The Mets stumbled after jumping out to an early lead and lost to the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, 6-4.
Here are the takeaways…
-Staked to an early 1-0 lead, Luis Severino looked like a man on a mission in the early going of this one. The right-hander struck out the side in the bottom of the first inning and retired the first eight batters he faced before Cal Stevenson lined a single into center field.
Severino continued to cruise until Bryce Harper got the Phillies on the board in the fourth with a solo shot for his 27th home run of the season. Still, Severino shook it off and retired the next seven in a row. However, with two outs in the sixth and the Mets up 4-1, Trea Turner walked to bring up Harper and the first baseman struck again, tagging Severino for a two-run shot to cut Philadelphia’s deficit down to a skinny run.
Severino’s outing was done after six innings in which he allowed three earned runs on three hits and a walk while striking out five on 86 pitches (55 strikes).
-Tasked with preserving a one-run lead, Danny Young was the first reliever out of the bullpen but the lefty quickly allowed the first two to reach base. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners over, Young’s outing was finished.
In came Reed Garrett who did well to strike out Weston Wilson for the second out, but against the No. 9 hitter Stevenson the right-hander surrendered a two-run double that gave the Phillies their first lead of the series. Both runs were charged to Young.
-Stevenson came up huge once again in the next half-inning, robbing J.D. Martinez of a game-tying home run to center field.
–Ryne Stanek pitched the eighth and allowed another run to score to give the Phillies some more breathing room as they closed it out in the ninth.
-After scoring 11 runs on 14 hits in the series opener on Friday night, New York wasted no time on Saturday against Kolby Allard who allowed a run in the first inning on a hit and three walks. All three walks came with two outs with the final free pass coming to Starling Marte which forced in Jose Iglesias for the game’s first run.
Marte would knock in two more in the third inning with a triple to give the Mets a 4-0 lead. The outfielder absolutely loves hitting at Citizens Bank Park and began the day hitting .380 with six home runs, 17 doubles and 20 RBI over 40 games. Marte’s 1.038 OPS (which only went up after Saturday) in Philadelphia is his highest mark in any ballpark with at least 10 games played. He reached base four times, finishing 2-for-2 with three RBI, a walk and a hit by pitch.
-Making his MLB debut after getting called up from Triple-A Syracuse earlier in the day, Luisangel Acuña recorded his first major league hit in the fourth inning with a single up the middle against former Met Taijuan Walker.
The shortstop finished 2-for-4 filling in for Francisco Lindor and had a leadoff hit in the ninth as the Mets attempted a comeback.
Who’s the MVP?
Cal Stevenson. Not only did his two-out, two-run double give the Phillies the lead, his leaping grab over the center field wall robbed the Mets of a game-tying home run.
Highlights
What’s next
The Mets close out their series in Philadelphia with a Sunday matinee. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. on SNY.
LHP David Peterson (9-2, 2.98 ERA) will face LHP Cristopher Sanchez (10-9, 3.33 ERA).
