Phillies-Mets: Phils lose 6-2 in Game 1; Pitching staff struggles in disastrous eighth inning

Zack Wheeler reared back and uncorked a four-seam fastball to Mets left fielder Brandon Nimmo in the first inning on Saturday that just skimmed the top of the strike zone. Nimmo waved at it, but had no chance. At 99 mph, it was the hardest pitch Wheeler has thrown all season.

Buoyed by the sellout crowd of 45,751 at Citizens Bank Park for Game 1 of the National League Division Series, every pitch in Wheeler’s arsenal trended faster than his season average across seven shutout innings. For 111 pitches, the Phillies’ ace gave everything he had, but it wasn’t enough. Wheeler’s offense and bullpen let him down in a 6-2 loss to the Mets to open the NLDS.

Following a leadoff homer from Kyle Schwarber in the bottom of the first, the Phillies’ bats fell completely silent. And when Wheeler was lifted for Jeff Hoffman to start the eighth inning with a 1-0 lead, the cracks started to show.

Zack Wheeler held the Mets to just one hit and four walks through his seven innings pitched.

But once Wheeler came out of the game, the Mets pounced immediately. Manager Rob Thomson needed three relievers to get through the top of the eighth inning, alone.

Hoffman allowed a leadoff single to Francisco Alvarez, a walk to Francisco Lindor, and an RBI single to Mark Vientos. Matt Strahm entered after Hoffman, with runners on second and third and allowed a single to Brandon Nimmo, a sacrifice fly to Pete Alonso, and a single to Jose Iglesias.

Before the game, Michael Neill told his family and friends that he has one wish: “I hope Schwarber hits one to my hand.”

And then the designated hitter did.

At his first at-bat of the game, Kyle Schwarber launched his first schwarbomb of the postseason. The lead-off shot made its way to the second deck behind center field. And after it bounced off the hand of another fan, it landed in front of Neill.

Lisa and John DeHoyos arrived at the stadium complex in south Philadelphia from their home in Staten Island around 11 a.m. After a quiet morning, tailgating in the parking lot, the Mets fans started to draw attention once they entered Citizen Bank Park.

“The tension was very high,” Lisa DeHoyos said. “We were booed since we walked in.”

The 36 year old New Yorker, wearing a jersey of Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo, is sitting in the outfield with her husband like a drop of black and orange in a sea of red. A few rows behind them, a couple from Hamburg, Pa. is holding a “FTM” sign (expletive The Mets).

This has been a busy week for Cristopher Sanchez.

He and his wife, Kaimary Perez, welcomed the birth of their first child on Monday. Sanchez found out he’d start Game 2 of the NLDS a few days after that.

“It’s just all been really special,” Sanchez said on Saturday. “I think there’s nothing that beats getting home to my kid right now. I’m just spending time with him, holding him every five minutes. Just all around, being all over him. That’s just something I can’t describe right now.

Armond McCloud came to Citizens Bank Park dressed for battle: orange Mike Piazza Mets jersey, blue wig, blue feather boa, blue mask.

McCloud, who didn’t want to give too many particulars about himself — “I’m from somewhere in South Jersey” — was subjected to a constant stream of heckling.

“Boo!” was the most common. “Nerd!” another person shouted, getting close to McCloud’s face.

It's difficult to prepare for an opposing starter who hasn’t pitched in a major league game since July 26. It’s even harder when that pitcher has one of the most unique pitches in Major League Baseball in his arsenal.

Enter Mets Game 1 starter Kodai Senga and his signature “ghost fork.” But what is that, exactly? And what makes it so unique?

A traditional forkball is slower than a splitter but has sharp downward break like a curveball, but the pitch has fallen out of style in MLB due to the physical demands of throwing it. The forkball is held between the index and middle fingers, in a similar grip to a splitter but deeper in the hand. As it’s released, the pitcher snaps his wrist hard in a downward motion. The snap is what gives the forkball its downward movement, but it also can lead to injury.

Bryce Harper was asked before Saturday’s Game 1 if Kodai Senga’s “ghost fork” looked different coming out of the Mets pitcher’s hand than a normal fork ball.

“It will in the shadows today, probably,” Harper said, introducing a likely storyline to the start of the National League Division Series.

The game’s late afternoon start is expected to cause the ballpark’s shadows to hang over home plate, potentially creating difficulties for hitters to decipher pitches.

When a young player reaches first base against the Phillies, sometimes Bryce Harper will greet him with some words of wisdom.

Encouraging the next generation of players is a way of giving back for the 31-year-old star. And Mets third baseman Mark Vientos was one player to benefit from it.

The Athletic reported in June that when Vientos reached first base during his rookie season in 2023, Harper gave him some insight on his swing. He told Vientos that he should rely on his power, rather than overswinging.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson said the shadows on the field that go along with a 4:08 p.m. start to Game 1 of the NLDS factored into his decision to start Johan Rojas in center field.

“There’s the potential that it’s going to be tough to score runs,” Thomson said Saturday before the Phillies take on the Mets. “I wanted the best defense available.”

Thomson opted for Rojas’ defense in center over Austin Hays’ bat in left field against Mets right-hander Kodai Senga. Brandon Marsh will start in left field.

The Phillies and Mets have played more than a thousand games against one another since New York entered the league in 1962, with the Phillies holding a slim 555-525-1 lead. Even more interesting, according to the database at Baseball-Reference.com, in those 1,081 games, they are separated by 10 measly runs (Phillies 4,595, Mets 4,585).

TEN!

As if October at Citizens Bank Park wasn’t electric enough, here come the Mets, who are in the middle of a fascinating season of their own. Should be fun.

Hours before the Phillies game started, superfans had already lined their cars up to get into tailgating lots. Their mission: bring the vibes.

Linda Slaughter (“as in kill, like kill the Mets”) is the OG: season tickets since 2002, knows the team’s stats like the back of her hand, can tell you which T-shirt vendor is new. Slaughter gathered with her daughter, Jennifer Murphy, her granddaughter Jillian Murphy and friends Jen Reigle and Liz Paul to set the tone ahead of the 4:08 p.m. first pitch.

It’s Zack Wheeler’s job to throw strikes and the offense’s job to ignite early — and it’s their job to counter the Mets fans traveling down for Game 1.

Rob Thomson has picked his roster. A few hours before the start of Game 1 of the NLDS against the Mets, the Phillies announced their roster for the opening round of the postseason. Here's a look...

Left-handed pitchers

Right-handed pitchers

The Mets and the Phillies are gearing up for their first-ever matchup in the postseason, but this outcome didn’t always look possible. Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen said the team hit rock bottom five games into the year, and when the teams met in their London Series, they couldn’t have been on more opposite trajectories. The Phillies had the best record in baseball while the Mets were floundering at the bottom of the standings.

So, what’s behind the turnaround? If you caught one of the broadcasts from the Mets-Brewers NL wild-card series, you likely heard a few references to Grimace or to “OMG.” Here’s what happened ...

On June 12, McDonald’s mascot Grimace threw out the first pitch at the Mets’ game against the Marlins.

Phillies ace Zack Wheeler — coming off a career year — will start in Game 1 today, and manager Rob Thomson announced who he'll be turning to in Games 2 and 3.

Cristopher Sánchez will start Game 2, and his home-and-away splits played a big role. The left-handed pitcher had a 2.21 ERA through 110 innings at home and a 5.02 ERA through 71⅔ innings on the road.

“Just looking at playing the Mets, going into Citi Field, I think it’s going to be a pretty hostile environment,” Thomson said. “And looking at Sánchez’s home-road splits, I just thought it was really the smartest thing to do.”

We knew to expect drama with this NLDS matchup, and the Mets delivered on Friday.

About 24 hours before first pitch, manager Carlos Mendoza announced that Kodai Senga would start Game 1 on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.

Senga has been injured all season, first with a right shoulder capsule strain. He was activated from the injured list on July 26 and pitched 5⅓ innings against the Braves, but reinjured himself in that outing and was placed on the injured list the next day with a left calf strain.

People say that bullpens matter more in the playoffs, and if that is true in this series, the Phillies should have an edge. New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz has good stuff, but can be erratic at times. Jose Buttó is their best multi-inning threat, but he looked vulnerable on Thursday night, giving up back-to-back home runs to the Brewers in the seventh.

Mets reliever Phil Maton looked vulnerable, too: He allowed the game-tying and go-ahead home runs to the Brewers in eighth inning of Wednesday’s Game 2.

The Mets have a 4.03 bullpen ERA (compared to the Phillies’ 3.94 bullpen ERA).

Game 1 of Phillies-Mets is scheduled to begin at 4:08 p.m. Eastern on Fox.

Calling the game will be play-by-play announcer Adam Amin, who made a reference to a Nick Castellanos home run interrupting former Fox announcer Thom Brennaman’s infamous on-air apology during the Phillies’ London series earlier this year.

In the booth alongside Amin will be analysts A.J. Pierzynski and Adam Wainwright. Tom Verducci will report from Citizens Bank Park.