Phillies exorcise no-hit loss against Mets with next-day 4-1 comeback win

NEW YORK — The Phillies left Citi Field hitless and humbled on Friday night. They arrived on Saturday afternoon with a different energy.

J.T. Realmuto jokingly practiced throwing his fastball to Rhys Hoskins while the team took batting practice. Seranthony Domínguez and Jeurys Familia played dominoes in the clubhouse before the game, while Mickey Moniak and Matt Vierling played cards a few feet away.

Their energy did not feel like that of a team that had been no-hit less than 24 hours earlier. But as Nick Castellanos said on Friday night, in a clubhouse that was as quiet as it had been all season, the Phillies needed to wash themselves of that loss. And they did just that on Saturday night, scrapping out a 4-1 win over the New York Mets.

“It’s big,” said manager Joe Girardi of the win. “Especially after [Friday] night, you want to bounce back. I think it was important that we bounced back and scored some runs. Tomorrow’s another tough game.”

» READ MORE: Five Mets pitchers combine to no-hit the Phillies in a 3-0 loss to the New York

The Phillies’ offense did not come out bats-a-swinging right away. Initially, it seemed like it’d be another night where the hits just weren’t going to fall. In the top of the fourth inning, Bryce Harper took one of Taijuan Walker’s splitters, and launched it 409 feet to deep center field, only to have it caught at the wall by Brandon Nimmo. Harper’s flyout would have been a home run in 18 of MLB’s 30 ballparks.

But then, in the seventh inning, the Mets brought in reliever Adam Ottavino. He struggled with his command, and the Phillies capitalized on that. Ottavino walked Realmuto, before allowing a game-breaking two-run home run to Kyle Schwarber.

Alec Bohm walked after that, stole second and went to third on a throwing error by Mets catcher James McCann. The next batter, Odúbel Herrera, drove him in with his second double of the game to make it 3-1.

The Mets brought in reliever Sean Reid-Foley after Herrera’s hit. He got Jean Segura to fly out to center, but didn’t have such luck in the eighth. Facing Rhys Hoskins, who entered the game 0-for-13, Reid-Foley served up a 403-foot homer to deep left-center field. It was Hoskins’ second home run of the season, and made it 4-1. The Phillies’ offense didn’t light up the scoreboard the same way it did against the Rockies in their four-game sweep at Citizens Bank Park, but the Phillies did show some fight, refusing to allow their hitless performance the night before to define their performance on Saturday.

A play that didn’t show up in the box score, but was one of the most important of the night, came in the bottom of the fourth inning. With two outs, Alec Bohm made a diving stop to save a hard-hit single by Mark Canha from dribbling down the line. The stop halted at least one run from scoring in the process. Bohm chose to hold the ball instead of throwing it to first, for which his teammates commended him.

“That’s a great play,” Schwarber said. “I think that’s probably the most underrated play of the game, because it saves a run and yeah, you don’t get the out, but the next guy up gets an out. He’s on his knees, he makes a throw, anything can happen. Maybe the guy keeps wheeling. I think that was the best decision possible right there, was to hold it and keep the run from scoring. Talk about a great backhand diving play there to keep the run.”

Right-handed pitcher Kyle Gibson put together a solid performance on Saturday night against a tough Mets lineup. He didn’t pitch as deep as he has in his previous outings, but allowed no earned runs and only two hits, striking out three. He struggled with his command a bit, mostly with his sinker — walking five batters, and committing a throwing error — but he helped keep the Phillies in the game.

Jose Alvarado inherited a stressful situation when he came in for Gibson in the bottom of the fifth inning, with the bases loaded and only one out. But he made quick work of the middle of the Mets lineup, striking out Eduardo Escobar and Jeff McNeil to end the inning, while throwing only one ball, and hitting 99 and 100 mph a few times.

“I was very happy to see my command of all my pitches,” Alvarado said. “It’s very important to me, especially in that situation. The team needed me.”

James Norwood and Seranthony Domínguez followed that up with two unflappable performances. Norwood pitched a flawless sixth inning with a strikeout, and Domínguez allowed only one hit over two-thirds of an inning pitched, striking out one.

The Phillies found themselves in another pressure cooker in the bottom of the eighth, when Jeurys Familia walked two batters, and Corey Knebel walked another to load the bases with two outs and Nimmo at the plate. But Knebel escaped the jam, inducing a groundout. He held the Mets to one hit in the ninth inning, and earned the save despite struggling with his command.

The Phillies play the final game of the three-game series against the Mets on Sunday at 7:08 p.m. (ESPN). Right-handed pitcher Zach Eflin (1-1, 3.20 ERA) will take on Mets ace right-hander Max Scherzer (3-0, 1.80 ERA).