The New York Mets played spoilers for the second straight game against the Philadelphia Phillies as offense ruled.
The New York Mets continued their comeback from the Pete Alonso hangover as the blasted the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-3, to do more damage to the Phillies’ wild-card status.
The starters were Christian Scott and Andrew Painter, and the Mets scored first with a run in the second off Painter. The run came courtesy of a solo blast from Carson Benge, who hit his 19th home run in what’s become a record-setting rookie season.
The Phillies got the run back in the fourth, as Bryce Harper blooped a double to left and Alec Bohm roped a single up the middle with the infield drawn in to make it 1-1.
The Phillies took the lead in the fifth and knocked out Scott in the process, starting with a run-scoring sacrifice fly from Harper. Alec Bohm drove home another run with a single to left that put the Mets behind, 3-1.
But Fracisco Alvarez broke out of a 1-for-10 slump in this game, with his big hit being a three-run homer in the same inning to give the Mets a 4-3 lead. The Mets then added two more in the sixth on an RBI single from Brett Baty, followed by a walk to Ronnie Mauricio with the bases loaded from Phillies reliever Chase Shugart, who tried to pick up former Mets reliever Brooks Raley when Raley had a tough go of it.
The Mets broke the game open in the eighth with a paper-cut rally that started with yet another walk with the bases loaded, this one to Francisco Lindor. Juan Soto then singled home a run, and Bo Bichette did the same with a flare to right. Benge then dribbled a single down the third base line to get yet another run home, and when the action was over it was a 10-3 game.
It was Benge’s 156th hit of the season, which broke Alonso’s rookie record for most hits, and the Mets bullpen did a fine job picking up Scott after the fifth as a series of five Mets relievers gave the Phils just three hits over 4-1/3 innings.
The loss was devastating for the Phillies, who continued their wild-card swoon. They dropped out a tie with the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres with their second straight loss as the Mets continue to play spoilers, and the Phillies get one last chance to right the ship on Sunday in the Mets' final home game of the season.
