Mets 7 Phillies 2 (Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA)
Series status: Met up, 2-1
WP - Sean Manaea (1-0)
LP - Aaron Nola (0-1)
Seat on the Korner: Sean Manaea
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Tonight's seat on the Korner goes to Sean Manaea, who was the Mets' ace during the regular season and who pitched like one in this game. Manaea pitched into the eighth, gave up only three hits and would have not had any runs on his pitching line if Phil Maton had been more effective. Manaea made big pitches when he had to -- striking out Bryce Harper in the sixth with two on and nobody out and getting Nick Castellanos to hit a soft double play liner to end the inning. Manaea was in total control from the start and he gave the Mets exactly what they needed: outs, length, poise.
Need to Know
Jesse Winker, who homered in the fourth, was robbed of a home run in the second by a great Nick Castellanos catch. The right field umpire, Edwin Moscoso, called it a miss as the ball squirted away from Castellanos, but a replay review found the ball got loose on the transfer for a throw. The Phils contended they had also doubled Jose Iglesias off first, but the umpires ruled that Iglesias did not run until seeing Moscoso's "safe" sign and let him return to first.
Some great Mets fielding plays: Mark Vientos snagging Alec Bohn's screaming grounder in the second and throwing Bohm out; two innings later, Tyrone Taylor victimizomg Bohm as the Phillie tried to take second on a hard ball off the fence. Taylor grabbed the ball barehanded and without missing a beat, fired a strike to Francisco Lindor to nail Bohm.
Meaningless stat of the day: The Mets are now 15-5 in the third game of a postseason series, including 11-4 at home.
Today was the 70th anniversary of Willie Mays' famous catch off Cleveland's Vic Wertz in Polo Grounds.
The Mets look to clinch the series Wednesday afternoon, sending Jose Quintana to the mound against Ranger Suarez. 5 p.m. start. But I wouldn't make dinner reservations.
Turning Point
Going into the bottom of the sixth, it was a 2-0 game, a lead that is anything but safe in this series. The Mets loaded the bases on a Mark Vientos single and walks to Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso, chasing Phils starter Aaron Nola. Against Orion Kerkering, Jose Islesias grounded into a fielder's choice -- Vientos out at the plate -- and Jesse Winker hit a fly ball that was not deep enough to score Nimmo on a sacrifice fly. It looked like the Phils would get out of the inning unscathed. But on the second pitch, Starling Marte, lined a single to center, scoring Nimmo and Alonso and giving the Mets much-needed breathing room.
Three Keys
Samoa Good Starting Pitching
As noted above, Sean Manaea shut the door on the Phils' bats. He held Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos hitless (Harper and Castellanos' RBI singles came off Phil Maton) and was in total control over the entire game Just what an ace needs to do in a postseason series.
The Line Is Back to Moving, Especially With Two Outs
Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker both homered, but it was the keep-the-line moving hitting with two outs that extended the Mets' lead to 4-0 in the sixth, swelled it to 6-0 in the seventh and added another insurance run in the eighth. It's what got the Mets here, and what keeps them going.
Stanek Electricity
When David Stearns obtained Ryne Stanek from the Seattle Mariners just before he trade deadline, it was noted that Stanek had lots of playoff experience. From the way he pitched after joining the team, it might have been questionable whether he would be on the playoff roster. But Stanek settled down and has been a valuable part of the Mets' late-inning relief corps in the playoffs. Stanek replaced an increasingly ineffective Phil Maton in the eighth, stanched the bleeding before it became serious and was lights out in the ninth to seal the win. Stanek's career postseason line: 27 appearances, 3-0, an ERA around 2.50. Just as important, Stanek's performance kept manager Carlos Mendoza from having to warm up Edwin Diaz, giving the Mets' closer a second needed day of rest.
Commenti