MLB

Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets

· NLDS - Game 3
Philadelphia Phillies
95-67, 41-40 Away
Final
2 - 7
New York Mets
89-73, 46-35 Home

Mets beat Phillies 7-2 behind Alonso and Manaea to take 2-1 lead in NLDS

Jesse Winker also went deep and Starling Marte had a pivotal two-run single to help the wild-card Mets, playing their first home game in 16 days, grab a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five set.

Game 4 is Wednesday, with All-Star Ranger Suárez scheduled to start for Philadelphia against fellow lefty Jose Quintana. A win advances New York to the National League Championship Series to face the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Diego Padres.

The Mets have never had a clinching celebration at Citi Field, which opened in 2009.

“We’re looking to finish this and be done. They’re looking to try and extend the series and get back to Philadelphia. So it’s a battle of wills tomorrow and we’ll see what happens,” New York outfielder Brandon Nimmo said.

After reaching the 2022 World Series and Game 7 of last year's NLCS, the NL East champion Phillies are on the brink of an early playoff exit at the hands of the rival Mets.

“I know it got out that I had spoken to the team,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Basically it’s just very simple: You come in here tomorrow, and I told them it’s the most resilient club I’ve ever been around. That’s what they’re all about. They’re all about toughness and fighting and playing together. That’s what we need to do, and just focus on one game.”

Manaea was lifted after allowing an infield single to start the eighth. The big left-hander, who blossomed into New York's ace during the second half of the season, received hearty pats on the chest from teammates and a standing ovation from the towel-waving sellout crowd of 44,093 as he strolled off the mound.

He brought his glove to his lips and looked toward the sky.

“That was for my Aunt Mabel. Just got a message that she had passed away early this morning,” Manaea said. “So that game was for her.”

Aided by Tyrone Taylor's terrific throw from deep center field that cut down a runner at second base in the fourth, Manaea earned his first playoff win after entering 0-3 with a 10.66 ERA in his postseason career. He struck out six and walked two.

“Felt like he wanted this moment,” teammate Francisco Lindor said. “He gave everything he had.”

Clinging to a 2-0 lead, Manaea escaped major trouble in the sixth. After issuing consecutive walks to start the inning, he received a mound visit from pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and struck out star slugger Bryce Harper on three off-speed pitches.

“Just went right after it,” Manaea said.

Nick Castellanos then lined into an inning-ending double play, as the Mets' middle infield doubled off Kyle Schwarber at second base. A pumped-up Manaea screamed “Let's go!” as he bounced off the mound.

Alonso sent Nola's first pitch of the second deep to right field. He flipped his bat high in the air on his way to first base when the ball reached the front row of the second deck.

It was Alonso's second home run of the series and third in New York's past four playoff games. All of those have been to the opposite field — the slugger went the other way on only four of his 34 homers during the regular season.

“Wherever it goes out, if it does, I’m just happy it does,” Alonso said. “If I’m hitting balls the other way, it’s typically a good sign.”

Nola and Alonso have been squaring off since their college days in the Southeastern Conference, but the matchup has been one-sided in the majors. It was Alonso's sixth career homer off the right-hander, after entering with a .320 batting average and 1.050 OPS in 54 career plate appearances against him.

“He knows me. I know him,” Alonso said. “He’s a well-polished guy and he’s tough. I’m just happy I was able to come through for the team right there.”

Thomson left Nola on the mound in the sixth to face Alonso, who drew New York's second consecutive walk following Mark Vientos' leadoff single.

With the bases loaded, Orion Kerkering replaced Nola and got two outs before Marte's two-run single made it 4-0.

Nimmo and Alonso drew back-to-back walks to load the bases again in the seventh before Jose Iglesias added a two-run single off José Ruiz with two outs.

Harper and Castellanos each hit an RBI single in the eighth, but Ryne Stanek retired Alec Bohm to end the inning.

Lindor, playing his first home game since Sept. 8 because of a back injury, delivered a run-scoring double in the bottom half to make it 7-2.

The exuberant Winker connected for a solo shot in the fourth and watched the whole way from home plate as his first career postseason homer soared into the second deck in right.

UP NEXT

Suárez, who went 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA in three outings against the Mets this season, had a 6.04 ERA in five September starts totaling only 22 1/3 innings. But he and the Phillies are confident he found a mechanical fix after Suárez (12-8, 3.46 ERA) threw well during an intrasquad game last week.

“What happens in September stays in September. It’s time to turn the page. I just forget about it,” Suárez said through a translator. “We’re October vibes.”

Quintana (10-10, 3.75 ERA) pitched six shutout innings at Milwaukee last Thursday, taking a no-decision in the decisive Game 3 of a Wild Card Series. He was 1-0 with a 2.81 ERA in three starts versus the Phillies this year and threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball against them for St. Louis in the 2022 playoffs.

How can I watch Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Mets?
  • TV Channel: Phillies at Mets 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on FS1.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Mets: 55.2%
Phillies: 44.8%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Clemens struck out swinging.
9th Inning Clemens hit for Sosa
9th Inning Stott popped out to shortstop.
9th Inning Stott hit for Hays
9th Inning Realmuto lined out to center.
9th Inning Martinez as designated hitter.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/phi.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originPHI https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/nym.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNYM
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
2 Hit By Pitch 0
10 Ground Balls 5
8 Strikeouts 11
2 Runs Batted In 7
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
5 Hits 9
0 Stolen Bases 1
3 Walks 5
0 Catcher Interference 0
2 Runs 7
0 Ground Into Double Play 0
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
30 At Bats 33
0 Home Runs 2
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
14 Runners Left On Base 20
0 Triples 0
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 0
0 Doubles 1
12 Fly Balls 17
0 Caught Stealing 0
127 Pitches 146
0 Games Started 0
3 Pinch At Bats 0
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 1
5 Total Bases 16
35 Plate Appearances 38
0.0 Projected Home Runs 324.0
0 Extra Base Hits 3
1.6 Runs Created 6.3
.167 Batting Average .273
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.167 Slugging Percentage .485
.100 Secondary Average .394
.286 On Base Percentage .368
.452 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .853
0.8 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.3
1.8 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 7.1
13.0 Batter Rating 46.0
0.0 At Bats Per Home Run 16.5
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 1.00
3.63 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.84
.000 Isolated Power .212
0.38 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.45
.086 Walks Per Plate Appearance .132
-.067 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .121
4.0 Runs Produced 14.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.3 Patience Ratio 0.6
0.2 Balls In Play Average 0.4
66.0 MLB Rating 90.8
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Citi Field

Location: Queens, New York
Attendance: 44,093 | 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