The Mets looked as though they would continue their streak of dominance Friday night at Citi Field when they took an early lead on the Philadelphia Phillies. But then the Phillies came back to even the score and the Mets made a regrettable pitching decision, tilting the game firmly in the direction of the visitors.
With the second game of a four-game set tied at 2-2 going into the fourth inning, left-hander David Peterson got hit hard, giving up three straight hits with one out, including a two-run double. He left the game with two outs and one on for right-hander Adam Ottavino. But the veteran failed to get the one right-hander he needed to get out, leading to four more runs being scored in the inning, and the Mets losing 12-2.
If this was a postseason audition for Ottavino, the Mets (85-69) may have to recast the part.
Down 4-2 after Peterson gave up a two-run double to Johan Rojas, Ottavino faced Trea Turner. The shortstop fouled off a sweeper and sinker to give Ottavino the 0-2 edge. But then he took it the other way for an RBI single to the right-center gap. Rojas scored and the Mets unraveled from there.
Turner swiped second before Ottavino intentionally walked Bryce Harper, giving the slugger the base after he went up 3-0. Harper and Turner then executed a double steal, rattling Ottavino. The 38-year-old veteran has managed to reinvent himself many times over, but he’s struggled with holding runners on base throughout his entire 14-year career.
Alec Bohm then took Ottavino deep for a three-run homer. The Mets went down 8-2.
The inning ended on a weird note with Nick Castellanos striking out on a pitch-clock violation. But the middle was just as weird too. With one out, Peterson gave up a single to Edmundo Sosa and a double to Weston Wilson. Rojas then laced one down the left side that the ball boy thought was foul. He gloved it, ruling the play a ground-rule double. Sosa and Wilson both came home to score.
Peterson is having his best year yet, but it was clear that he didn’t have it in his 20th start of the season. He loaded the bases in the second with two singles and an error by Pete Alonso. A fly ball from Sosa scored Bohm and the Phillies cut the Mets’ 2-0 lead in half. With two on and two out in the third, Castellanos doubled to left, scoring Bryce Harper. Bohm was tagged out at home, unable to leap Alonso.
Peterson (9-3) was charged with five runs (four earned) on eight hits, and struck out four over 3 2/3 innings. Ottavino, who had mostly been relegated to pitching in blowouts over the last few months, was tagged for three earned on two hits in only 1/3 of an inning.
The Phillies (92-62) piled it on from there, taking runs off of right-hander Huascar Brazobán and left-hander Danny Young. They scored twice more in the sixth and J.T. Realmuto added another pair of runs with a two-run homer off Young in the eighth.
The Mets’ best chance to put a dent in the Philadelphia lead came in the fifth when Christopher Sanchez (11-9) loaded the bases with two outs. Alonso looked at strike 3 to end the inning.
The loss ended the Mets’ winning streak at four games, but it did little to change the NL Wild Card standings. The Miami Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves to keep them 2.0 games behind the Mets for the third spot in the standings. The Phillies, however, clinched their spot in the postseason with the victory.
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