Phillies vs. Mets: Philly gets blown out by New York in Game 3 of the NLDS

The Phillies have lost four of their last five playoff games.

The first two losses eliminated the Phillies in a seven-game NLCS last season. The last two losses brought them to the brink of elimination in the NL Division Series. 

By the time the Phillies $800 million Big Four — Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner — got going Tuesday in Game 3, the game was over. 

When Kyle Schwarber turned an 0-2 count into a leadoff walk and Trea Turner walked behind him, it seemed like the Phillies were finally getting to Sean Manaea. The Mets’ bullpen sprang into action.

And then ...

Bryce Harper swung and missed three straight off-speed pitches, Nick Castellanos lined out to second, and Schwarber made a baserunning error — he broke for third on contact — and was doubled off second to end the inning.

Aaron Nola elevated a fastball in the second inning and Pete Alonso drilled it into the right field stands.

Nola elevated a fastball in the fourth inning and Jesse Winker drilled it into the right field stands.

Moral: Stop elevating fastballs.

Game 2 hero Nick Castellanos came through again in Inning 2 tonight ... eventually.

With Jose Iglesias on first and no outs, Castellanos ran down Jesse Winkler’s drive to right field, leapt, and caught it against the fence. Or did he?

In real time, it appeared that Castellanos’ impact with the fence caused the ball to jar loose. That would have put runners on first and second, and that was the initial call.

Outfielder Austin Hays got his first up-close look at Citizens Bank Park during the playoffs on Sunday when the Phillies evened up the National League Division Series against the Mets with a 7-6 victory.

Did it live up to the hype?

“Yeah, the Red October is real. It was awesome. That might have been the most fun baseball game I've been a part of,” said Hays, who was acquired from the Orioles during the trade deadline.

The last time the Phillies saw Mets’ Game 3 starter Sean Manaea in October, things didn’t go so well for the lefty.

As a member of the Padres in 2022, Manaea was called on from the bullpen in Game 4 of the NLCS to protect a one-run lead. But the Phillies knocked him around for 1 1/3 innings, and by the time Manaea’s night was over, they had scored five runs on him.

Nick Castellanos, Bryson Stott, and Bryce Harper all recorded hits, while former Phillie Rhys Hoskins hit his second homer of the game off of him.

The Phillies’ Game 4 starter didn’t end the regular season on the highest of notes. Ranger Suárez was lifted from his final start on Sept. 27 after only two innings, having allowed six runs to the Washington Nationals.

Although the second half of the regular season did not go the way Suárez hoped, Phillies manager Rob Thomson still has confidence that he’ll be back to his normal self when he takes the mound for the first time this postseason. So much confidence, in fact, that he’s trusting him with the ball in a game where the Phillies will either be in a clinching or elimination scenario.

Suárez has spent the 11 days since his last appearance refining his mechanics and delivery. He pitched in the intrasquad game last week, and Thomson and catcher J.T. Realmuto both said afterward that he had showed major improvements.

Bryson Stott hit the go-ahead triple in Game 2 on Sunday night, but that didn’t guarantee him a spot in the starting lineup for Game 3. The infielder, who has scuffled for most of this season, was not in there. Instead, Edmundo Sosa, who started for Alec Bohm at third base on Sunday, will get the start.

Manager Rob Thomson said it was a tough decision.

“Yeah, it was [tough],” Thomson said. “He’s had some numbers against [Mets starter Sean] Manaea. Manaea has been really tough against righties. He’s been tough against everybody, he’s really throwing the ball well. But Sosa is 4-for-8 with a homer. Just outweigh it a little bit. But it was tough.”

I didn’t fully appreciate the stakes of these playoffs until I thought they were over. The dirty little secret about famous people’s obituaries is that many of them are pre-written. Newspaper deadlines offer no accommodation, even for life’s ultimate ones. The same is true of obituaries for famously disappointing sports teams, particularly those that play their games in the evening.

Such was the case with the Phillies on Sunday night. As the boos and groans filled Citizens Bank Park and Game 2 of the National League Division Series marched toward what seemed to be its inevitable conclusion, I began to jot down my response to the only question that could be asked:

Where do they go from here?

As the Phillies charge through another Red October, they need backup — and Philly’s ready to deliver.

Tickets are tough to snag, with most going to the lucky few who hit the playoff lottery. But that doesn’t mean Philadelphians can’t cheer on the Fightin’ Phils from home — or at your favorite local watering hole.

Dozens of bars and restaurants across the city will not only be playing the Phillies playoff (and hopefully, World Series) games with sound on, but they’ll be offering drink and food specials to go with it.

 Alec Bohm’s benching didn’t last very long.

It was actually over six-and-a-half innings into Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the Mets when he pinch-hit for Edmundo Sosa, who had started at third base over him. But Phillies manager Rob Thomson announced that Bohm will officially return to the starting lineup for Tuesday’s Game 3 with Mets lefty Sean Manaea on the mound.

The decision to sit him to start Game 2 came after Bohm went 0-for-4 in Game 1 and showed some frustration by breaking his helmet after his last at-bat. Thomson had hoped that starting Sosa would help inject some energy in the lineup, but he ended up turning back to Bohm late in the game when Sosa went hitless.

Since 2022, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola have formed a one-two punch in the Phillies’ playoff rotation. Nola has taken the ball for Game 2 of a series four times, of which the Phillies have won three. Before now, the only times that he has strayed from that pattern is when the length or timing of a series requires it.

When he got the news that Cristopher Sánchez would start Game 2, however, Nola didn’t take it as a slight. He said he was happy to see Sánchez get the opportunity.

“I was fine with it,” Nola said on Monday. “Whatever I can do to try to contribute and try to put the team in the best chance to win in a playoff game, whether it’s home or road, I was fine with. [Citi Field] is a pretty cool place to play. Pretty cool place to pitch.”

One New York sports talker was in Citizens Bank Park Sunday to watch the Phillies dramatic victory over the Mets, and came away with a pointed opinion of Philly fans.

“They were so disgusting, and such awful human beings,” said WFAN host Evan Roberts. “Imagining them celebrating a championship actually pains me."

Roberts, whose cohost is former Giants running back Tiki Barber, didn't outline any specific bad behavior by Phillies fans. But when the Mets took a 3-0 lead, he said he wondered if he and his family would be able to leave Citizens Bank Park safely.

Game 3 of Phillies-Mets is scheduled to begin at 5:08 p.m. Eastern on FS1.

Calling the game will be play-by-play announcer Adam Amin. In the booth alongside Amin will be analysts A.J. Pierzynski and Adam Wainwright. Tom Verducci will report from Citi Field.

A Spanish broadcast of the game will air on Fox Deportes, with Carlos Alvarez and Jaime Motta on the call.

The National League divisional series between the Phillies and New York Mets is currently tied 1-1.

The series moves from Citizens Bank Park to Citi Field for Games 3 and 4, with a potential Game 5 taking place back in Philadelphia.

Here's the full schedule:

The Phillies and Mets enter Game 3 of their divisional round playoff series tied 1-1. They're not alone.

The three other divisional round series are also tied 1-1 heading into their Game 3s, the first time that's happened in league history, according to MLB writer and stats expert Sarah Langs.

The divisional series was added to MLB's postseason schedule on a permanent basis in 1993, though it was first used in 1981 due to a mid-season players' strike that forced the season to be divided into two halves. That year the Phillies, coming off their World Series victory, lost to the Montreal Expos in their first and only postseason appearance.