The New York Mets (87-74) defeated the Philadelphia Phillies (70-91) by a score of 5-3 at Citizens Bank Park Saturday afternoon. The Mets have clinched the first wild card spot and will have home field advantage in their upcoming postseason game Wednesday.
Pitching:
Bartolo Colon was on the mound for the Mets today and it appeared he was on a pitch count so that he would be available Wednesday for an inning or two if need be. Colon went five innings allowing two runs while walking none and striking out six. Colon was removed after only 61 pitches.
Colon was cruising until he ran into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the fifth inning. With the Mets up 2-0, Maikel Franco started the inning off with a single to right field. Ryan Howard then crushed his 25th home run of the year to right-center field to tie the game.
Jerry Blevins and Hansel Robles combined to pitch a scoreless sixth inning.
Fernando Salas came in for the Mets in the seventh and after acquiring two quick outs; Darin Ruf hit a pinch-hit home run cutting the Mets lead to 4-3.
Addison Reed came in for the Mets in the eighth inning and put the Phillies down in order.
Jeurys Familia came on to pitch the ninth and shut the Phillies down. Familia recorded his 51st save of the year!
Offense:
In the top of the 4th inning with two out, Curtis Granderson hit a double to left field to put a runner on base. After Phil Klein intentionally walked Jay Bruce, T.J. Rivera delivered again by smacking a single to center field, which scored Granderson and gave the Mets the early 1-0 lead.
In the top of the fifth inning, Travis d’Arnaud got things started for the Mets with a single to left field. Bartolo Colon was able to move TDA over with a sacrifice bunt. Jose Reyes cashed in the run with a single to right field in which TDA was able to get his hand down right before the tag at the plate giving the Mets the 2-0 lead.
In the top of the sixth inning, Curtis Granderson lead the Mets off with a single, his third hit of the day. After Jay Bruce lined out and T.J. Rivera popped up, James Loney crushed his 9th home run of the season to give the Mets the 4-2 lead complete with one of the biggest bat flips from the Mets all year.
In the top of the ninth with two runners on and two outs, Asdrubal Cabrera singled on a line drive to center field to tack on and add a huge insurance run making the score 5-3.
Thoughts:
This has to be one of the most unique playoff runs I have ever been a part of. Losing 4/5ths of your starting rotation along with all the countless injuries to our lineup all season long would have brought most teams to their knees.
I give a ton of credit to Sandy Alderson for having to adjust on the fly bringing in guys like Rene Rivera, Jose Reyes, James Loney, Jay Bruce, and Fernando Salas. I also give him credit for having a ton of depth at the minor league level and building our system up to a point where we could dip into it countless times without missing a beat. Whether that be a Josh Smoker for the bullpen, a Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman for the rotation, or a T.J. Rivera or Brandon Nimmo for the lineup, the Mets were never short on talented options to look at.
I also give Terry Collins credit for keeping this team together and motivated every single day. This team never stops battling. I feel like the Mets are playing with house money a little bit this year and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Made for October! pic.twitter.com/9efyXA4oO9
— New York Mets (@Mets) October 1, 2016
Notes:
This is only the second time the Mets have reached the postseason in back-to-back seasons in their history.
Addison Reed has appeared in 80 of Mets’ 161 games & has a 1.97 ERA and recorded his 40th hold of the season.
Yoenis Cespedes was ejected from the game in the ninth after having some words for the home plate umpire
JZ Player of the game: James Loney. Loney’s home run broke the tie as there seems to be a different hero that rises to the occasion every day.
On Deck:
The Mets will play their final regular game of the season with the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park tomorrow afternoon. The game has a start time of 3:05 PM. Noah Syndergaard (14-9, 2.60 ERA), will look to help finish off the season in style against Jerad Eickhoff (11-14, 3.72 ERA). Syndergaard is only expected to pitch an inning or two so that he is available for Wednesday.
