Phillies bullpen shuts the door in victory over Mets
Final Score: Phillies 4, Mets 1
NEW YORK — Give credit to the Phillies. It can’t get much worse than being on the other side of a combined no-hitter against your fiercest rival. They battled back after falling behind and failing to get anything going against Mets starter Taijuan Walker.
The Phillies defeated the Mets 4-1 on Saturday behind a go-ahead home run from Kyle Schwarber and an impressive effort from the Phillies bullpen. José Alvarado, James Norwood, Seranthony Domínguez, Jeurys Familia and Corey Knebel combined to throw 4 2/3 scoreless innings against a stacked New York lineup. The pitching staff combined to strand 13 Mets runners. They are now 11-11.
Some stellar defense from Alec Bohm at third saved a run in the fifth. Mark Canha hit a sharp liner to the hot corner. Bohm, who was positioned high off the bag, made a diving stop on the ball to prevent Eduardo Escobar from scoring from second.
Since the infamous three-error game, Bohm has also improved his decision making at third. Maybe Bohm could have attempted a low-probability throw to get Canha at first. He held on to the ball instead and Gibson recorded the final out of the inning on a groundout from Dominic Smith.
After walking the first batter in the fifth, Gibson fielded a grounder from Starling Marte. He airmailed the throw to second, resulting in a first and third for New York. Following a walk to Alonso, Joe Girardi lifted Gibson from the game in favor of the hard-throwing, effectively wild Alvarado.
In what was one of the gutsiest relief outings of the young Phillies season, Alvarado struck out Escobar and Jeff McNeil on seven pitches to end the inning.
To follow, the Phillies needed a big hit somewhere. In steps Kyle Schwarber, who absolutely devoured an Adam Ottavino fastball that missed badly down in the zone for a two-run shot. It was only the third home run hit by the Phillies this season while trailing that gave them the lead. Schwarber owns two out of the three.
Herrera added to the lead with his second double in as many innings in the seventh. It was a heck of a way to make up for his baserunning mishap in the sixth.
Rhys Hoskins expanded the lead to three in the eighth inning on a solo shot to left field. The home run was the 15th of his career against the Mets and broke an 0-for-16 for the Phillies first baseman.
Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance
Kyle Gibson: 4 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 3 SO, 84 pitches
Gibson walked five batters in his outing on Saturday, a season high for Phillies starters. The command just wasn’t there for the 34-year-old, but he navigated through two tough jams in the first and fourth inning.
Taijuan Walker: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 73 pitches
Walker’s only two starts of the year have been against the Phillies. He’s so far thrown seven shutout innings.
Phillies Nugget Of The Game
In his first major league game in his hometown of New York, Norwood recorded his first MLB win. Norwood attended All Hallows High School in the South Bronx.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Sunday, May 1 vs. New York Mets at Citi Field
- 7:08 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN
- Radio: Sportsradio 94 WIP
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