Mets 10, Phillies 9: That was something

After finally finding a bit of success against the Mets on Saturday night, the Phillies entered Sunday looking to make it two straight wins at Citizens Bank Park.

Opposing the Phils on Sunday was Jose Butto, who was making his major league debut. Rob Thomson sent Kyle Gibson to the mound as the Phillies looked to split the four-game series with New York.

The top of the first inning was rather harmless as Gibson recorded two strikeouts and stranded a runner on first.

The 24-year-old righty Butto stepped to the bump in the bottom of the first inning and got off to a shaky start. Kyle Schwarber greeted him with a base hit to right field, bringing up Rhys Hoskins.

The Philly first basemen drew a walk, putting the first two runners on base. Alec Bohm then stepped to the dish and made Butto pay. Bohm launched a three-run home run to left field to open the scoring.

J.T. Realmuto did not want to be left out, ripping a double to keep the ball rolling. Nick Castellanos was not far behind as he poked a single to right putting runners on the corners with still no outs.

Bryson Stott was then retired on strikes for the first out of the inning. Nick Maton, getting the start in place of Jean Segura, pulled a base hit to right to score Realmuto and add a run to the lead.

Matt Vierling and Bradley Zimmer were both sat down to end the inning, as the Phillies tailed four runs and sent all nine to the plate in the first.

The Mets offense was not to be out done as they quickly cut the lead in half, thanks in part to poor defense by the Fightins. A Dan Vogelbach walk started off the second inning, but Kyle Gibson then got Jeff McNeil to pop up for out number one.

Things would then go south rather quickly as Alec Bohm made an error at third, allowing runners to stand on first and second. Michael Perez laced a single to center scoring two, as an error by Bradley Zimmer allowed Brett Baty to score from first.

The Phillies went down quietly in the bottom of the second as the Mets starter settled down a tad.

New York then chipped away at the Phillies lead in the top of the third as a Dan Vogelbach double brought home Starling Marte, cutting the lead down to one.

Fast forwarding to the top of the fourth inning where the Mets would tie the game on a Marte base hit to shallow center. Fortunately, Gibby worked through further damage stranding two runners.

With the game back to even, the Phillies returned to the dish hoping to do damage against Butto, as he would have to face the lineup a third time through.

Bradley Zimmer hustled a down the line for an infield single, to set the table for the top of the order. Kyle Schwarber worked a walk, putting runners on first and second with no outs.

After a Rhys Hoskins fly out, Alec Bohm stepped to the dish with two hits already under his belt. He once again made Butto pay by way of a three-run home run, the second of the game for Bohm. Six of the seven runs had now scored thanks to Alec Bohm home runs.

Both teams scoring would remain quiet for the next handful of innings as Andrew Bellatti and Jose Alvarado worked through the middle innings, holding the lead.

Jumping to the bottom of the sixth inning, where Kyle Schwarber worked another walk, as the rain started to come down.

Three hours from the first pitch of the day, a rain delay was enacted.

The brief delay only lasted thirty minutes as teams returned to the field to finish the contest. Back to the action.

Philadelphia stranded Kyle Schwarber on first, unable to garner much off Nate Fisher, who was also making his MLB debut.

Connor Brogdon then entered for the top of the seventh inning, and it did not go well. Brogdon allowed back-to-back singles by Pete Alonso and Dan Vogelbach to bring the tying run the the plate. Jeff McNeil lined out to center for the first out, brining Mark Canha to the dish.

On the first pitch of the at bat, Canha blasted a three-run homer to tie the game at seven apiece.

A game in which the Mets utilized two pitchers making their major league debuts was now tied at seven in the seventh inning. Not good.

Brogdon did retire the next two Mets, but the damage was already done.

Even with the game back to even, Buck Showalter left Nate Fisher on the mound for the seventh as the Mets bullpen was just as thin as the Phillies entering Sunday. It worked out well for the visitor,s as Fisher worked another clean inning, making it three scoreless in his MLB debut.

Rob Thomson turned to Brad Hand for the eighth hoping to keep the game tied. At the end of the day, he did just that, giving Philly fans a heart attack in the process. Hand walked two (one intentional), gave up a couple of long foul balls, and retired Darin Ruf to end the inning.

To the bottom of the eighth we go, with Trevor May taking the mound for New York. Jean Segura pinch hit for Matt Vierling and it worked out perfectly.

Jean smacked a solo homer to left to put the Phillies back on top. The long ball was number eight on the year for the second basemen.

Armed with the one run lead, the Phillies turned to David Robertson for the ninth. This was a bit surprising, considering D-Rob pitched two innings yesterday, recording a six-out save on thirty-six pitches.

Jeff McNeil greeted Robertson with a double, immediately putting the tying run aboard. The worst possible outcome then happened as Mark Canha blasted his second home run of the game, this time a two-run shot, putting the Mets back on top.

Robertson bounced back to strike out the next two, but at twenty-one pitches, his day was done. The two runs allowed by Robertson were his first earned runs as a Phillie in 2022.

Tyler Cyr was next up, making his major league debut. The 29-year-old righty served up a solo homer to Brandon Nimmo as the lead pushed to 10-8 in favor of the Mets. Cyr eventually navigated through the inning sending the game to the final half inning.

To make matters worse for the Phillies, Edwin Diaz and his trumpets entered to close the door.

J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos each singled on the first pitches they saw. Two pitches by Diaz, two runners on. Bryson Stott nearly sent the crowd home happy as he flew out to the warning track in right. One down.

Next up, Nick Maton. The 25-year-old hit a SAC fly to center, scoring J.T. and making it a one run ballgame.

With two down and Nick Castellanos on first, Jean Segura made his way to the plate. Jean worked a full-count-walk to move the tying run to second base.

Darick Hall was next off the bench to pinch hit for Bradley Zimmer. Diaz reared back and dotted a fastball for strike three to end the game.

Final: Mets 10, Phillies 9

That was a lot. The bullpen was obviously not good, and with Corey Knebel and Seranthony Dominguez out, it won’t get easier.

Next up, the Reds come to town with first pitch set for 7:05pm on Monday.