Categories: 2021 Postgame Recaps

Big night from Conforto, controversial call help Mets beat Phillies

Michael Conforto had a big night for the Mets. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

Final Score: Mets 5, Phillies 4

The Philadelphia Phillies were gifted a win in Atlanta earlier this year when Alec Bohm was called safe at home plate on a ball where he never appeared to actually touch the plate.

It might be a stretch to say that poor umpiring cost the Phillies Saturday evening, but things in baseball have a way of evening themselves out over a 162-game season.

A big night from Mets outfielder Michael Conforto – mixed with a controversial call in the bottom of the seventh inning – doomed the Phillies in a Saturday evening loss to their division rivals.

Top Plays

The Mets got on the board first, with Pete Alonso plating Francisco Lindor on a ground-rule double that Odúbel Herrera wasn’t able to catch up to:

With Alonso and Jeff McNeil in scoring position, Michael Conforto scalded a ball with backspin that Andrew McCutchen entirely missed in the shadows, allowing the Mets to go up 3-0:

The Mets added their fourth and final run of the top of the first inning when J.D. Davis brought Conforto home with an RBI single.
The Phillies were able to cut the Mets lead in half in in the bottom of the second inning, when Andrew Knapp grounded out to first base, bringing Alec Bohm home. It appeared that the Phillies may strand Nick Maton on third base after Herrera was retired, but instead Zack Wheeler brought him home with a single, the pitcher’s third RBI of the season.
Wheeler kept the Phillies in the game after allowing a four-spot in the first, and the team eventually rewarded him. With Rhys Hoskins on first base and one out in the bottom of the sixth inning, Bohm hit a 364-foot opposite-field home run to tie the game:

The bottom of the seventh inning ended in a pretty strange fashion. Matt Joyce grounded into what appeared to be a double play, only Andrew McCutchen avoided the tag of Lindor on his way to second, and Joyce beat his throw to first. However, McCutchen was called out on runner’s interference and after review, Joyce was called out at first:

Girardi spent at least five minutes arguing on McCutchen’s behalf, and wasn’t ejected. Bryce Harper – out of the lineup for the third straight game – was, and it didn’t take him long:

Héctor Neris came on the pitch the ninth inning in a non-save situation, but quickly it became a save situation for the Mets. Conforto, a free-agent after the season, led off the inning with a towering 388-foot home run:
Edwin Diaz retired the Phillies in order in the bottom of the ninth inning, sending this series to a rubber match Sunday evening.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

Taijuan Walker enter the evening with a 2.14 ERA in his first four starts with the Mets, after signing a three-year/$23 million deal with the Mets in the offseason. Without Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto or Jean Segura in the lineup, the Phillies did pretty well against Walker, tagging him for seven hits and four runs across six frames.
Just days after a book excerpt surfaced in which Wheeler said the Mets wouldn’t pay for him to attend the 2015 playoffs when he was injured, it looked like the 30-year-old may have a short night against his former team. But after giving up four runs in the top of the first inning, Wheeler settled in and pitched six straight scoreless innings. It wasn’t his best start, but it was a pretty impressive performance considering how it started.

Phillies Nuggets Player of the Game: Michael Conforto

In a few short months, Phillies fans may be clamoring for Conforto in free agency. Saturday evening, though, the faithful at Citizens Bank Park weren’t too fond of the 28-year-old. Conforto went 2-4 with three RBIs, including the game-winning one on his ninth-inning home run.

Postgame Notes

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