The Mets' bullpen struggled late against the Phillies in a 7-2 loss. >> Box score
Five things to know from Friday's game
1) The Mets bullpen fell apart once Edwin Diaz took the mound in the ninth inning. After Seth Lugo successfully stranded a man in scoring position for New York in the eighth inning, Diaz coughed up the game. J.T. Realmuto knocked a ground ball double down the third base line and former Met Jay Bruce hit an RBI single to bring the score to 3-2. Roman Quinn replaced Bruce as a pinch-runner on first, and successfully stole second base and an errant throw from Wilson Ramos moved Quinn to third while Cesar Hernandez was at the plate. Hernandez walked and stole second base, and pinch hitter Sean Rodriguez knocked in Quinn against Diaz to bring the score to 4-2. Diaz was then replaced by Jeurys Familia after 0.1 innings pitched. Familia also only recorded one out. Familia allowed a double to Jean Segura which scored Hernandez and Rodriguez. Segura then scored on a Bryce Harper double, putting the Phillies up 7-2. Philadelphia batted around their lineup in the ninth and Luis Avilan was brought in to finish the inning for the Mets.
2) Jacob deGrom very briefly struggled in his start against the Phillies. As briefly as one can get. On the game's first pitch, Scott Kingery hit a home run. The homer didn't phase deGrom in the slightest, though. Through seven innings, deGrom allowed two earned runs on three hits with 10 strikeouts, including three against Harper. While another dominant outing for deGrom, he only has one win in his last 10 starts despite a 3.29 ERA over that stretch.
3) Another game, another rung climbed in the stat books for Pete Alonso. His 29th home run of the season in the fourth inning tied the game, 1-1. Alonso only trails Mark McGwire (33, 1987) and Aaron Judge (30, 2017) for the most homers by a rookie before the All-Star break. Alonso's 29th home run is also more than any Met hit in all of 2018. Michael Conforto led the Mets with 28 in 2018. In the fifth inning, Alonso's double scored a hustling Jeff McNeil from first base, giving the Mets their first lead of the game. That was Alonso's 66th RBI of the season, which tied Albert Pujols for the most RBI for a rookie prior to the All-Star break.
4) Robinson Cano continues to heat up for the Mets and good things have come in twos. Over his last 10 games, Cano is up to 12 hits for the Mets, bringing his batting average up to .244. In that stretch, in each game Cano has recorded a hit, they've come in pairs as he has six games with two hits each. On Friday, Cano had his first hit come in the first inning via a ground ball to third base against the defensive shift, and then his fourth inning blooper got him aboard safely. Cano was left stranded at first on both occasions.
5) Mickey Callaway wishes he had at least one decision back from Friday. The Mets' second inning at the plate ended when Todd Frazier was thrown out trying to steal second by Realmuto behind the plate. Callaway challenged the play which eventually stood. In the top of the seventh, the Phillies finally caught up to deGrom as Rhys Hoskins walked and Realmuto moved him to third on a double over the head of McNeil in right field. With two men on, Cesar Hernandez knocked a dribbler to Frazier at third, who fired the ball to Wilson Ramos at home. On first glance, Hoskins looked safe. Upon replay, Hoskins' foot was above the plate and Ramos' tagged him out. Due to the earlier challenge, the Mets could not call for a challenge and the call stood. DeGrom stopped the bleeding there, but one has to wonder if the outcome would've been different had the call at home been overturned.
Highlights
Video: WATCH: Pete Alonso clubs his 29th HR
What's next
The Mets and Phillies are back at Citi Field on Saturday for the second game of their three-game set. New York's Noah Syndergaard is slated to face Philadelphia's Jake Arrieta on the mound.