Even overseas, the New York Mets are getting a long look at what a good contending team is about. The Philadelphia Phillies continued their dominance of the Mets this season in Game 1 of the MLB London Series as New York lost 7-2 on Saturday. The Mets are now just 1-4 against Philadelphia this season. The Mets were coming off a sweep of the Washington Nationals heading into this series, but the Phillies proved to be a different animal. If the Mets want to eventually reach that level of contention, they’ll have to learn from the losses they are enduring from the best team in the National League East.
Apr 13, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Sean Manaea (59) walks off the field after being taken out of the game in the fourth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Manaea Can’t Get Out Of The 4th
For the first three innings of this game, Sean Manaea was cruising. He allowed just one hit (a 1st inning Bryce Harper double) and struck out three as New York was up 1-0. Unfortunately, Manaea ran into a common problem for him: that one bad inning. In his last start against the Arizona Diamondbacks, on Darryl Strawberry day, it was the top of the 3rd inning when Christian Walker hit a decisive grand slam. On Saturday, the 4th inning and a pair of Phillies home runs decided this game, with the added element of fly ball Starling Marte could’ve caught.
After getting J.T. Realmuto out to begin the 4th, Harper launched a solo home run on a hanging slider to tie the game. An Alec Bohm single and a Bryson Stott walk after Manaea got ahead of him 0-2 set up a bloop RBI single into right field that Marte had a chance of catching but decided to let the ball drop. Whit Merrifield put the hammer down with a three-run home run to put the Phillies up 5-1. Philadelphia added another run and that was it for Manaea. Marte’s play had a 95% catch probability. His Outs Above Average was -0.8 coming into the game. Even though Manaea did struggle and could not get Stott out after being up 0-2, if Marte had caught the ball, the Mets and Manaea would’ve been out of the inning with the score tied 1-1.
2-For-11 With RISP
The Mets offense got off to an early 1-0 lead in the 1st inning thanks to a pair of doubles from Francisco Lindor and Marte, who drove Lindor in. The offense also had a total of 10 hits. However, the key stat, once again, is their hitting with RISP. New York was 2-for-11 with RISP. The Phillies were 3-for-6. New York was not productive with RISP and 2-0uts, while the Phillies were. The Mets even loaded the bases in the bottom of the 9th down 7-2 with 1-out, but J.D. Martinez grounded into a game-ending double play. Leaving runners on with the bases loaded continues to be a problem for this Mets offense.
Player Of The Game: Francisco Lindor
Lindor continues to be a bright spot at the top of the lineup ever since New York moved him into the leadoff spot. On Saturday, he notched two hits, and they each resulted in him scoring both of the Mets’ runs on the day,
On Deck
Game 2, and the finale, of the London series takes place on Sunday. The Mets will go with Jose Quintana, who will match up with Taijuan Walker. The game starts at 10:10 a.m. EDT and will be televised nationally on ESPN.
