OMG The Mets have a pumpkin, Grimace and the momentum the Phillies need

by Matt Breen
Published Oct. 5, 2024, 9:45 p.m. ET

A pumpkin sat Saturday night on the top shelf of Pete Alonso’s locker, three oversize letters — OMG — were on the clubhouse floor, and a staffer cleaned the dirt off a pair of cleats inspired by Ronald McDonald’s best friend. The Mets came to Philly with a playoff pumpkin, an anthem sung by their 34-year-old infielder, and an affinity for Grimace. They also carried with them the momentum from a wild week, a ride that stunned the Phillies in the opener of the National League Division Series.

“We’ve been doing this all year,” Alonso said after the Mets’ 6-2 win. “We’re just a gritty bunch. It’s a special group. It’s a great vibe. A lot of good things are going our way right now.”

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The Mets have not been home since Sept. 22 and they snuck into the playoffs on the season’s final day with a ninth-inning rally in Atlanta. They eliminated the Brewers in the wild-card round with an even more dramatic ninth-inning rally. So of course they won Saturday behind a pitcher who last pitched in July and five eighth-inning runs after going 1-for-21 in the first seven innings. Credit the pumpkin, the song, or the purple thing.

NLDS: Mets defeat Phillies 3-1

Game 1: Mets 6, Phillies 2 | Hayes | Murphy

Game 2: Phillies 7, Mets 6 | Hayes | Murphy

Game 3: Mets 7, Phillies 2 | Hayes | Murphy

Game 4: Mets 4, Phillies 1 | Hayes | Murphy

“Every team has that winning song,” said shortstop Francisco Lindor. “You definitely need stuff like that during the year. Then there’s stuff that the fans bring up. But at the end of the day, we have to play the game the right way.”

It’s hard to quantify momentum, but the Mets seem to be riding something. They finished the season six games back of the Phillies, but they have baseball’s best record since June 1. They entered the postseason on a four-month heater.

The Phillies had that two years ago when they made the playoffs as the last seed, won three straight postseason series that started on the road, and reached the World Series. The Diamondbacks followed a similar path last year. Saturday was just one game but those familiar vibes were felt in the visitor’s clubhouse.

“One of the things we’ve talked about is just finishing the game all the way to the ninth inning,” said third baseman Mark Vientos. “And the game is never over until the ninth. We’ve kind of been running with that mentality. I feel like the past week in Atlanta. Then the last game in Milwaukee we kind of showed that and it’s giving us more confidence for that.”

The Mets were helpless against Zack Wheeler on Saturday — “He was throwing airplanes,” J.D. Martinez said — but rallied once the bullpen phone rang.

“He was almost unhittable,” Alonso said. “He was electric. That was definitely the best I’ve ever seen him. We weren’t upset when he exited the game.”

Francisco Alvarez slapped a leadoff single as four straight Mets reached base to take the lead. The rally-towel crazed ballpark that roared for the first seven innings was hushed by a momentum train that has been riding for a week.

» READ MORE: Murphy: The Phillies just lost a near-must-win Game 1. The bats better arrive fast in Game 2.

“I believe in momentum. I do believe in momentum,” said outfielder Brandon Nimmo. “And I believe that, you know, we have confidence right now. We have recent examples of coming back. I believe in the hard work that we’ve done and I believe in the preparation that these guys do each and every day. But momentum is a big thing. And having confidence is a big thing. And the guys are showing a lot of that right now.”

Alonso bought the small pumpkin earlier this week at a farm while the team was in Milwaukee and unveiled it during Thursday’s locker room celebration after his ninth-inning homer, the signature moment in the career of the face of the team, knocked off the Brewers. He called it the playoff pumpkin as nothing is “more fall” than postseason baseball and pumpkins.

Alonso wears purple cleats because fans credit Grimace — the purple creature from McDonaldland — for turning the team’s tide in June after throwing out a first pitch at Citi Field. And the Mets celebrate home runs by posing in the dugout with an “OMG” cutout, the title of the chart-topping song Iglesias performed on the field after a game this season in Queens.

The Mets have momentum. They’re also having fun as the loose group believes they can win a game after being silenced for the first seven innings.

“When you compete, it’s just a matter of time,” Iglesias said.

The Phillies last lost the first game of a postseason series in 2010 and they have never won a playoff series after dropping the first game. The crowd was electric, and the starting pitcher performed as advertised, but the offense was listless after Kyle Schwarber’s leadoff blast. They spent the week at Citizens Bank Park resting. It was a needed break, Bryce Harper said. The Mets spent it picking pumpkins and building momentum as their wild ride kept rolling.

“Momentum is real,” Lindor said. “But at the end of the day, you have off days in between and you face different pitchers every day. So you can call it momentum. You can also call it baseball.”

» READ MORE: Hayes: Heart-less Phillies collapse again in Game 1 of the NLDS vs. the Mets, like they did in the NLCS last year