The New York Mets fell back into fourth place in the National League East as the Philadelphia Phillies (73-68) battered Mets starter Marcus Stroman for 10 hits and five runs and beat the Mets, 5-0, to even the three-game series at a game apiece. (box score)
It was the eighth time the Mets (72-69) have been shutout this year and the first time since July 19 against the San Francisco Giants.
The Mets remain four games behind the Chicago Cubs for the second wild card as Chicago was defeated by Milwaukee on a walk-off double by Christian Yelich. But Arizona won again, so the Mets lost ground to the Diamondbacks, Brewers, and Phils on Saturday.
Marcus Stroman gave up a season-high ten hits including his first career lead-off home run as his record fell to 7-13 on the season. He has given up 48 hits in 35 2/3 innings as a Mets starter. He has a 5.05 ERA since being traded from Toronto.
Mickey Callaway noted in his post-game press conference that Stroman was not getting outs early in the count like he was as a Blue Jay. He called Stroman an elite pitcher who has been through the rigors before and will snap out of his funk with the Mets and perform well here.
The top of the Phillies lineup, Cesar Hernandez, J.T. Realmuto, and Corey Dickerson accounted for eight of the Phils 11 hits and all five RBIs to help Philadelphia break a three-game losing streak.
Noah Syndergaard will get the start on Sunday as the Mets try to take the series from the Phils.
Pitching
The Mets were fortunate to be in the game after the Phillies first at-bat. Marcus Stroman took the ball for New York for the seventh time since he was traded to Flushing. Cesar Hernandez led off the game with a towering home run to right to give the Phils an immediate 1-0 lead. It was Hernandez’s ninth homer of the year and the first time in Stroman’s career that he had given up a lead-off home run.
But the Phils were not done. They loaded the bases on three singles, none of which was hard hit. Brad Miller struck out and Scott Kingery lined out to limit the damage. Stroman needed 31 pitched to get through the first.
In the second, Stroman got into some two-out trouble as Hernandez and J.T. Realmuto each singled for their second hits of the game. Corey Dickerson struck out to end the threat. The Phils had six hits through the first two innings.
Stroman retired the Phils 1-2-3 in the third.
The fourth was a different story as the Phils hit the ball hard against Stroman and scored four runs. It all started with a routine fly ball to left off the bat of Kingery that J.D. Davis dropped. It was Davis’ first error in the outfield this year. Adam Haseley followed with a single to put two runners on base. Hernandez stroked his third hit of the night to plate Kingery and give the Phils a 2-0 lead. Then Realmuto followed suit and smashed his third hit of the night to make the score 3-0. Finally, Dickerson laced his 28th double of the year to score two and increase the lead to 5-0.
That would be it for Stroman as Daniel Zamora came in to start the fifth. Marcus Stroman struggled against the Phillies line-up. His final line was 4.0 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 85 pitches. It was statistically the worst start for the right-hander with the Mets. Zamora retired the Phillies in order in the fifth.
Walker Lockett came in the game in the sixth and also pitched a strong inning, retiring Philadelphia in order. He came out for the seventh and quickly dispatched the Phils in order. Lockett looked sharp in his two innings of work.
Jeurys Familia started the eighth and worked around a lead-off single by Sean Rodriguez to pitch a scoreless inning.
Tyler Bashlor pitched a scoreless ninth for the Mets. The Mets bullpen pitched five scoreless innings on Saturday.
Offense
The New York Mets managed five hits against the Phillies on Saturday.
Like the Phils, the Mets also loaded the bases on in the first. Unlike the Phils, the Mets came up empty in the frame. The inning was significant as Pete Alonso stroked a double to left, his 28th of the year. It was the 32nd straight game Alonso has reached base, one shy of a Mets record.
Todd Frazier hit a screaming line drive to right-center that Adam Haseley (who was in the game due to a Bryce Harper injury) made a nice catch to save at least two runs and retire the Mets in the first.
The Mets put their lead-off man on base in both the second and third innings but failed to score. Alonso singled in the third for his second hit of the game. Through three innings, the Mets had left five men on-base and were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
The fourth started with two consecutive errors by third baseman Brad Miller. Tomas Nido was called out on strikes for the first out of the inning. Then the specter turned into reality as Jed Lowrie made his first plate appearance as a Met. It was the first time this season a switch-hitter batted for New York. He could not create any magic, though, as he struck out. Amed Rosario grounded out to end the inning. The Phils had committed three errors to this point, but the Mets could not take advantage.
The Mets did not threaten in the fifth or sixth innings. Through six frames, the Mets stranded eight runners.
New York also went quietly in the seventh. It was only the second time this year that Phillies’ starter Drew Smyly (he of the over 6.50 ERA) went at least seven innings.
Reliever Cole Irvin retired the Mets in the eighth, working around a single by Jeff McNeil.
Nick Pivetta pitched the ninth for the Phils and retired the Mets to end the game. The Mets were 0-for-9 with RISP in the game.
On Deck
The Mets go for the series win against the Phils with an afternoon tilt Sunday at 1:10 p.m. Noah Syndergaard (10-7, 3.97 ERA) will pitch for New York. After the worst start of his career against the Cubs on August 28 where he allowed nine earned runs in three innings, Noah bounced back five days later to pitch a gem against the Nationals to pick up his tenth win. Against Washington, he went seven innings of shutout ball allowing only three hits.
Vince Velasquez (6-7, 4.80 ERA) gets the ball for the Phils. Last out against Cincinnati, he was removed from the game after only three innings and 67 pitches. Some friction ensued between Velasquez and manager Gabe Kapler necessitating a meeting. Reports from Philadelphia indicate that everything was ironed out after the powwow but it’ll be interesting to see how the righthander responds.
The matinee will be telecast on SNY and broadcast on WCBS-880 AM.
