Phillies to face Mets in postseason for first time ever
Yong Kim / The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Phillies have their NLDS opponent. And for the first time in the past two postseason, it is not the Braves.
The Mets took Game 1 of the Wild Card series in an 8-4 offensive battle. The Brewers battled back, forcing a loser-goes-home Game 3 with a 5-3 comeback win. In Game 3 on Thursday night, the first two runs came in the bottom of the seventh innings where Milwaulkee hit back-to-back homers off of José Butto. But in the top of the ninth with one out and two men on, Pete Alonso stroked a game-leading homer to right off Devon Williams, punching their ticket to Philadelphia, winning 4-2.
It is the first time the Mets have won a playoff series since 2015 when they lost the World Series in seven games to the Royals.
The Mets and Phillies have coexisted for 62 years, and this is the first time the rivals are meeting up in the postseason.
After such a dreadful start from the Mets, they have been the best team in baseball in the second half and battled in Game 161 for a playoff spot in a come-from-behind win over the Braves. It was rock bottom for them in April, now, Mets fans are treating Grimace like he is the next coming of God and singing OMG by their second baseman Jose Iglesias to the NLDS.
The Mets have power, plate discipline, and the capability to come together to get hits and score runs to come back late in games. It has happened multiple times this week and is ultimately what has led them to this point.
Their lineup is good and deep. Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Alonso, Mark Vientos, Iglesias, Jesse Winker, Starling Marte, and J.D. Martinez.
The pitching is not a wow like the Phillies’. The bullpen is pretty much just Edwin Diaz. But they are on right now. It reminds me of the 2022 Phillies, who came together and played great baseball with nothing to lose.
The Mets will come into Citizens Bank Park on Saturday at 4:08 p.m. ET for Game 1. The game will be broadcast on FOX. Sunday’s Game 2 is at the same time on FS1. Games 3 and 4 (if necessary) will be on Tuesday and Wednesday in Queens. And Game 5, if needed, returns to Philadelphia on Friday. Adam Amin, AJ Pierzynski, and Adam Wainwright will be on the call for the series.
Friday is the Mets’ first day off since Thursday, September 26. They have spent September 22 through October 4 on the road.
Former Met and Cy Young candidate Zack Wheeler will start for the Phillies on Saturday.
It originally seemed the Mets would start left-hander David Peterson, who had a 2.41 ERA in his last 11 starts, but he had closed out the Wild Card in the ninth inning Thursday. So, it could end up being Tylor Megill, Luis Severino on short rest, or a bullpen game for the Mets on Saturday afternoon. Severino, Sean Manaea, and Jose Quintana started in the wild-card round.
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Benjamin Goldstein
Benjamin has been covering Philly Sports for Philly Sports Reports since 2017. He is a podcaster, writer, and founder of Philly Sports Reports. Benjamin is also an intern at the WBCB Sports Network on 1490AM. Through Philly Sports Reports, Benjamin has gotten the opportunity to meet Phillies owner John Middleton in his suite and be honored as the Philadelphia sports fan of the week for KYW News Radio. He hopes to be reporting on Philly sports as a full-time job in the future.
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