The last time the Phillies and Mets laid eyes on each other, they were heading in the same direction: To the airport for their long-distance flights back to the United States after playing two games at London Stadium.
At the same time, a case could be made that back on that British Summer Time evening of June 9 these two teams were also moving on precisely opposite tracks.
The Phillies had the best record in the National League. The Mets were a battered, tattered mess. They were 28-36. They were 16.5 games out. Owner Steve Cohen was already fielding questions about whether his team would be sellers at the deadline.
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What has happened since their international rendezvous is Reminder No. 7,680 of how long the baseball season really is and how quickly dramatically things can change.
The Phils were still firmly in command of their own destiny when the Mets arrived at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night. But the visitors had gone 52-30 since clearing Customs, the second-best record in baseball in that span. If the season had ended Friday, they would have made the playoffs. As a result, with the Phillies still chasing homefield advantage throughout the postseason, both teams had something tangible at stake in this ancient rivalry. Especially since the teams just started a stretch during which they’ll meet seven times in 10 games.
The Phillies still have the inside track to claim homefield advantage throughout the postseason, but the Mets announced that they won’t go away easily, that they could see the Phillies again in October, with a convincing 11-3 win in front of a sellout crowd of 44,607.
They’re now seven games behind with 15 left to play. The Phillies Magic Number to clinch the division remains stuck at 9.
Philadelphia Phillies
From the home team’s perspective, the storyline was that starter Aaron Nola sailed through the first four innings before being shelled for six runs on six hits, including two homers, while recording just one out in the fifth.
But it’s also worth noting that the Phillies vaunted lineup, which was nearly back to full strength with the return of designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (one game, left elbow contusion) and catcher J.T. Realmuto (four games, left knee contusion), did little against New York lefthander Jose Quintana, who came in with a 4.09 ERA. In his seven innings he allowed just a double to Bryce Harper and infield singles to Johan Rojas and Schwarber. He didn’t walk a batter.
“He threw strikes,” manager Rob Thomson said. “And I don’t want to take anything away from his outing, because he pitched well. But we hit a lot of balls hard at people. So I thought our at bats were fine. We just had nothing to show for it. But he threw strikes and they played really good defense.
Thomson wasn’t wrong. The Phillies hit five line drives with exit velocities above 95 miles an hour that were caught by Mets outfielders and a sixth that clocked in at 94.6. Two of them were off the bat of Realmuto.
“That’s just the game of baseball,” he said. “Sometimes you can put a good swing on it, do everything right and go back to the dugout and put your catcher’s gear on. Just keep having good at bats, keep swinging at strikes.”
Realmuto made a funny when asked how his knee felt. “It felt good for about four innings and then it took a drastic turn,” he said with a sly smile. “The knee felt great but, obviously, the game didn’t go the way I wanted it to.”
The final missing starter, third baseman Alec Bohm (left hand strain), will begin a rehab assignment along with infielder Edmundo Sosa (back spasms) Saturday at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He’ll play third, DH on Sunday and, if all goes well, be activated when the Phillies open a three-game series in Milwaukee on Monday. Sosa will play in the field both games, but isn’t eligible to come off the IL until Tuesday.
Realistically, though, neither Bohm’s bat or line drives that landed for hits was likely to make a difference Friday night. It was the third time in their last four games the Phillies have scored three or fewer runs.
“There are few obvious, outward signs of what turned the Mets around. Before departing London, their run differential was minus-33. It was plus-92 since going into this series, but there were no headline-grabbing roster moves that would account for that. It could be as simple as a good team getting off to a slow start and then getting hot in order to reach the level its talent and payroll suggest. Or it could be Grimace. In their second game after returning from overseas, the purple McDonald’s mascot threw out a first pitch at Citi Field and the team has been on a roll ever since. Nah, that’s probably just a coincidence. But Mets fans are lovin’ it.
Sorry. Couldn’t resist.
“They’re playing good right now,” Nola said. “They’ve got a good squad. They get timely hits and have big innings.”
Added Realmuto: “This was a big game for us. This is a very important series for us. Really every series the rest of the year is. Every game seems a little more magnified now. It’s just kind of the way we lost, just going out there and getting our butts kicked. That’s never fun. And in a game of this magnitude, it’s definitely frustrating.”
UP NEXT: The Phillies waited until after Friday night’s game to make the expected announcement that LHP Kolby Allard will be recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start against the Mets in the middle game of the series. So it will be RHP Luis Severino (10-6, 3.74) vs. Allard (2-0, 3.50) Saturday at 4:05 p.m. and LHP David Peterson (9-2, 2.98) vs. LHP Cristopher Sánchez (10-9, 3.33) Sunday at 1:35 p.m.
The Phillies will wait until Saturday to announce the corresponding roster move that allows them to add Allard.