The Mets rallied yet again in the late innings, tying the game in the ninth inning, but this time they lost anyway, as the Phillies scored in the bottom of the ninth to win Game 2 of the NLDS on Sunday in Philadelphia by a score of 7-6.
The Phillies won it in the bottom of the ninth when, with two outs, Tylor Megill walked Trea Turner and Bryce Harper, and Nick Castellanos lined a hanging slider down the left field line for a single to win the game.
The series is now tied 1-1, with Game 3 at Citi Field on Tuesday.
Here are the takeaways...
-It was a wild game, with the Mets blowing leads of 3-0 and 4-3 before rallying for two runs to tie in the ninth on Mark Vientos’ two-run home run off lefty Matt Strahm.
Vientos had a spectacular day, hitting two home runs and a double.
He became the youngest player in National League history to have three extra-base hits in a postseason game.
-Luis Severino seemed to be cruising when he gave up a single, home run, and home run to three straight Phillies hitters, Turner, Harper, and Castellanos, to tie the game at 3-3 in the sixth inning.
The Phillies rallied again in the eighth off Edwin Diaz to go ahead 4-3.
-After Brandon Nimmo had given the Mets a 4-3 lead with a home run in the top of the seventh, manager Carlos Mendoza made a bold move, bringing in Diaz for a crucial spot in the bottom of the seventh. And while it paid off with a strikeout of Kyle Schwarber to leave two runners on base, the Phillies got to Diaz in the eighth.
It started with a one-out walk to Harper. Castellanos then lined a fastball to the opposite field toward the right field line for a single that sent Harper to third. Against lefty-hitting Bryson Stott, Diaz got a 3-2 count and then hung a slider that Stott lined down the right field line for a triple, putting the Phillies ahead 5-4.
Mendoza then brought in Megill who got a soft ground ball to Vientos at third base. Stott broke on contact from third and Vientos seemed to rush the play to the plate, bobbling and losing the ball to allow the Phillies to score an insurance run.
-Nimmo had a great at-bat that resulted in a go-ahead home run in the top of the seventh inning, just after the Phillies had rallied to tie the game.
Nimmo showed his trademark patience against some good sweepers from reliever Orion Kerkering, taking them to get ahead in the count 3-1. When Kerkering then left a 96-mph sinker well above the knees, Nimmo launched it into the right-field seats to give the Mets a 4-3 lead.
-Severino let an excellent start slip away with three terrible pitches: It started with a hanging sweeper to Turner when Severino was ahead in the count 1-2, which resulted in a line-drive single to left.
Then the big mistake: Severino had already struck out Harper twice and was consistently beating him with fastballs, but well-located fastballs away or upstairs.
After getting another swing-and-miss and a foul ball, Severino either got a little cocky or careless, and threw a thigh-high fastball right down the middle that Harper launched to center for a no-doubter home run.
Against the next hitter, he got ahead with a sweeper but then hung the next one and Castellanos crushed it.
-Vientos’ two-run home run in the third inning off left-hander Cristopher Sanchez gave the Mets an early 2-0 lead.
Vientos took a first-pitch changeup to the opposite field, reaching the seats above the high right-field wall. Vientos had doubled to right in the first inning on a 95-mph sinker, so perhaps he went up there the next time guessing Sanchez would start him with his best pitch, his changeup, on the first pitch, and if so it paid off in a big way.
Vientos had come into the game 0-for-7 in his career against Sanchez with six strikeouts.
-Pete Alonso added to the Mets’ lead with an opposite-field home run in the sixth inning against right-handed reliever Jose Ruiz, making the score 3-0.
Alonso was behind in the count, 1-2, but Ruiz left a curveball up and out over the plate, and Alonso did a nice job of taking it the other way, much as he did with his series-winning home run in Milwaukee on Thursday night.
Game MVP: Nick Castellanos
Castellanos had three big hits, including the game-tying home run and the walk-off single in the ninth.