MLB

New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies

· Major League Baseball
New York Mets
81-67, 41-33 Away
Final
4 - 6
Philadelphia Phillies
89-59, 51-26 Home

Bryce Harper, Cal Stevenson lift NL East-leading Phillies to 6-4 comeback win over Mets

J.T. Realmuto added an RBI double for the Phillies, who have won 10 of 13 and lead the Mets by eight games in the division. The teams will wrap up their three-game series on Sunday afternoon before the Mets host the Phillies for four games Sept. 19-22.

“Really good team win today,” Harper said. “It's a big win. That's a good team over there, and they're playing well.”

Starling Marte singled, tripled and drove in three runs and Luisangel Acuña had a pair of singles in his major league debut for the Mets, who lost for just the third time in 15 games. New York is tied with Atlanta for the final National League wild card after the Braves blew out the Dodgers at home.

With his team down 4-0, Harper launched the first of his two drives off starter Luis Severino with one out in the fourth, a 397-foot opposite-field drive off an 85 mph changeup. He pulled Philadelphia within 4-3 in the sixth with a two-run shot off an 87 mph slider that came on a 3-2 count. The two-time NL MVP, who hadn't homered since Aug. 9, has 28 home runs on the year.

“It felt like a playoff atmosphere, felt like a big situation,” Harper said. “I love that.”

Philadelphia went ahead in the seventh. Danny Young (4-1) surrendered a pair of singles to Bryson Stott and Realmuto to start the frame, with both advancing on Brandon Marsh’s sacrifice bunt. Young slammed his glove and hat into the bench in New York’s dugout in frustration after being lifted by manager Carlos Mendoza for Reed Garrett.

Garrett struck out pinch-hitter Weston Wilson before Stevenson clubbed a 3-2, 92-mph cutter to the wall in right to score Stott and Realmuto.

“Just a huge at-bat by him,” Harper said.

Jeff Hoffman pitched a scoreless eighth, and Carlos Estévez finished it in the ninth for his 26th save in 31 chances and sixth in eight tries since joining the Phillies prior to the trade deadline.

Hoffman got some help from Stevenson in center field J.D. Martinez of a home run with a leaping catch at the wall for the first out of the eighth.

Orion Kerkering (5-2) worked a 1-2-3 seventh after Taijuan Walker tossed three scoreless innings in relief of starter Kolby Allard.

New York gave Severino a four-run cushion. Marte worked a bases-loaded walk in the first before hitting a two-run triple off Allard in the Mets’ three-run third inning to continue his success against Philadelphia. Marte is batting .375 in his career against the Phillies.

Allard, the fourth different No. 5 starter used in as many trips through the rotation, lasted just three innings, surrendering three earned runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Walker, whom the Phillies signed to a four-year, $72 million free-agent deal prior to the 2023 season, excelled in his new role after getting demoted to the bullpen due to ineffectiveness as a starter.

“He's a great teammate,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of Walker. “He's handled this like a pro.”

Walker was happy to contribute in a positive way.

“It feels good,” he said. “I feel like I haven't done a good job of helping the team this year. Today was the best I felt all year."

Acuña recorded his first hit with a single to center field off Walker leading off the fourth and started the ninth with a single to center off Estévez. Acuña, a younger brother of Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr., is one of the organization’s top prospects. He hit .258 with 40 steals while splitting time among second base, shortstop and center field with Triple-A Syracuse.

“Good to see him fight and get us going in the ninth,” Mendoza said. “I thought he was good.”

Acuña, 22, started at shortstop and batted ninth. He came over when the Mets traded Max Scherzer to Texas in July 2023. Acuña was promoted one day after All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor left Friday night’s 11-3 victory against the Phillies in the seventh inning because of lower back soreness. Mendoza said the move was precautionary following the game and made the decision to give Lindor another day of rest and recovery.

Severino gave up three runs on six hits with five strikeouts and a walk in six innings. The 30-year-old right-hander made two All-Star teams with the Yankees before signing a one-year, $13 million deal in the offseason with the Mets after struggling to an injury-plagued season and 6.65 ERA in 2023.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: 3B Alec Bohm (left hand strain) and INF Edmundo Sosa (back spasms) played for Triple-A Lehigh Valley in rehab assignments on Saturday. ... Harper winced while batting in the eighth, flexing his right arm. He recently told MLB.com that he was playing with a sore wrist and sore right elbow.

Mets: Marte was drilled on the left forearm by a 95-mph sinker from Hoffman in the eighth but stayed in the game.

UP NEXT

Mets LHP David Peterson (9-2, 2.98) opposes Philadelphia LHP Cristopher Sánchez (10-9, 3.33) in the finale of the three-game series on Sunday afternoon.

How can I watch New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies?
  • TV Channel: Mets at Phillies 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Phillies: 54.4%
Mets: 45.6%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Nimmo grounded out to shortstop.
9th Inning Vientos grounded out to pitcher.
9th Inning Acuña to second on wild pitch by Estévez.
9th Inning Iglesias lined out to second.
9th Inning Acuña singled to center.
9th Inning Estévez relieved Hoffman

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/nym.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNYM https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/phi.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originPHI
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
1 Hit By Pitch 0
12 Ground Balls 7
4 Strikeouts 9
3 Runs Batted In 6
0 Sacrifice Hit 1
10 Hits 8
0 Stolen Bases 0
3 Walks 2
0 Catcher Interference 0
4 Runs 6
1 Ground Into Double Play 0
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
35 At Bats 31
0 Home Runs 2
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
17 Runners Left On Base 7
1 Triples 0
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 0
1 Doubles 2
19 Fly Balls 16
0 Caught Stealing 0
144 Pitches 127
0 Games Started 0
1 Pinch At Bats 1
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 0
13 Total Bases 16
39 Plate Appearances 34
0.0 Projected Home Runs 324.0
2 Extra Base Hits 4
4.7 Runs Created 5.0
.286 Batting Average .258
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.371 Slugging Percentage .516
.171 Secondary Average .323
.359 On Base Percentage .303
.730 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .819
0.6 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.4
4.8 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 5.6
28.5 Batter Rating 42.0
0.0 At Bats Per Home Run 15.5
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.69 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.74
.086 Isolated Power .258
0.75 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.22
.077 Walks Per Plate Appearance .059
-.114 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .065
7.0 Runs Produced 12.0
0.8 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.4 Patience Ratio 0.6
0.3 Balls In Play Average 0.3
82.8 MLB Rating 87.8
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Citizens Bank Park

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 44,563 | Capacity:

2024 National League East Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Philadelphia 95 67 .586 - W1
Atlanta 89 73 .549 6 W1
New York 89 73 .549 6 L1
Washington 71 91 .438 24 L1
Miami 62 100 .383 33 W4
Full Standings