Final Score: Mets 2, Phillies 0
Tuesday was another quiet night for the Phillies offense. The lineup ran into tough pitching, but five hits in nine innings and an 0-for-7 performance with runners in scoring position is not a winning formula.
Outside of the five-run outburst in the eighth inning of Monday’s game, the Phillies offense has looked flat since Saturday. It’s too early to sound the alarm and declare this a concerning trend, but it’s disappointing considering that the Phillies got great pitching performances out of Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez.
Brandon Nimmo opened the scoring for New York in the fifth with his first home run of the season. Nimmo, who is scheduled to become a free agent at the end of the season, now has seven career home runs against the Phillies.
The Mets doubled their lead in the eighth on an RBI single from Francisco Lindor. The previous batter Starling Marte hit a ground ball right at the third baseman Johan Camargo. The throw looked innocuous at first glance, but it caught the second baseman Bryson Stott by surprise and he lost his balance on the bag. The play gave one of the most prolific base stealers in the game a chance to get into scoring position and the end result was a two-run lead for New York.
For the second-consecutive night, long relief was a positive for the Phillies. Sánchez threw 2 1/3 solid innings in relief of Wheeler, whose limit was around 70 pitches. Starting depth beyond the top five is a question mark for the Phillies and the first two games of the series have to be refreshing for a team that has lacked reliable arms in that area in recent seasons.
Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance
Zack Wheeler: 4 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR, 65 pitches
Wheeler struggled with command in the beginning frame, but rebounded quite nicely. Tuesday was the first time this season Wheeler threw to major league hitters in a game setting. His average fastball velocity was down from about 97.2 mph last season to 95.
Tylor Megill: 5 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO, 76 pitches
The injury bug has hit the Mets rotation hard. Jacob deGrom will miss at least the first month of the season. Monday’s starter Taijuan Walker was placed on the injured list. The Mets are going to need guys like Megill to step up and he did just that. He struck out five batters, allowed only three hits and induced 16 swing-and-misses.
Phillies Nugget Of The Game
Bryce Harper is off to an uncharacteristically slow start to the season. He has just two hits in 18 at-bats so far in 2022. Harper came into the game with a 1.017 career OPS in the month of April.
Postgame Notes
- Alec Bohm entered the game as a pinch-hitter for Simón Muzziotti in the eighth. The crowd gave Bohm a standing ovation following his eventful day on Monday. “They want effort, they expect you to be honest and take responsibility,” Joe Girardi said after the game. “He did all of those things and he got a great ovation. I applaud the fans because it probably meant a lot to that kid.”
- Girardi said there are no further updates on Corey Knebel, who was placed on the COVID-19 injured list before the game.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Wednesday, April 13 vs. New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park
- 6:45 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Radio: Sportsradio 94 WIP
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