I still can’t believe that the Mets lost yesterday. That’s not something I thought I would type after watching them fall behind the Phillies 6-0 on Monday afternoon. David Peterson clearly didn’t have his best stuff, as he constantly misfired on his pitches, resulting in four walks and a hit batter in just two innings. Falling behind in the count leads to big hits as well, and the Phillies produced those with a bases-clearing double by Jean Segura in the first and a two-run home run by Rhys Hoskins in the second. It was looking like a long afternoon for the Mets.
And a long afternoon it was, just in a different way from what I imagined. Erasmo Ramirez took the mound in the third inning for New York and was surprisingly effective at slowing down the Philadelphia offense. Ramirez needed lots of good defense and line drives hit at his fielders, but by hook or by crook he got through five innings while only allowing one run.
After J.T. Realmuto hit a solo shot in the top of the fifth, the Mets began their comeback effort. They scored three runs on consecutive doubles by Michael Conforto, J.D. Davis, and Dominic Smith in the bottom of the inning. Two frames later, the horrible Phillies bullpen took over and New York caught a break when Didi Gregorius threw away the back leg of what could have been an inning-ending double play. Not only did that allow a run to score, but two batters later, Jeff McNeil smashed a go-ahead, three-run home run into the upper deck in right field.
This is the stuff we are used to see happen to the Mets and not for the Mets. The Flying Squirrel and the entire offense are heating up and ready to make a September run. The team is finally going to put some wins together and cross the .500 barrier. Everything is falling into place.
Never mind. It wasn’t to be. Even after Philadelphia’s rookie Alec Bohm tied the score in the eighth with a two-out RBI single, I remained confident because Andrew Knapp made a terrible baserunning decision that allowed the inning to end on the same play. Clearly this was a sign that the Phillies would still blow the game. Edwin Diaz cruising through the ninth was another good sign. If the Mets were supposed to lose this game, Diaz would blow up, but instead he got three quick outs.
The Mets didn’t score in their half of the ninth, but the bullpen continued to do its job with Miguel Castro getting the first two outs in the 10th. Then, just when it looked like the Mets would get a golden opportunity to put the game away, Jean Segura cashed in with his fourth and fifth RBI of the game.
Brandon Nimmo drove home a run in the bottom of the 10th, but Hector Neris closed out the game and the Phillies won 9-8. With 18 games to play, the Mets are two games out of the final National League wild card spot. Starting tonight, they host two games with Baltimore before getting a day off on Thursday for the first time since the COVID-19 postponements in late August.
Hey, at least the Mets gave us some entertainment on Labor Day instead of just laying down for the Phillies. That’s good enough to make them the least disgraceful baseball team in New York these days because the Yankees flat out STINK.
The Bombers got home runs from Luke Voit, Aaron Hicks, and Miguel Andujar and took a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth in a crucial game against the Blue Jays. Finally, it looked like the Yankees were starting to be the Yankees again. Instead, Chad Green and Adam Ottavino combined to give up a ridiculous 10 runs in the bottom of the sixth. The light-hitting Danny Jansen capped the rally with a grand slam to ensure that Toronto walked away with a 12-7 win.
The Yankees are now just one loss in front of Baltimore for the last American League playoff bid, which means that everyone in New York will be rooting for the Mets this week. It’s about damn time.
In NBA Bubble Land, everyone is buzzing about Kawhi Leonard’s heroic rejection of Jamal Murray that proved crucial in preserving a 113-107 win and 2-1 series advantage for the Clippers over the Nuggets.
Los Angeles held Murray to 14 points for the game, while Leonard scored 23 points with 14 rebounds and six assists. Paul George led the Clippers in scoring with 32 points on 12-for-18 shooting.
In the East, the Celtics routed Toronto 111-89 to take a 3-2 series lead. It was a big statement win for Boston after they saw the Raptors gain momentum with two straight victories. And speaking of big statements, the NHL’s Lightning brought the Islanders bandwagon to a screeching halt with an 8-2 win in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Final. Tampa Bay center Brayden Point scored two goals with three assists to lead the beat down.
Tonight we’ll get to see if Las Vegas can finally score on Dallas as the Golden Knights look to draw even in the Western Conference Final. Plus, the Bucks will continue to battle back against the Heat while the Lakers and Rockets play a crucial Game 3.
Inside Yolk 