Stott leads Phillies to inspiring comeback over Mets originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
NEW YORK – A game that looked and felt like a Phillies loss from the bottom of the second to the bottom of the eighth became the latest example of their depth and ability to persevere.
Down two runs in the ninth inning against Edwin Diaz, one of baseball’s most electric closers, the Phillies came close on Bryson Stott’s solo home run and tied the game when Alec Bohm was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Orion Kerkering, pitching consecutive days for the first time this season, went 1-2-3 against the Mets order in the bottom of the ninth, retiring Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and JD Martínez to set up more heroics from Stott in extra innings. Kerkering made it look much easier than he was.
Stott fell behind 0-2 against Mets reliever Sean Reid-Foley, but struggled to hit a sacrifice fly to deep right field. Bryce Harper crossed the plate as the go-ahead run and José Alvarado lifted the Mets to a 5-4 victory.
You don’t think of Stott as the type of player who can lead an offense, but he essentially has done so over the past week. He has driven in 11 runs in his last eight games. He has reached base in 12 of his last 19 plate appearances, and narrowly missed three innings before doing so Monday night.
The Phillies (29-13) have yet to lose consecutive games since April 23-24 in Cincinnati.
It was a strange start by Cristopher Sánchez, who threw just 10 pitches in a 1-2-3 first inning but needed 50 to record the next four outs. He allowed two runs in the bottom of the second and his third inning was a rollercoaster.
Sánchez put the first four Mets on base in the bottom of the third with a double, a single and two walks. He struck out Brett Baty with the bases loaded for the first out, then cautiously walked off the mound and had his hand examined by a trainer. Whether it was a blister, hand irritation or a false alarm, Sanchez responded by striking out three in a row on nine pitches.
After looking like he wouldn’t make it out of the third, Sanchez pitched a 1-2-3 fourth inning, retired the team in the fifth, and would have recorded a “quality start” if not for his own two-out error. in the sixth. The Phillies needed more time because Spencer Turnbull, the only true long man in the bullpen, pitched one inning of relief on Sunday and was unavailable Monday because he is not used to playing back-to-back days.
The Phillies came up short again on Monday with Kyle Schwarber (lower back soreness) and JT Realmuto (right knee soreness) out of the starting lineup. Trea Turner will miss another month with a hamstring strain. The Phillies have done an admirable job in recent seasons playing through injuries to key players like Harper, Rhys Hoskins, Alvarado and Ranger Suarez, but they also haven’t had three of their best hitters out at the same time.
Schwarber pinch-hit in the ninth inning and struck out. The Phillies consider both he and Realmuto day-to-day, but it’s unclear if either will return to the starting lineup for Tuesday’s series finale at 1:10 p.m.
The Phillies have Aaron Nola on the mound Tuesday afternoon opposite Jose Butto, the first right-handed starting pitcher they have faced in five games.
The teams then transition to Citizens Bank Park for two more games on Wednesday (Suarez) and Thursday (Taijuan Walker). These are the first games of the season against the Mets.