Now it's time for Game 2 of the second 2022 National League Wild Card Series from Citi Field in New York. The date is Saturday, October 8:
Lineup Changes:
Phillies- Brandon Marsh gets the start in center and will bat seventh. Jean Segura moves down to eighth and shortstop Bryson Stott moves down to ninth.
Mets- Starling Marte moves up to second, while Francisco Lindor moves down to third. Mark Canha moves up to fifth, while Jeff McNeil moved down to sixth. Eduardo Escober moves down to seventh, Finally, Darin Ruf will serve as the designated hitter and bat eighth.
Mets 3rd: After two out. Francisco Lindor singled to right center. A passed ball charged to Phillies catcher J,T, Realmuto moved him to second and brought Pete Alonso to the plate. Here's Sean McDonough with the count no balls and a strike:
"The Padres and Cardinals will be getting started over on ESPN2 in a matter of moments. We've had two sweeps in the American League, as the Mariners have ended Toronto's pennant defense with a tremendous comeback win and the Guardians beat the Rays in fifteen innings at Progressive Field. The Mariners will get together with the Astros in the ALDS, and one of the great postseason rivalries of the Wild Card era will be renewed when the Yankees and the Guardians hook up. Alonso ready again, and the one-strike pitch IS HIT DEEP TO LEFT! BACK IS SCHWARBER, AT THE WALL AND GONE!.......Pete Alonso gives the Mets the first lead of Game 2 as he goes deep for what they hope will be the first of many times this postseason."
Frank Thomas: "Nola got the pitch a bit too far up in the zone, and Alonso's too good of a hitter not to take advantage of it. Someone a bit more athletic than Schwarber may have been able to make it a closer play by climbing the wall, but he wouldn't have made the catch."
Left fielder Mark Canha flew to Brandon Marsh in shallow left center to end the inning, but Alonso's homer has given the Mets a 2-0 lead after three,
Phillies 6th: Kyle Schwarber led off with a double into the left center power alley. Rhys Hoskins walked to put two men on, but was forced by J,T, Realmuto for out number one. Schwarber moved to third and subsequently scored the Phils' first run on Bryce Harper's lined single to right. Realmuto moved to third. The runners held when Nick Castellanos took a called third strike, Alec Bohm was next, and he hit a two-hopper to short. The normally sure-handed Lindor couldn't come up with the ball, and Bohm was safe at first while Realmuto dashed home to tie the game at two.
Mets manager Buck Showalter excused starter Carlos Carrasco and called on Jacob deGrom to face Marsh. but the strategy backfired as Marsh lined the first pitch he saw into right field for a base hit. Harper scored, and the Phils led 3-2. Segura's fly to shallow left center was caught by Nimmo to end the inning, but the visitors have taken the lead with three runs on three hits, a fielder's choice, a walk, and an error while leaving runners at first and second. After five and a half, it's Phillies 3, Mets 2.
Phillies 8th: Bohm drew a two-out walk and scored when Marsh lined a double off the right field wall to extend the Phils' lead to 4-2. Segura flew to Nimmo in center to end the inning, but the Phils have added a run on a walk and a hit while leaving Marsh at second. As we go to the bottom of the eighth it's Philadelphia 4, New York 2,
Mets 8th: Marte led off with a single to right against new Phils pitcher Brad Hand. Lindor struck out swinging for out number one, which brought Alonso to the plate. Here's Sean with the count one ball and two strikes:
"Phillies infield at double-play depth, but Marte doesn't figure to be going anywhere with Alonso at the plate. He's already homered once tonight, and the fans here at Citi Field are looking for him to do it again and tie the game. Zach Eflin got the save last night, but there's no sign of him getting ready to throw, so it's all up to Brad Hand for the moment. He checks the runner, Marte not going, one-two pitch is HIT HIGH AND DEEP TO CENTER! MARSH IS BACK, HE'S AT THE WALL, AND THIS GAME IS TIED!......Pete Alonso hits this one halfway back to Philadelphia for a game-tying home run, his second of the night, and this place is on fire!"
Thomas: "Hand went for the swing and miss, but he didn't get it. This ball was absolutely smashed, and Brandon Marsh takes one step back and watched this ball sail high and far into the night. Now let's see if Hand can finish the inning without any further damage. The Phillies have to get Elfin up now whether they like it or not."
But Hand was able to finish the inning without further incident; Canha flew to short in shallow right center for the second out, and McNeil's tapper to Hoskins at first retired the side, The Mets have tied the game on Alonso's second homer of the night, and we're even at four as we head to the ninth in Game 2.
The Phils got the tying run to third in the top of the ninth on a walk to Schwarber and a single by Hoskins, but Realmuto struck out and Harper flied to right. They had first and second with one out in the thirteenth, but Alonso caught Hoskins' foul pop and Realmuto was called out on strikes, although ESPN's replays showed that both strikes two and three were way outside.
The Mets got the tying run to third in the bottom of the ninth, Eduardo Escobar led off with a single, and Daniel Vogelbach (batting for Ruf) walked to put two men on, James McCann batted for catcher Tomas Nido and hit into a 4-6-3 double play, which put the winning run ninety feet away in the person of Escobar. But Nimmo's grounder to first ended the inning. They also had runners at first and second in the bottom of the eleventh, but McCann took a called third strike to end the inning,
Phillies 15th: Marsh beat out a bouncer to short for a leadoff infield single, but was forced by Segura. This brought Stott to the plate. Here's Seam with the count one ball and one strike:
'Stott's one for six; he singled with one out in the thirteenth, but was stranded at second. We're coming up on the five-and-a-half-hour mark, and this is the third game today that's gone over four hours. But nobody here at Citi Field will complain as long as the Mets win the game and force Game 3 tomorrow night. Peterson checks the runner at first, and the crowd is on its feet. One-one pitch IS BELTED DEEP TO CENTER! NIMMO'S BACK, HE'S AT THE WALL, BUT THIS ONE IS GONE!....The rookie Bryson Stott has hit a two-run homer here in the fifteenth inning to give the Phillies a 6-4 lead here in the fifteenth, and you can hear a pin drop, as this place has gone silent,"
Thomas: "Stott puts everything he's got into his swing. The pitch breaks just a little bit further inside than (reliever David) Peterson wanted, and Stott's able to meet it and drive it to the deepest part of the park. It doesn't carry as far as it would in the heat of summer; it clears the wall by no more than an inch, in fact. But the Phillies don't care; they have the lead."
Schwarber kept the inning alive when his bloop fell in right center field for a double. but Peterson struck out both Hoskins and Realmuto swinging to end the inning. The Phils have taken the lead on Stott's two-run homer, and they'll call on Zach Elfin to get their last three outs. He'll face Marte, Lindor, and Alonso with a 6-4 lead to protect.
Mets 15th: Elfin struck Marte out swinging and caught Lindor looking, but Alonso beat out a bouncer to short for an infield single to extend the game. Canha followed with a double off the wall in left center to score Alonso and reduce the Phils' lead to 6-5. McNeil walked to move the tying run into scoring position, which brought up Escobar. Here's Sean with the count two balls and no strikes:
"If Eflin loses Escobar, next up is the designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach, who's been a disappointment, to say the least, in a Mets uniform. Right now it's Canha at second, McNeil at first, and they'll both be off on contact. Nobody up in the Phillies' bullpen; this is Elfin's game win or lose. The sign from Realmuto, the nod from Elfin, two-ball pitch......swings at ball three and lifts it to right, over is Castellanos, he's under it, AND MAKES THE CATCH THE PHILLIES SWEEP THE METS!......Escpbar had no business swinging at that pitch, which was about three feet in the dirt. He did, and Castellanos made the catch to end the series and send the Phils to Atlanta, where they'll face the Braves in an NLDS beginning Tuesday,
We want to get you to SportsCenter in a hurry, so we'll just say that our Player of the Game is Brandon Marsh, who was four for seven and drove in a pair of runs. A strong Honorable Mention goes to Bryson Stott, who was two for seven and gave the Phillies the lead for good with his two-run homer in the fifteenth. For the Mets, their MVP tonight was Pete Alonso, who was five for seven with two home runs, four RBIs, and three runs scored. It's a shame for him and the Mets that a potential game for the ages ended with nothing to show for it.
Once again, our final score in fifteen innings which took five hours and fifty-one minutes: the Philadelphia Phillies 6, the New York Mets 5, and the Phillies sweep this Wild Card series two games to none. Stay tuned for SportsCenter. which will feature highlights and interviews not only from this game, but the other fifteen-inning classic from earlier today, as the Guardians swept the Rays with a 1-0 win, Not only that, we had the amazing comeback of the Mariners, who were down 8-1 and 9-5 to the defending AL champion Blue Jays and came back for a 10-9 series-ending win, If there's been a better day in baseball history in which multiple postseason games have been played, I can't think of one. We'll have all of that for you, plus highlights from a big day in college football and a preview of tomorrow's NFL action.
For Frank Thomas, Jeff Passan, and our entire ESPN crew. I'm Sean McDonough saying an exhausted good night from Citi Field. SportsCenter comes your way in exactly three minutes."
Some of the players Sean didn't mention included Phillies Schwarber, who was four for six and walked twice, and Hoskins, who was two for seven plus a walk, For the Mets, Escobar was three for seven and Marte was two for seven and scored a run, There were thirty-four combined strikeouts; the Phils struck out eighteen times, the Mets sixteen. Hoskins and Realmuto "led" the way by striking out four times each.
Final totals: Phillies 6-15-0, Mets 5-13-1.
W- Robertson (1-0)
S-Eflin (1)
L- Peterson (0-1)
HR- PHI: Stott (1)
NYM: Alonso 2 (2)
The rest of the National League playoffs happened as they did in real life: the Padres defeated the Dodgers in four games to take one NLDS, while the Phillies beat the Braves in four games to win the other. The Phillies then defeated the Padres in a five-game NLCS to claim the National League pennant,
The World Series saw the Astros battle the Phillies, and the Astros won the fourth world championship in their history and their second as a member of the American League by beating the Phils in six games.
Next: To be determined,
Thoughts?