PHILADELPHIA — Blanked for seven innings by Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler, the New York Mets erupted for six runs against the Phillies’ bullpen in the final two innings Saturday to earn a 6-2 victory in Game 1 of a National League Division Series.
Brandon Nimmo’s RBI single off Matt Strahm snapped a 1-1 tie in the eighth after Mark Vientos delivered the tying run with a run-scoring single of his own. Pete Alonso, J.D. Martinez and Starling Marte also drove in runs in the inning for the Mets, who came from behind in the late innings for the third time in six days.
“We know we’re good, and we’ve got good players, and we’re executing,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We just continue to get good at-bats. The biggest thing is not trying to do too much in those situations.”
Nimmo, who went 2-for-4 in the game, delivered another run with a single in the ninth off Tanner Banks.
“Momentum’s a big thing, and confidence is a big thing. And the guys are showing a lot of that right now,” Nimmo said.
Kyle Schwarber hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first for the Phillies. Schwarber went 2-for-5, but the Phillies managed only three other hits against five Mets pitchers. The last was a pinch-hit RBI double by Kody Clemens in the ninth.
Wheeler allowed a single hit over seven innings before giving way to Jeff Hoffman to start the eighth. Francisco Alvarez opened the inning with a single and Francisco Lindor then walked after falling behind in the count 0-2.
Vientos then lined Hoffman’s 1-2 slider into left field to score pinch runner Harrison Bader. Strahm relieved Hoffman, but Nimmo’s single on an 0-2 pitch brought Lindor home. Alonso’s sacrifice fly, also on an 0-2 pitch, made it 3-1.
“It was stunning to see Hoffy (Jeff Hoffman) and Strahmy (Matt Strahm) give it up like that,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “That’s baseball sometimes. They haven’t done that since we’ve had them.”
Jose Iglesias followed with a single, again on an 0-2 offering, and Martinez, batting for Jesse Winker, singled to drive in Nimmo. Marte’s sacrifice fly pushed the Mets’ lead to 5-1.
“I feel like that’s one of the things we’ve talked about — the game is never over until the ninth,” Vientos said. “We’ve kind of been running with that mentality the last week.”
New York qualified for the postseason by beating the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of a doubleheader Monday on Lindor’s two-run ninth-inning homer. The Mets won their wild-card series over Milwaukee by scoring four times in the ninth inning of Game 3 on Thursday, the first three of those runs on Alonso’s homer off Brewers closer Devin Williams.
“I think Atlanta and Milwaukee are very recent examples,” Nimmo said. “That gave us confidence that we’re never out of it.”
On Saturday, Wheeler surrendered only Vientos’ leadoff single in the fourth during his seven innings. He struck out nine, walked four and hit a batter.
The Mets had just one runner in scoring position against him, when Nimmo followed Vientos’ hit with a walk. Wheeler escaped the jam by striking out Alonso and inducing Iglesias to ground into a double play.
Schwarber, leading off the bottom of the first, launched a 1-1 fastball from Mets starter Kodai Senga into the right field stands. It was Schwarber’s 12th postseason homer in three years with Philadelphia, four of which have come leading off the first inning. It was also the fifth such homer of his career.
Senga was making just his second appearance this season after he suffered shoulder and calf injuries. An NL All-Star in 2023, his only previous outing came in a July 26 victory over Atlanta.
He departed after two innings Saturday, the only hit he allowed was Schwarber’s homer. He struck out three and walked one.
Reed Garrett (1-0) worked two scoreless innings in relief to earn the victory for New York. Hoffman (0-1) took the loss.
–Gordie Jones, Field Level Media
