In a back and forth game with the Phillies on Sunday afternoon, the Mets lost 10-7 and received another crucial blow to their Wild Card hopes. (Box Score)

Noah Syndergaard was unable to take advantage of an early lead, allowing four runs on six hits over just five innings, while striking out five. The hard-throwing righty also gave up three additional stolen bases, bumping his total for the season up to 33-the most in all of baseball.

Mickey Callaway removed Syndergaard from the game after he threw just 78 pitches. Callaway decided have Todd Frazier to pinch hit for Syndergaard in a key spot in the fifth, but Frazier struck out. When Syndergaard learned that he was being taken out, he threw his helmet in frustration.

Catcher Wilson Ramos enjoyed his return to action after his day off, going 3-4 with a single, double, two-run home run and 3 RBI’s.

Pitching

Starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard‘s day was filled with stress from the start.

In the top of the second, Syndergaard was able to work his way around a leadoff double from Phillies’ second baseman Rhys Hoskins and post a shutdown inning after his team put him up 3-0 in the bottom of the first.

However, in the third, Syndergaard allowed the Phils to snag a run on a Jean Segura sacrifice fly, making it 3-1 Mets by the end of the inning. Syndergaard’s fourth inning proved to be similar, with one more run crossing the plate after an Adam Haseley home run. By the end of the fourth, the score sat at 3-2.

Syndergaard’s ability to limit the damage finally wavered in the fifth, as the Phillies took a 4-3 lead on a two-run single by Corey Dickerson.

The Mets’ bullpen staggered as well. Paul Sewald faced only two batters and let up a double to Hoskins, while his replacement Luis Avilan allowed three runs in the sixth on Phil Gosselin‘s RBI single and Maikel Franco‘s two-run homer-putting New York behind 7-4.

In the seventh, lefty Justin Wilson put the Mets even further behind after they managed to claw their way back to a one-run deficit. With two outs in the inning, Wilson gave up a two-run home run to Scott Kingery to make it 9-6. Tyler Bashlor then proceeded to walk pinch hitter Bryce Harper with the bases loaded, extending the Phils’ lead to 10-6.

Offense

Catcher Wilson Ramos quickly got the Mets on the board with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first. Robinson Cano then followed suit with a bomb of his own to right, staking the Mets to a 3-0 lead.

After Syndergaard relinquished the lead in the top of the fifth, the Mets (as they have often done over the course of this season) came right back in the bottom of the inning, tying the game at 4 on Brandon Nimmo‘s RBI single.

Philadelphia reclaimed a 7-4 lead in the top of the sixth, but New York continued to battle. In the bottom of the sixth, the Mets scored twice on Ramos’ RBI groundout and Cano’s sac fly, making it 7-6.

Down 10-6 in the seventh, pinch hitter Joe Panik chipped away at the lead with an RBI single to make it 10-7, but the Mets’ bats were stifled for the remainder of the game.

On Deck

The Mets (72-70) open a series with the Arizona Diamondbacks (75-68) Monday night at Citi Field, starting at 7:10 PM. The Mets’ Jacob deGrom (8-8, 2.76 ERA) will toe the mound against Arizona’s Merill Kelly (10-13, 4.69 ERA). The game will be broadcast on SNY.