulting in the balk call. Díaz then called for a trainer, and the ruling on the field was reversed because of Díaz’s injury, sending Castellanos back to first.
“That kind of doesn’t make sense to me,” Thomson said. “That’s a play that I’ll have to remember to tell our pitchers.”
Compounding Thomson’s frustration was how the inning ended. Once again, the Phillies had the chance to tack on more runs. With Max Kranick in for Díaz, Realmuto walked and Bohm singled to load the bases, but consecutive flyouts from Bryson Stott and Kepler stranded them.
The Phillies have lost four straight games. Romano’s blown save is the bullpen’s seventh of the season, the most in the league. As the bullpen and the offense continue to scuffle, the team only sees one solution.
“We just got to win. I mean, it takes care of everything,” Harper said. “It takes care of mindset. It takes care of what you’re feeling, or anything else like that. Doesn’t matter if one guy’s struggling or not. We come to win, and winning takes care of it all. So as a team, we just have to be better.”