The New York Mets took a tough blow in the Wild Card race on Tuesday night, dropping an 11-3 decision to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The loss trimmed New York’s cushion in the final NL Wild Card slot to just two games, while Philadelphia celebrated milestones and big swings from start to finish.
The Phillies set the tone early. In the bottom of the second, Kyle Schwarber launched his 50th home run of the season, a towering shot to right field that gave Philadelphia a 2-0 lead. Schwarber became just the second player in Phillies franchise history to hit 50 in a single season, joining Ryan Howard.
The Mets answered briefly in the fourth inning when Francisco Lindor doubled and scored on Pete Alonso’s RBI single, cutting the deficit to 2-1. But that was as close as they would get.
Philadelphia broke the game wide open in the bottom of the fifth, plating five runs. Ranger Suárez’s pitching dominance was matched by timely hitting, as the Phillies strung together base hits and took advantage of sloppy Mets defense to surge ahead 7-1.
The Mets scratched across another run in the top of the sixth, but the Phillies punched right back in the bottom half. Alec Bohm ripped an RBI double before former Met Harrison Bader added to the frustration with a solo home run in the seventh, pushing the lead to 9-1.
By the eighth inning, the game was well out of reach. Philadelphia tacked on two more runs with Bryson Stott’s RBI single and a sacrifice fly, while the Mets managed only one late run in the ninth to settle the score at 11-3.
Suárez was electric on the mound, striking out 12 Mets over six innings of work while walking none and allowing just two runs. The Mets lineup mustered only six hits in total, with Soto and Marte responsible for most of the limited production.
With the loss, the Mets’ margin for error in the playoff chase continues to shrink. They’ll turn to Kodai Senga on Wednesday night, hoping to steady themselves in the middle game of the series and hold onto their tenuous Wild Card advantage.