Phillies 4, Mets 0 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)
Mets Record: 19-22
Mets Streak: L2
WP: Aaron Nola (5-2)
LP: Jose Butto (1-3)
Seat On The Korner:
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.
The Mets have had an issue hitting against strong pitching all season long and it continued today against Aaron Nola, who went the distance to record his first complete game since 2022. Nola tossed a four-hit shutout, retiring the first 15 batters to face him on the day and struck out eight to secure his fifth win of the season.
Need To Know
The Mets were swept by the Phillies in the Citi Field half of a split four-game series that will continue at Citizen's Bank Park the next two days.
The Mets closed out their five-game home stand by going 1-4 against the Phillies and Atlanta Braves.
Bryce Harper was in the Phillies' lineup at the start of the day but was scratched due to a migraine.
Brett Baty went 0-for-3 on the day with a strikeout and is now in the midst of an 0-for-13 skid.
The Mets' only extra-base hit was a pinch hit flare double by Jeff McNeil in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Starling Marte collected two of the Mets' four hits on the afternoon.
The Mets have now been shut out four times this season.
This was the third complete-game shutout of Nola's career.
The Phillies became the first team in the majors to reach 30 wins this season, marking the first time they have accomplished that since 1976.
Turning Point
With Nola dealing, any mistake that Jose Butto made was going to be critical with the Mets' offense in a slump. Loading the bases and hitting Alec Bohm to force in a run in the third inning was certainly a problem.
This marked the second consecutive game that Bohm was hit by a pitch to force in a run. On a day when the Mets couldn't generate any offense, that was enough to beat them.
Three Keys
The Walk Parade Continues
The problem the Mets have had with free passes continued to bite them today as they walked eight more batters over the course of the game to bring their total to 111 on the season. That is an average of 2.7 walks per game, which has played a big part in their starters' inability to get deep in games and taxing the bullpen. The Phillies plated their second run of the day on a walk when Butto walked Brandon Marsh with the bases loaded to force in a run during the third inning.
A Mixed Bag For Jose Butto
The third inning was a disaster for Butto, who walked three and hit a batter in the frame to give up two runs despite allowing only one hit. Butto pitched well outside of that frame, giving up those two runs on only one hit while walking four and strikout out four, but the fact he unraveled in the third really doomed the Mets.
Failing The Litmus Test
While the Mets have played well to hang around .500 through a difficult first two months of the season, many skeptics of their success pointed to this week of games against the Braves and Phillies as a true test of this team's ability to hang around the postseason picture. The test has been a failure thus far thanks in large part to the offense, which has generated just 11 runs in five games. Brandon Nimmo's walk-off homer on Sunday is the only thing that separated the Mets from going 0-5 on the home stand, which served to show how far away they are from being in the same stratosphere as Atlanta and Philadelphia.
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