Disappointing: Mets 10, Phillies 6

Sunday night baseball is a big deal. It’s the only game on during that time and anyone who is a baseball fan is probably watching it. There was a solid pitching matchup to watch, Max Scherzer against Zach Eflin, something ESPN made sure to amplify in their pregame comments that were as close to asking a player for an autograph as a broadcast crew could get to. Scherzer came out as advertised, striking out the first five Phillies he saw, but then faced Kyle Schwarber with two outs. Schwarber took a fastball, turned on it and gave the Phillies the lead.

Getting to Scherzer early is big on any night, but as well as he’s pitched to start the year, getting to him early tonight was a key to the team taking the game.

Unfortunately, Eflin couldn’t hold the lead. Eduardo Escobar singled with one out, then went to third on a Dominic Smith single. Escobar scored on a fielder’s choice, bringing up Luis Guillorme to face Eflin. Guillorme would rip a two-put double that gave the Mets a 2-1 lead. Scherzer would settle in, not allowing any more runs until the fourth when he was forced to face Schwarber again, this time after walking J.T. Realmuto. Schwarber made him pay a second time, one legging a home run that swung the lead back to the Phillies, 3-2.

Once again, Eflin couldn’t hold the lead, allowing a single and a double to Escobar and Smith, tying the game at three. In the fifth, the Mets got a single from Francisco Lindor, a double from Jeff McNeil and an intentional walk to Pete Alonso to load the bases with one out. Joe Girardi decided that was enough from Eflin, opting to bring in Jose Alvarado to get out of the jam for the team, a questionable decision at the time. With Escobar up again, Alvarado and Realmuto got crossed up, throwing a fastball that Realmuto wasn’t expecting and got passed him, bringing a run and putting the Mets up, 4-3. Escobar would strike out, making it two outs, but Smith would single for his third hit of the night, making it 6-3.

In the sixth, the Phillies got one back when Bryce Harper took a hanger from Scherzer and banged it, getting the Phillies within two at 6-4, but the Mets made sure the game was out of hand in the next two innings.

Three runs in the seventh that started with a Jean Segura error and was followed by four singles in the inning, followed by another run in the eighth, effectively ended the game. The Mets offense did its job quite well tonight, hitting the ball all over the field without hitting one out of the field. Sometimes, you just have to tip your cap.

There were a few interesting wrinkles in the final frames. The Mets got hit by another pitch this year, so they retaliated in the ninth. Yoan Lopez tried his best to hit Schwarber with two pitches before finally being warned, then got him to ground out. Lopez would hit Bohm with a pitch, but was mysteriously not ejected from the game. Something to keep an eye on for later games. Johan Camargo did put two more on the board in the ninth on a two-run home run after the hit by pitch, but that was it for that. The game was done.

The Phillies are off tomorrow before starting a quick series with the Rangers in Philadelphia.