Wilson Ramos leads Mets by Phillies

Jason Vargas struggled, Wilson Ramos had four hits, and the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-3. The Phillies (69-65) were unable to capitalize after a Chicago Cubs loss earlier in the day and still sit 3.5 games back of the second National League Wild Card spot.

The scoring started early for the Mets. After Amed Rosario singled and Pete Alonso walked, former Phillie Wilson Ramos looped a single into center field that scored Rosario and gave the Mets a 1-0 lead.

It didn’t take long for the Phillies to strike back, though. In the bottom of the inning, Jean Segura hit a leadoff triple against Mets starter Steven Matz and scored on a Bryce Harper ground out that made it 1-1.

In the top of the third, a walk to J.D. Davis followed by another Ramos single with no outs brought up Michael Conforto, who doubled home a run to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. The Mets then loaded it up on a Todd Frazier hit by pitch, but Vargas was able to escape and allow no further runs on a strike out, ground out and pop out. For the time being, Vargas was able to prevent too much damage despite the all of the baserunner.

In the top of the fifth, Vargas again put runners on first and second with no outs. And this time, there would be more damage. Back to back doubles by Joe Panik and Todd Frazier scored three and the Mets went up 5-1.

Meanwhile, for the second straight day, the Phillies were struggling to score runs against a Mets starter. This time it was Matz, who allowed only four baserunners in his first five innings.

In the sixth, however, the Phillies were finally able to get to Matz.

Bryce Harper led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run, his 29th of the season and 11th of August:

No. 29 for No. 3. #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/QbHmG1YZPm

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 31, 2019

After Logan Morrison reached on an error, Corey Dickerson and Scott Kingery hit back-to-back singles to load the bases for Cesar Hernandez. Hernandez lined out against relief pitcher Luis Avilan, but pinch-hitter Andrew Knapp walked and Morrison scored, cutting the deficit to two. Adam Haseley then grounded into a double play to prevent further damage and keep the Mets lead at 5-3.

The Phillies threatened with hits in the seventh and eighth, but were unable to score against Jeurys Familia, Justin Wilson, and Seth Lugo. In the top of the ninth, the Mets added another run after three consecutive hits by Ramos, Conforto, and Frazier that gave them a 6-3 lead. This run came against the Phillies most dependable reliever Jose Alvarez, who had a 0.95 ERA since July 1 heading into this appearance.

The Phillies offense shut down against the Mets bullpen. Despite hits by Segura and Kingery in the seventh and eighth, the lineup just could not score runs against Jeurys Familia, Justin Wilson and Seth Lugo, and the Phillies suffered their second loss in two days.

The Phillies still cannot seem to find any sense of consistency. After looking great against the Pirates, the offense has struggled to score in these two games against the Mets. In order to make the playoffs, they absolutely need to go on a run. But no matter what kind of momentum they’ve built, they have just been unable to sustain the flashes they’ve shown.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

• Jason Vargas has been very serviceable in his short time as a Phillie, giving them length and giving the offense a good chance to win. He was unable to that today, and in his worst start as a Phillie he just could not get anybody out. He allowed 12 baserunners in 4+ innings, and seemingly put the game out of reach for the Phillies early and despite some rallies, they were unable to battle back. His line: 4 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K.
• Steven Matz was really good for the first five innings, and despite the shaky sixth, he gave the Mets a good chance to win. His line: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K.

Phillies Nuggets Player of the Game: Wilson Ramos

• The former Phillie has been on fire in the month of August, and in this game he extended his hitting streak to 24 games. He had four hits on the day, driving in one run and scoring two in a fitting end to what may have been the best month of his career.

TicketIQ Next Game

• Sept. 1 at Citizens Bank Park vs. New York Mets
• 7:05 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
• Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP, WTTM 1680 (Spanish)

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