The New York Mets (36-53) fell to the Philadelphia Phillies (51-39) to the score of 7-3. The Mets have not won a home series since May 21st but they can split the series with a win tomorrow. Attendance was reported at 22,416. The loss makes the Mets the sole resident of the NL East cellar.

Pitching

Drew Gagnon made his MLB debut tonight and was able to retire the side in order in the first inning. The second inning Gagnon ran into some trouble. He gave up a one-out single to Nick Williams and hit Jorge Alfaro with a pitch with two out. Next batter Maikel Franco put the Phillies on the board with a home run to left field giving them a 3-0 lead.

With one out in the third, Gagnon gave up back-to-back singles to Rhys Hoskins and Odubel Herrera followed by a walk to Carlos Santana. With the bases loaded and one out, Nick Williams plated two Phillies with a single to extend their lead to 5-0. A wild pitch would advance Williams to second leaving two Phillies in scoring position with one out with Scott Kingery at the dish. Kingery hit a bloop to shallow right and Wilmer Flores made a running basket catch with his back to the ball then threw out Santana at home trying to tag up.

Gagnon hit Alfaro again with a pitch in the fourth inning but retired the next three hitters. After striking out Hoskins to lead off the fifth inning, Gagnon gave up a home run to Herrera that further extended the Mets deficit to 6-1. Gagnon struck out Santana but gave up a single to Williams who was the last batter Gagnon would face. Gagnon’s final stat line was 4.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO. He threw 81 pitches of which 46 of them were for strikes.

Tyler Bashlor came in the game with two outs in the fifth inning with a runner on first. Williams attempted to steal second but was unsuccessful as Devin Mesoraco threw him out. Bashlor returned to pitch the sixth inning and gave up a leadoff double to Kingery. Two batters later Franco singled in Kingrey to extend the Phillies lead to 7-1. Bashlor would retire the next two batters to end the frame. Asdrubal Cabrera was taken out of the game between innings due to a strained arm. Bashlor allowed two Phillies to reach base in the seventh but was able to navigate the inning without damage.

P.J. Conlon pitched a clean eighth inning aided by an inning double play. Conlon allowed a leadoff single in the ninth but retired the next three hitters.

Hitting

The Mets were unable to get much going early on against Phillies starter Enyel De Los Santos, who was also making his MLB debut.

The team’s got the leadoff man on base the first three innings but were unable to score the first two. Amed Rosario tripled to left field to lead off the third as Hoskins face planted into the wall attempting to make the catch. Rosario would score on a sac fly hit by Gagnon to cut the Phillies lead to 5-1.

Jose Bautista hit a one-out single and advanced to third on a Flores two-out double in the sixth inning. Both runners were left in scoring position when Mesoraco popped out to Santan in foul territory.

Jose Reyes led the seventh off with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Rosario hit his second triple of the game with one out to score Reyes to make the score 7-2 in favor of the Phillies. Michael Conforto grounded out to short which allowed Rosario to score to shave the Phillies lead to 7-3.

Dominic Smith ended his 0-16 skid with a one-out single in the eighth but was left stranded with consecutive fly outs.

Reyes led off the ninth with a single but the next batter Ty Kelly grounded into a double play. Rosario grounded out to end the game but finished the day going 3-for-4 scoring two runs and had one Rib-Eye Steak.

On Deck

The New York Mets will send Jacob deGrom (5-4, 1.79 ERA) in the series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies tomorrow at Citi Field. The Phillies will counter with Vince Velasquez (5-8, 4.69 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM ET. The game will be televised on SNY and broadcast on WOR.