Takeaways after Phillies rally back in 8th inning to waste a great deGrom start

It’s just as Metsy and it getsy… am I right?

As they might’ve been shut down for most of the night by New York Mets starter Jacob deGrom, the Philadelphia Phillies rallied back for five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning Monday night and came away with a 5-3 victory.

Here are three takeaways:

The 8th

The Phillies got the job done here.

Aaron Loup hit Bryce Harper with a pitch with the bases loaded for the Phillies’ first run.

J.T. Realmuto singled home the tying run.

The Phils went ahead, 4-2, on a two-run throwing error by third baseman Luis Guillorme.

Didi Gregorius capped the rally with a sacrifice fly to right.

deGrom is elite, again

Two time NL Cy Young winner deGrom allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out seven in six innings.

He seemed to have plenty left in his tank when he exited at 77 pitches. His pre-game target was said to be 100 pitches. The Phils were surely happy to see him go.

DeGrom’s fastball topped out at 102 mph in the second inning. Gregorius singled to left field on the pitch.

According to research by Kenny Ayres of the Phillies media relations department, it was the hardest thrown pitch to be struck for a base hit in the majors since Baltimore’s Renato Nunez singled on a 102.2-mph fastball from the Yankees’ Aroldis Chapman on August 14, 2019. It was the hardest thrown pitch to be struck for a hit by a Phillie since Ryan Howard singled on a 102.2-mph fastball from Atlanta’s Mauricio Cabrera on September 2, 2016.

The Mets are 0-1. Their season-opening three-game series was postponed in Washington after four Nationals players tested positive for COVID-19.

Bullpen pulls it out again

Monday night was starter Matt Moore’s Phillies debut. And he went through a 31-pitch third inning and allowed two runs in the fourth inning.

Moore did not make it out of the inning.

The bullpen, which delivered 7⅓ scoreless innings in a season-opening three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves, was amazing once again in keeping the game close.

Brandon Kintzler, Sam Coonrod, and Connor Brogdon combined on 4⅔ shutout innings to give the offense a chance to rally in the eighth.

Jose Alvarado allowed three hits and a run in the ninth. Mets cleanup hitter Pete Alonso, the potential go-ahead run, flied out to the warning track in right field to end the game. Bryce Harper ran into the wall making the catch.

The Phillies’ bullpen was the worst in the majors last year with a 7.06 ERA. In four games this season, it has allowed just one run in 13 innings.

Hector Neris got the night off as Phillies manager Joe Girardi does not like to use relievers three straight days. 

Up next

Right-hander Chase Anderson makes his Phillies debut in the second game of the series Tuesday night. Marcus Stroman will pitch for the Mets.