A weekend slate between the top two teams in the NL East consumed by national coverage was always going to elevate the atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park.
Through two battles, the series has already lived up to the expectations … it just wasn’t in the Phillies’ favor Saturday night.
The Mets collected a 11-4 win over the Phillies, evened up the series, and once again, the clubs are tied for first in the division.
Whoever takes the series Sunday will enter the week on top.
The Mets’ recent skid was heavily due to the lack of offense — having scored 16 runs and were shutout three times in seven games.
With the ebbs and flows of baseball, it was only a matter of time before they could get to a starting pitcher. Unfortunately for the Phillies, in his fifth start in the majors, they got the best of Mick Abel.
Not only did Abel work an abnormally high pitch count in three innings (73), the Mets put on a show for their fans that made the two-plus hour trek down to Philly. MLB doesn’t even need to have the home run derby during the All-Star break because the Mets just had one of their own.
All four of Abel’s earned runs came on solo shots — one from Brandon Nimmo in the first inning. The other three were back-to-back-to-back in the third from Francisco Lindor, Nimmo and Juan Soto.
The 23-year-old’s night was done after collecting just nine outs.
“I gotta take it as it is, be honest with myself,” Abel said on his performance after the game. “I wasn’t locating my fastball, so that’s probably what I’m going to get after in my pen this week. … Just get back to work tomorrow.”
Abel’s early exit didn’t stop the home runs, though. Soto launched his second of the night 437 ft. in the fifth, Jared Young collected his third of the season in the eighth and Francisco Alvarez put the cherry on top with another in the ninth.
Lost count? That’s seven total. It was a complete slugfest. To compare, the Phillies have had eight home runs in the last seven games.
Even though the Phillies scored four runs, Saturday’s loss shouldn’t be a knock on the offense. After Abel allowed his four runs, Joe Ross and Michael Mercado both gave up three runs in relief. Taijuan Walker allowed the one run in the ninth.
It doesn’t matter which club is out there — it’s hard to win a game against a team that puts up double digits.
The Phillies tacked on two runs in the first inning with three hits from Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos. It seemed like a promising start, and an early lead to build off, but things eventually faltered.
Despite the loss, it can’t be understated how consistent the lineup has looked in the last 10 games. They’ve scored 57 runs and have gone 8-2 during that stretch.
Jesús Luzardo (6-3, 4.41 ERA) takes the mound for a Sunday Night showdown as the Phillies look for their 17th series win this season. David Peterson gets the nod for New York — the lefty is 5-2 this season with a 2.60 ERA.
The Phillies will then hit the road for a six-game road trip making stops in Houston and Atlanta. Bryce Harper is expected to join the club on the trip but there’s still no definitive timeline on his return.
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