The baseball world has been watching the New York Mets turn 9th innings into magic for an entire week and they did again on Sunday, but they left the door open for the Phillies, and Nick Castellanos kicked that door down.
Fox Sports baseball analyst and former MLB catcher A. J. Pierzynski stayed true to his Mets’ game plan all day, don’t let Bryce Harper beat you, with Nick Castellanos hitting behind him in the Phillies lineup, it would have to be the latter, and so it was.
Perhaps the loudest stadium in the game right now, Citizen’s Bank Park, had been turned silent. After wasting Zack Wheeler’s brilliant pitching in game one of the NLDS, the bats remained silent.
Met starter Luis Severino living off Mark Viento’s 2 run homer in the 3rd and Pete Alonso’s solo shot in the 6th. With two out and nobody on in the bottom of the inning, Trea Turner gave the Phillies life with a single.
With Castellanos on deck Severino made the mistake and pitched to Harper, boom 3-2, now rattled he served up another cookie to Castellanos, boom 3-3.
The frenzy in Philly was short lived and not for the last time as Brando Nimmo’s blast put the Mets back on top in the top of the 7th at 4-3, but in the bottom, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza summoned closer Edwin Diaz much earlier than normal.
With two on and two out Diaz struck out Phils slugger Kyle Schwarber to quiet the park once more. The Mets got shut down in the 8th and led 4-3 but how much did Diaz have left? How long could he go?
After not throwing more than 21 pitches in any game since July 22nd. He had thrown 30 on Sept 22, got a week off and followed with: 26 on Sunday the 29th at Milwaukee, 40 the next day at Atlanta and 39 more on Thursday. With Schwarber gone he was there to make sure Philly’s best would only hit once more.
After he struck out Trea Turner, Harper followed and as Pierzynski suggested he would not let Harper beat him so he walked him but Castellanos singled Harper to 3rd, Bryson Stott tripled to the rightfield corner scoring both and the Phils were back on top 5-4 and done with Diaz.
When J.T. Realmuto’s grounder brought Stott home, the Phils figured to have the insurance needed to take them to New York with the series tied at one. Phils’ manager Rob Thomson called on lefty Matt Strahm to put it away, he of the 1.87 ERA and .750 WHIP.
The Mets come alive in 9th again
These 9th inning Mets care not who you put out there. No team in the majors won more games when trailing in the 9th and low and behold they had more magic in store. 24 year old Mark Vientos who started the season in the minors, hit another one with a runner on and 6-6 it was.
Mets starter but now reliever Tylor Megill had quelled the Phils 8th inning uprising, getting the last 3 outs after Diaz imploded. He struck out Austin Hays and got a pop up from Schwarber. Now he was one out from getting his team back to the plate.
He walked the speedy Trea Turner. The Mets didn’t hold him on, daring him to go, everyone thinking they wouldn’t pitch to Harper on deck should he take 2nd, just walk him and move on to Castellanos.
For some reason he threw Harper a pitch he could handle and the lefty superstar drilled it just foul into the rightfield corner, it surely would have scored Turner to end it. Certainly frightened by that, he relented and finally walked him.
Then Castellanos, the guy Pierzynski said was the bat that was going to have to beat the Mets, beat the Mets. He lined a 2-1 pitch down the leftfield line and one of baseball’s best ever games was in the books, 7-6 Phillies and a series we have.
