Mets’ Offense Delivering in the Biggest Moments

The New York Mets were six outs away from dropping Game 1 of their NLDS matchup with the Philadelphia Phillies Saturday. Zack Wheeler had everything working, allowing just one hit and striking out nine over seven fantastic innings. A great performance. But, the Mets continued to grind and fight at the plate, like they have so often during this remarkable run. The Phillies went to the bullpen and the Mets pounced, scoring run after run to silence the crowd at Citizens Bank Park. At this point, it’s hard to not expect these things.

It was the top of the eighth inning. The Phillies decided to bring Jeff Hoffman into the game, one of the best right-handed relievers in the regular season. It did not go well for the All-Star. Francisco Álvarez led the inning off with a single up the middle, before being replaced by Harrison Bader as a pinch runner. Francisco Lindor walked. Mark Vientos was next. He quickly fell behind 0-2, but on the fourth pitch of the at bat, Vientos lined a ball into left field. After the offense was silent for seven innings, the Mets quickly tied it up.

Hoffman exited the game and was replaced by another All-Star reliever, Matt Strahm. The Phillies brought the infield in with runners on second and third. Brandon Nimmo found a hole on the left side, scoring Lindor and giving the Mets a 2-1 lead. That advantage was extended off the bat of Pete Alonso, who hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field to score Vientos. The Mets went on to score two more runs in the eighth, ambushing the Phillies for five runs in the frame. The home crowd was stunned and their momentum was gone.

The Mets went on to add another run in the ninth, and the game would finish 6-2 in favor of them. Extraordinarily, the Mets offense their last two playoff games through the first seven innings of the game is 3-for-44 with no runs. Over the last two innings; 6-for-12 with seven runs.

At this point, it’s hard to be surprised. On Monday, the Mets made a remarkable comeback against the bullpen of the Atlanta Braves. On Thursday, they rallied for three runs against Milwaukee Brewers star closer Devin Williams. Saturday was just the latest example of the Mets’ lineup doing damage against a star-studded bullpen. Given the way this season has gone and more specifically these last few months, it may not be the last remarkable comeback.

“Zack [Wheeler] was pretty much unhittable today, and that’s who he is. The fact we were able to get to the bullpen, it was really good to see,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. The Mets will look to take a 2-0 lead in the series Sunday. First pitch is set for 4:08 pm ET.

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