A bamboo plant, a curveball machine, and Maikel Franco walk into a bar... - Phillies 6, Mets 3

Well, well, well... looks like there may be something to this whole bamboo thing.

This game was, for the most part, a pitching duel between Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, both of whom tossed absolute gems.

It was towards the end of this one where things got really exciting.

The only run scored in the first 6 innings came from a Bryce Harper solo rocket, which gave the Phillies a one run advantage that stemmed all the way into the top of the 9th.

Aaron Nola was tugged after 7 impeccable innings, in which he allowed only 1 hit, and struck out 10. He relied primarily on his changeup in this one, which is a bit of a change of pace from the two-seam/curve combo that we’ve seen out of Nola for the majority of 2019.

Fast-forward to the aforementioned 9th inning, where disaster struck.

Hector Neris entered the game to pitch for the 3rd consecutive day, a misstep that would cost the Phillies their slim lead, as Todd Frazier slammed a Hector Neris fastball into the sun, making it 2-1 Mets.

A couple of base hits and a sharp grounder later, and the Mets made it 3-1.

All hope looked lost... that is, until Cesar Hernandez walked, and our lord and savior, Maikel Franco, took Mets’ closer Edwin Diaz deep to tie the game at 3.

Then, a Sean Rodriguez walk led to a Scotty Jetpax single, and Jean Segura sent us all home with a walk-off 3-run shot, as the Phillies completed their 4-game sweep of the not-so-Amazin’ Mets.

While the Mets’ bullpen blew all four of these games for New York, it is undeniable that the amount of resilience we saw from this Phillies team in this series is exactly what the fanbase needed after a dreadful stretch in June.

This gritty win is sure to give the team an energy boost as we look towards another bout with Miami — who, sadly, were the ones doing the sweeping last week.

I think it is fair to say that the bamboo motif is a keeper.