Final Score: Mets 9, Phillies 6
In the rare case that you have Max Scherzer on the ropes early, you better finish him off. Because if you allow him and whatever team he happens to play for at a given time a second opportunity to put you away, there’s a good chance that they will.
The Philadelphia Phillies learned that lesson — not for the first time and probably not for the last time — Wednesday, as Scherzer, Pete Alonso and the New York Mets defeated them to clinch a series win.
Making his first start against the Phillies since signing a three-year/$130 million deal to join the New York Mets, Scherzer walked the bases loaded in the first inning, allowing each of Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos to reach base.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner buckled down, though, striking out Jean Segura and inducing a ground out of the bat of Didi Gregorius. The Phillies forced Scherzer to throw 29 pitches in the home half of the first, but didn’t end up with any runs to show for it.
While Scherzer settled in after flirting with disaster early, Aaron Nola’s day kind of had the opposite trajectory.
Nola didn’t allow a hit in the first two innings, but Brandon Nimmo broke the Mets into two columns in the box score with a 406-foot home run in the top of the third inning:
In the fourth inning, things unraveled for Nola. Pete Alonso plated Starling Marte with an RBI double, extending the Mets lead to 2-0:
Eduardo Escobar (walk) and Mark Canha (hit by pitch) would soon join Alonso on base, before Nola plunked McNeil, walking in a third run and ending his afternoon.
Fortunately for the Phillies, Seranthony Domínguez induced an inning-ending double play off the bat of Tomás Nido, keeping the deficit at three.
Bryson Stott got a run back for the Phillies in the bottom of the fourth inning, singling into left field to score Nick Castellanos:
In theory, the story of the bottom of the fourth inning should have been that Stott had his second hit in as many at-bats against Scherzer, a future Hall of Famer. But when you consider that Castellanos doubled to lead off the inning, and Jean Segura followed with an infield single, only managing to push one run across in the frame felt like a disappointment for an offense that’s been inconsistent during the first week of the season.
And typically when you don’t cash in on multiple opportunities to put up a big inning, you get burned.
Francisco Lindor scalded a double to the right field wall with one out in the top of the fifth inning, and was later brought home on Alonso’s second RBI double of the day:
Alonso capped off a monster performance in the top of the sixth inning. A few batters after Starling Marte snuck a single into center field to score a run, Alonso broke the game open with a three-run home run to right-center field off of Connor Brogdon:
To their credit, the Phillies did battle their way back into the game in the bottom of the seventh, plating two runs on RBIs from Castellanos and Alec Bohm. However, the inning ended with two more runners left stranded, as Stott hit a ball hard with two outs off of Adam Ottavino, but right at Marte in right field.
The Mets added an insurance run on a Dominic Smith sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning, which Bryce Harper countered by leading off the bottom of the ninth with an opposite-field home run.
But despite allowing a leadoff home run to Harper, Edwin Díaz ultimately finished out a series victory for the Mets, who took the final two games during a three-game set with the Phillies.
After going 3-3 on the first homestand of the season, the Phillies will now head out for a seven game roadtrip, traveling to two cities — Miami and Denver — that have been houses of horrors for them in recent years.
Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance
- Max Scherzer wasn’t at his sharpest Wednesday, walking three and allowing five hits and five innings. Still, he stuck seven batters and held the Phillies to just one run, earning his second victory with the Mets.
- Aaron Nola has had some great duels with Scherzer over the years, but Wednesday wasn’t one of them. The 28-year-old lasted just 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs and three hits. He left with the bases loaded. The former NL Cy Young Award finalist has a 6.75 ERA after his first two starts of the 2022 season.
Phillies Nugget Of The Game
Max Scherzer is now 9-1 with a 2.20 ERA in 13 career starts at Citizens Bank Park.
Postgame Notes
- Jean Segura left the game in the bottom of the sixth inning after being hit by a pitch. He’s day-to-day, Joe Girardi said after the game.
- The Phillies optioned Connor Brogdon and Damon Jones to Triple-A Lehigh Valley following Wednesday’s loss. James Norwood is going to be reinstated from the bereavement list, and the plan is for another pitcher to be added to the roster before tomorrow’s game in Miami.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Thursday, April 14 vs. Miami Marlins at 6:40 p.m. ET
- loanDepot Park
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
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