Mets Avoid Sweep With 11-Inning Win Over Phillies

The New York Mets (20-23) were in danger of being swept in a four-game series by the Philadelphia Phillies (31-15) and going 1-6 in a seven-game stretch against the Phillies and Atlanta Braves, their hated rivals . However, it was a J.D. Martinez RBI single and a wild pitch in the top of the 11th inning that helped New York prevail with a 6-5 win.

With the score tied at four, Martinez delivered the clutch hit as he led off the 11th with a base hit against José Alvarado to put the team up, 5-4. Harrison Bader would follow him up with a double and then three batters later, the Phillies left-hander threw a wild pitch that extended the Mets’ lead to 6-4.

J.D. Martinez gives the Mets the lead in the 11th!
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— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) May 17, 2024

Since Edwin Díaz blew the save for the second time in the series, the Mets did not have many options to turn to out of the bullpen in extra innings. Jorge López threw a scoreless 10th, however, so it was up to Jake Diekman to close it out. An error by Pete Alonso and a walk loaded the bases for the Phillies with one out. Even though Bryson Stott drove in a run with a groundout, Diekman got Kyle Schwarber to strike out swinging to end the game.

New York struck first on the day against former Met Taijuan Walker when Alonso crushed a solo shot, his 10th of the year, that went 439 feet and had an exit velocity of 115.3 miles-per-hour while giving the team an early 1-0 lead.

That ball got out in a HURRY!

115.3 mph off the bat and Pete Alonso gives the Mets a quick 1-0 lead with his 10th homer of the season ????‍❄️
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— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) May 16, 2024

The offense would not stop there. In the second inning, Starling Marte singled to center and went on to steal second. That set up Brett Baty for an RBI opportunity and he capitalized on it with a double that gave New York a 2-0 lead.

Brett the Met adds on!

Baty drives in Marte with an RBI double after Marte singled and stole a base to get in scoring position.
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— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) May 16, 2024

The Phillies were able to rally from a two-run deficit in the bottom of the sixth that ultimately chased Jose Quintana from the game after one-out singles from J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper set the table.

Reed Garrett then came in, but he ultimately could not put out the fire as a base hit by Alec Bohm cut the lead to 2-1. On the play, Tyrone Taylor, who had moved from center field to left field when the inning began, made a throwing error that put runners on second and third. That would come back to bite the Mets as a sacrifice fly by Nick Castellanos tied the game at 2-2.

Overall, it was not a bad night from Quintana after two poor outings prior to tonight. The left-hander went 5 1/3 innings while allowing two runs on four hits and striking out four on 81 pitches (49 strikes) in a no-decision.

Philadelphia would take the lead against Garrett in the seventh with two outs as Stott drew a pinch-hit walk before Schwarber drove him in with a double down the right field line, providing the Phillies with a 3-2 lead.

However, the Mets were not out of it as they rallied against Jeff Hoffman in the eighth. It started without a hit as Taylor reached on an error and Alonso drew a walk. With two outs, Bader, who came off the bench on Thursday, knocked a single off Hoffman and into center field that tied the game. Thanks to a wild pitch later in the frame, the Mets left the inning with a 4-3 lead.

Harrison Bader in the clutch & we’re all tied up!
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— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) May 17, 2024

Adam Ottavino escaped a jam in the eighth inning to preserve the lead, but Díaz was unable to record the save. The ninth inning started with a Brandon Marsh walk and a wild pitch. Two batters later, Stott tied the game with an RBI single and the Mets closer came away with yet another blown save.

However, López deserves credit for keeping the game scoreless in the 10th. The Phillies had two runners on with nobody out, but he got Bohm to ground into a double play and Castellanos to line out to left to extend the game into the 11th.

Player Of The Game

Even though he did not get the start on Thursday, Bader gets the title of player of the game for the game-tying hit in the eighth and his double in the 11th. In the seventh inning or later this year, Bader has been one of the team’s most clutch players with a slash line of .333/.400/.400 with 15 hits and 5 RBIs.

As Jon Morosi of MLB Network tweeted before the game, Bader was prepared for possibly having to face some of the tough Phillies left-handers late in the game.

Purposeful pregame work. https://t.co/4jH9QjXCba

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) May 17, 2024

On Deck

The Mets will begin a six-game road trip on Friday night when they start a three-game series against the Miami Marlins (13-32). You can watch the game on SNY at 7:10 p.m ET. Christian Scott (0-1, 2.84 ERA) will make his third start of the year for the Mets against Jesus Luzardo (0-3, 5.97) for Miami.

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