Livescore
A day earlier, Brandon Nimmo had urged Mets fans to show up for the club’s mega-series with the Phillies. Thursday night, Nimmo and his teammates gave the 35,982 in attendance plenty to watch.
The Mets slugged four home runs off old pal Taijuan Walker, including back-to-back shots by Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso in the first inning, en route to a 10-6 victory over the Phillies in the opener of a four-game set at Citi Field.
Nimmo and Francisco Alvarez also homered for the Mets, who have now won four straight games and 16-of-their-last-20. Since the Braves won Thursday, too, the Mets maintained a two-game lead over Atlanta in the race for the final NL Wild Card spot.
The Mets have nine games left in the regular season, including a crucial trip to Atlanta for three games next week.
Here are the takeaways…
-The Mets started the scoring with two out in the first inning. Vientos cranked a 113.2 mph liner to left for a home run. It was his 25th home run of the season and another good sign for a hitter who had ended an 0-for-15 slide Wednesday night. Alonso followed by going with an outside pitch and hitting it over the fence in right-center. It was Alonso’s 34th home run of the season and extended his hitting streak to seven games. It was the sixth time this season the Mets have hit back-to-back home runs.
-Nimmo’s homer, his second in two nights and 21st of the season, gave the Mets a 4-2 lead in the third inning. He also hit an RBI double in the five-run fourth inning, which gave him his second consecutive three-RBI game. But the big blow in that frame came earlier when Alvarez whacked his 10th homer of the year. It was a titanic, three-run shot that landed at the glass-front restaurant in left field, 421 feet away from the plate. The drive was clocked at 111.7 mph via MLB’s Statcast.
–Luis Severino (11-6) was the happy beneficiary of all those runs and he allowed three runs and five hits in six innings. His night started sharply as he struck out three of the four batters he faced in the first inning, two on sweepers and one on 96 mph heat. He blanked the Phils in the second, too, but gave up a 436-foot home run to Trea Turner in the third inning, a two-run shot that knotted the score at 2. The Phils got another run in the fourth on Brandon Marsh’s RBI single, but Severino persevered and delivered the eighth straight outing by a Mets starter that lasted at least six innings. In fact, Met starters have gone at least six frames in 15-of-17 games this month. Over his last seven starts, Severino has a 2.64 ERA.
-Reliever Danny Young was tagged for three runs in one-third of an inning as the Phillies trimmed the Mets lead from six runs to 9-6. Kyle Schwarber knocked in a run on a fielder’s choice and Bryce Harper hit a two-run double off Reed Garrett, who allowed two inherited runners to score.
–Ryne Stanek threw a scoreless eighth, walking one and striking out two, and Edwin Díaz struck out two-of-the-three batters he faced in a spotless ninth.
-After the Phils had pulled within three in the seventh inning, Luisangel Acuña got one of the runs back when he hit an RBI triple to right-center that scored Alvarez from first base. It was the first MLB triple of Acuña’s young career.
–Jose Iglesias, a revelation all season in whatever role he’s tasked with, extended his hitting streak to 13 games by lofting a single to left in the third inning. He scored on Nimmo’s homer. He was 2-for-5 on the night and scored twice, and is 20-for-49 (.408) during the streak.
-Walker (3-7), who was 19-16 with a 3.98 ERA for the Mets from 2021-22, allowed eight runs and six hits in just 3.1 innings. He walked three and struck out two.
Game MVP: The Mets offense
They scored 10-plus runs for the third consecutive game. According to the FOX broadcast, that is the first time the Mets have accomplished the feat in franchise history.
Highlights
What’s next
The Mets continue their series with the Phils at Citi Field on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
It’ll be a battle of lefties and a rematch from Sunday in Philly when David Peterson (9-2, 2.85 ERA) takes on Cristopher Sanchez (10-9, 3.24 ERA).
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