Pete Alonso was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning as the New York Mets took advantage of an erratic outing from closer Jose Alvarado to edge the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 on Sunday in London.
Alvarado had a chance to lock down his 12th save of the season after pinch hitter David Dahl smacked a solo shot in the seventh to put Philadelphia up 4-3. But Tyrone Taylor drew a walk to begin the ninth, and Alvarado never managed to find his groove.
Jeff McNeil and Mark Vientos followed with singles, with Vientos’ hit bringing home Taylor to tie things at 4-all.
Luis Torrens then walked to load the bases, and after Francisco Lindor struck out, Alvarado hit Alonso, allowing New York to move in front.
The Mets added an insurance run thanks to a passed ball charged to J.T. Realmuto.
Since they were playing as the home team, the Phillies got one last chance to rally, and they had a chance to pull out a win.
With the bases loaded and one out, Drew Smith walked Alec Bohm, making the score 6-5. However, catcher Torrens then fielded Nick Castellanos’ swinging bunt, stepped on the plate and fired to first for an impressive 2-3, game-ending double play.
Smith recorded his second save of the year, while Reed Garrett (6-2) got the win. Alvarado (1-3) took the loss.
New York came away with a split of the two-game international series thanks to the victory.
McNeil had two hits and J.D. Martinez drove in two runs for the Mets. New York starter Jose Quintana yielded three runs and six hits, walking two and striking out one in 3 2/3 innings.
Kyle Schwarber went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run for the Phillies, who saw a four-game winning streak come to an end. Philadelphia starter Taijuan Walker lasted 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on two hits. He walked one and struck out six.
New York erased a 3-0 deficit with a three-run rally in the sixth.
After Torrens singled with one out and Alonso walked with two out, Phillies manager Rob Thomson went to the bullpen, bringing in Gregory Soto for Walker.
Brandon Nimmo greeted Soto with an RBI double and Martinez added a two-run single as the Mets pulled even at 3-all.
For the Phillies, Bohm had a run-scoring double-play grounder in the first. In the fourth, Edmundo Sosa had an RBI double and Whit Merrifield added an RBI single for the 3-0 Philadelphia lead.
–Field Level Media
