There’s a scene in The Manner of the Gun the place Ryan Phillippe’s character is torturing some dude — the main points are unimportant however ugly — and he’s leaning over his poor sufferer, describing all of the horrible issues he’s going to do if he doesn’t speak. One line has all the time caught with me: “No matter I do after that, I’ll pour gasoline in your eyes every now and then simply to maintain you from passing out.”
Baseball could be like this. You possibly can try of a blowout, however a failed comeback solely makes defeat harm worse. No hope isn’t as unhealthy as false hope. Is your crew displaying indicators of life, or are you about to get one other splash of gasoline in your eyes?
Both the Mets or Phillies may’ve gotten the splash on Sunday, as Nick Castellanos and Mark Vientos, amongst others, traded clutch hits, and each groups watched their high-leverage relievers get torched. In the long run, the Phillies bounced again yet another time than the Mets, salvaging a house cut up with a 7-6 walk-off win in Recreation 2 of the Nationwide League Division Sequence. It was an on the spot traditional in its personal proper, and a victory of immense import for a crew that appeared lifeless on its ft.
Saturday’s Recreation 1 was the most recent installment within the story of a resilient and unpredictable Mets crew, however narratively it was fairly easy. Kyle Schwarber led off the underside of the primary with a house run, Zack Wheeler saved the Mets off the scoreboard for seven innings, and the moment Wheeler got here out of the sport, the Mets jumped everywhere in the Phillies bullpen. A comeback, sure, however not a see-saw affair.
Recreation 2 adopted a well-known sample for 5 and a half innings. The Phillies offense, which had appeared completely misplaced in playoff motion since about Recreation 2 of final 12 months’s NLCS, let Mets starter Luis Severino have his means. Phillies lefty Cristopher Sánchez pitched nicely sufficient to win, however provided that he bought affordable run assist; he was under no circumstances good. Sánchez, who had the best groundball fee by a Phillies starter in additional than 20 years, allowed 9 batted balls within the air.
A kind of was a third-inning dwelling run by Vientos. That two-run opposite-field wallscraper was however the distinction when Sánchez left the sport after 5 innings. Pete Alonso adopted with a solo shot off José Ruiz within the high of the sixth.
In early June 2022, the Phillies fired supervisor Joe Girardi and gave the reins to Rob Thomson, a longtime Yankees coach who’d adopted Girardi south for the 2020 season. The unassuming Canadian baseball lifer instantly clicked with a veteran roster that had been constructed to win now however had struggled to eke out a lot as a Wild Card spot since Bryce Harper arrived in 2019. Thomson is now the Phillies’ modern-era chief in profitable share, and his first three seasons have been marked by a pennant, an NLCS look, and the crew’s first division title since 2011, in that order.
And most of all, chill vibes. Thomson is an emotional metronome, and panic just isn’t in his nature. On the uncommon events he’s drawn criticism, it’s been as a result of he’s too regular a hand on the tiller. He urged calm because the Phillies blew a 2-0 lead in final 12 months’s NLCS, and whereas the crew didn’t freak out, it additionally didn’t hit a lot within the second half of the sequence.
That development continued in Recreation 1 towards the Mets, proper all the way down to Schwarber and Harper offering the one licks of offense. In Recreation 2, the Mets had simply prolonged their lead towards Sánchez, a pitcher who was solely in an in depth sport as a result of the high-leverage guys — administration of whom had been a power for Thomson up to now — had collapsed the evening earlier than.
In the meantime, Severino was getting the Phillies to swing at no matter he needed, and the gang was fed up. Phillies followers are like chihuahuas: Loud, imply, and actually unhealthy at masking their nervousness. When Castellanos swung at two uncompetitive breaking balls within the backside of the fourth, the Residents Financial institution Park crowd gave him a sarcastic cheer when he managed to put off a 3rd breaker that bounced within the reverse batter’s field.
The Alonso homer was the nadir of the Thomson period. The Phillies appeared certain to go down 2-0 within the sequence to the Mets, and if that occurred they had been absolutely sure for a first-round exit. If that occurred, the course may not be stayed. Thomson himself would nearly actually be protected, however his crew couldn’t head into the 2025 postseason — if it made it that far — with the identical offensive method that had failed the earlier two years.
Not so quick.
All of it occurred with two outs within the sixth. Trea Turner, who’d hit the cages after a mortifying Saturday evening 0-for-4, circled a sweeper for his second single of the afternoon. That introduced Harper to the plate to face a 99-mph 2-2 fastball, and he bounced it off the batter’s eye, 431 ft from dwelling plate.
BRYCE HARPER BRINGS LIFE TO PHILLY
It is a one run ballgame!!
? Watch in 4K on the FOX Sports activities App pic.twitter.com/ztWH5GXl3C
— FOX Sports activities: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 6, 2024
That’s all nicely and good, however Harper has by no means stopped hitting — he had a double and two walks on Saturday, in any case — and the Phillies dwell and die with the underside of their lineup.
Earlier than the sport, Thomson did one thing uncharacteristic: He pushed a lever, benching struggling cleanup hitter Alec Bohm, elevating Edmundo Sosa to the beginning lineup and Castellanos to the spot behind Harper.
The final time we noticed Castellanos earlier than the sixth, he was an object of derision, an emblem of the crew’s deadly flaws. However this time, as a substitute of burying his sweeper low and away, Severino left it up, and Castellanos hit it 425 ft to tie the sport.
“He doesn’t let something hassle him, actually,” Thomson stated of his new cleanup hitter. “If he’s struggling, it doesn’t actually hassle him; he simply retains working. He’s an skilled man. He is aware of he’s going to come back out of it sooner or later. And that stays with that finish sport, as nicely. He simply retains preventing.”
By means of 5 2/3 innings, Severino was cruising, however Turner’s single introduced him to 77 pitches. And by that time, Severino was seeing Harper and Castellanos for the third time. With a three-run lead and two outs, a runner on first is hardly value getting enthusiastic about, irrespective of who’s up. And the back-to-back dwelling runs got here so shortly that there was no time to get a reliever up as soon as hassle began.
However, Mets supervisor Carlos Mendoza didn’t have a brand new pitcher warming up simply in case, although Severino was nearer to the tip of his stint than the start.
Mendoza defined that he was working with a shorthanded bullpen after Saturday’s piggyback effort — Reed Garrett, Ryne Stanek, and Phil Maton all threw greater than 20 pitches, and David Peterson threw 50 — so he didn’t have the posh of pulling his starter early.
“[Severino]’s our man. Particularly when you’ve gotten a brief ‘pen, I’m not going to be as aggressive,” Mendoza stated. “The way in which he was throwing the baseball, I don’t care about third time by way of, he’s pitching rather well.”
Thomson had no such limitations, and went to Orion Kerkering within the high of the seventh. Kerkering was the final pitcher to take part within the earlier night’s disastrous high of the eighth, however he hadn’t been charged with a run. He has the most effective stuff within the Phillies bullpen, and Francisco Lindor and Vientos may do nothing with it. However with two outs, Kerkering fell behind Brandon Nimmo, left a fastball low and over the plate — Nimmo’s pink zone — and discovered there are worse issues than a stroll.
4-3, Mets. Extra fuel within the eyes.
However the Phillies, having opened the offensive faucets for the primary time, saved the strain on. They put two males on base with two outs within the seventh towards José Buttó, and Mendoza despatched for his reduction ace. The supervisor stated after the sport that Edwin Díaz was by no means going to remain in for a seven-out save. Slightly, he’d recognized — accurately, to that time — an important at-bat of the sport, and referred to as on his greatest pitcher to deal with it.
A matchup like this, with the sport on the road, is why you come to the ballpark. Victory for Schwarber would on the very least tie the sport and sure put the Phillies on high. Victory for Díaz would get the Mets out of the inning with a transparent path to a stunning 2-0 lead within the sequence. A draw — a stroll, in different phrases — would load the bases for Turner and Harper. Díaz needed to win.
And he did, engaging the Phillies’ most disciplined hitter to chase a 3-2 slider at his ankles. Schwarber knew instantly that he’d made a mistake and cranked the bat again, however third base umpire Carlos Torres dominated that he’d gone round.
Splash.
However Díaz, Mendoza’s most trusted reliever, has gotten heavy use. He threw 26 pitches final Sunday, 40 on Monday, and 39 on Thursday in a five-out look to wrap up the Wild Card Sequence.
Díaz struck out Turner to begin the underside of the eighth, and properly stayed away from Harper. He threw 4 pitches exterior the zone and despatched the two-time MVP to first. Which, in earlier playoff video games, would’ve meant he was protected till Schwarber got here up once more. However now, the again six of Philadelphia’s lineup was awake. Castellanos bought a fastball up within the zone and inside-outed it to proper.
The following batter, Bryson Stott, took the primary 5 pitches Díaz threw him. He preferred the sixth, a belt-high slider, and lined it into the nook for a two-run triple. Nimmo’s dwelling run counted for nothing. Extra false hope.
Even after Stott got here dwelling to attain on an error by Vientos, a two-run lead was not protected. Matt Strahm, one of many architects of the earlier evening’s bullpen calamity, had Lindor on his heels with one out within the ninth, however allowed him to succeed in on a single.
That introduced up Vientos, the breakout star of this sequence. The Mets third baseman has seen 35 pitches on this sequence, 29 of which had been thrown by pitchers who made the All-Star crew this 12 months. Towards these 4 All-Stars — Wheeler, Sánchez, Jeff Hoffman, and Strahm — Vientos is 5-for-7 with a stroll, two dwelling runs, and 5 RBI.
Most of that success has come from staying inside himself. What’s impressed me most about Vientos on this sequence is his means to take what the pitcher offers him. If that’s a stroll, he’ll stroll. If it’s a dinked single to the alternative subject, he’ll dink a single. In an intemperate second, I assumed to myself, “It is a little like Derek Jeter.”
WOW!! MARK VIENTOS HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!
THE COMEBACK METS!! THIS GAME IS TIED!! pic.twitter.com/eIQZ61Fyuh
— FOX Sports activities: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 6, 2024
Vientos’ second dwelling run of the day was nothing of the type. He bought a fastball, up above the strike zone and on the surface a part of the plate, and wrenched it to the pull facet at 105.3 mph. Tie ballgame. After one other bullpen meltdown, all of the Phillies’ offensive rejuvenation had amounted to nothing. And had Castellanos not retired Alonso on considered one of his signature sliding catches to finish the inning, it’d’ve come to lower than nothing.
Don’t hassle hoping. It’ll solely harm extra.
If the Mets may get by way of the meat of the order only one extra time, they may win the sport in extras.
Tylor Megill retired the primary two batters of the ninth. However Turner, who would end the sport 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, walked. Harper, who needed the game-winning hit so badly you possibly can scent it from the press field, bought the cash pitch, a curveball middle-in, and pulled it down the road… foul, possibly a foot or two from changing into the game-winning double. He settled for an additional stroll.
Which, as soon as once more, summoned Castellanos to the dish.
Harper takes huge at-bats with nice gravitas. He works by way of his routine intentionally. He steps out, he paces, he stares meaningfully off into the gap like Hamlet. Castellanos has no time for such ceremony. Megill gave him three pitches that may very well be described as remotely hittable. Castellanos swung in any respect of them.
The third was within the zone and low, and Castellanos turned on it. It was solely a single, however he hit the hell out of the ball: 110.6 mph off the bat, the hardest-hit ball Castellanos has produced in two months. Nimmo gave up the chase, and Turner scored from second with ease. It was Castellanos’ fifth walk-off hit of the 12 months.
WHAT. A. GAME. 🤯
Nick Castellanos walks it off to even the sequence!! #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/7tlFi2Uexp
— FOX Sports activities: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 6, 2024
“He’s Nick Castellanos, he’s an expert hitter, and he’s hit his complete profession,” Stott stated. “He got here up huge for us quite a bit this 12 months. It appears like each walk-off hit is Nick, and that’s who he’s. And his coronary heart fee doesn’t stand up, stays the identical. And will get the swing off.”
Thomson, as you may count on, thinks the Phillies’ offensive outburst within the second half of the sport is the tip of a hunch, an indication of issues to come back.
“I feel that there’s been a variety of speak, not solely publicly however in our clubhouse, about getting again within the strike zone, controlling the strike zone on each side of the ball,” Thomson stated. “In the event you do this, you’re going to win video games. And I feel they’re making a acutely aware effort, for certain.”
After getting their complete lineup rolling, and one-upping the Mets with their very own gut-punch comeback win, you’d say the Phillies have the momentum.
After Recreation 1, Nimmo stated he didn’t consider in magic or mojo, however: “I do consider in momentum… Momentum is a giant factor. And having confidence is a giant factor.”
Momentum is a grimy phrase round these stat-minded components. It’s simple to determine after the actual fact however treacherous in actual time. However, what Nimmo describes — momentum as confidence — has an actual impact.
In physics, momentum is described by Newton’s first regulation of movement: A physique at relaxation stays at relaxation, and a physique in movement stays in movement, except it’s acted upon by an out of doors power.
These exterior actions are the inflection factors in video games and sequence. The Phillies offense can look moribund, till Castellanos goes berserk in his final three at-bats. However the Phillies are not any extra destined to hit going ahead than they had been to go away meekly earlier than Castellanos confirmed up. Extra exterior forces are but to come back.
Is that this the start of the tip of the Mets’ miracle run? Have the Phillies resumed course for the championship problem that’s turn out to be customary underneath Thomson? Or is that this the aberration, the false hope that solely precedes additional heartbreak, like an eyeful of gasoline.
