Citi Field Becomes House of Horrors, Phillies Swept In Queens For Second Time This Season

It’s 10 losses in a row for the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field.

With just over a month’s worth of games remaining until the end of the regular season, the Phillies traveled up to Queens to take on the New York Mets in a three-game series. The teams had seven games left against each other on the schedule, with three in New York and four in Philadelphia.

The Fightins held a modest seven-game lead over the Metropolitans and had an opportunity to extend their lead against them heading into the final month of the regular season. However, the Phillies did the exact opposite of that.

The Phillies lost not one, not two, but three games, getting swept on the road against the Mets for the second time this season. All three games were embarrassing in their own way, with one being a blowout, one a failed comeback attempt that ended in a walk-off loss, and the finale an embarrassing domination on the Mets’ behalf.

In the series, the Phillies were outscored 25-8, were out-hit 38-22, and the worst of all was 3-for-22 with runners in scoring position. In comparison, the Mets were 21-37 with RISP and had clutch hit after clutch hit throughout the series.

The Phillies played a team that did everything the right way, and the Phillies looked like a team that was scared and hadn’t played a major league game in their entire life.

Losing the series is one thing. If they battled hard for three games, and they came up short in each one, you could walk away pissed, but at least know you were in it. However, they were embarrassed all series long.

The series started terribly, as despite an early showing of life, the team folded once they saw the slightest bit of adversity. Monday night, the Phillies got out to an early 3-0 lead with the best starting pitcher on their team on the mound in Cristopher Sanchez. Sanchez was cruising through the first three innings, but he hit a wall, and the rest of the team followed in his place.

The Mets scored three runs in the fourth to tie the game, and then went on to score at least one run in every remaining inning they hit in, eventually making it a 13-3 game. 13 unanswered runs, majority coming off your No.1 pitcher on your team due to Zack Wheeler‘s injury.

So they get punched in the mouth and lose the opener, you’d think they’d come back the next day and try to pick up a win. Nope, they get beaten again, only this time it comes in walkoff fashion. Like the night before, the Phillies went ahead, scoring two runs in the fifth, but right away they lost that lead as the Mets put a five-spot in the bottom half of the inning.

As the game went on, the Phillies were losing hope until Harrison Bader smoked a two-run game-tying home run in the eighth to tie the game, showing the first real sign of light from Philadelphia all series long. However, disaster came again as Phillies closer Jhoan Duran allowed four consecutive singles in the ninth, losing the game 6-5.

And then there’s last night’s game, where if the Phillies won, they would only lose one game on their lead in the division. They face Mets rookie pitcher Nolan McLean, and of course, he has his best start of his young career. McLean pitched eight shutout innings, allowing just three hits on his way to a 6-0 Mets win and sweep over the Phillies.

Everything imaginable went wrong for the Phillies. Bad starting pitching, bad relief pitching, lousy at-bats, no clutch hits, and overall just a soul-crushing approach all series long. And for the Mets, it was the opposite. While they struggled at times, they’re adversity was clearly there all series long.

They got clutch hits from not just the top of their order, but everyone contributed. Brandon Nimmo, Luis Torrens, Mark Vientos, and many more all continued to have great at-bats after great at-bats. Meanwhile, other than Bryce Harper and one at-bat from Bader, the Phillies couldn’t get going with Kyle Schwarber going 0-11 in the series, J.T. Realmuto going 0-12, and Trea Turner going 3-14.

All series long, it felt like it was the hardest thing for the Phillies pitchers to get through innings, just for the offense to come up in their half of the inning, and look like three easy outs. Not just this series, but it has been this way at Citi Field for the past four seasons, a stadium in which they have lost 24 of their last 30 games.

It’s no secret, the Mets have the Phillies’ number. While they were able to pick up a series at home earlier this season, the Mets have no doubt been the dominant team in the rivalry since the London series last season. You saw it in the postseason last year, you saw it in the first series in Queens this year. You thought the Phillies had taken it back once they won a series at home, but this most recent series continued the notion that the Mets own the Phillies right now.

If these two teams match up in the postseason once again, the Mets would have to be favored, and it probably wouldn’t be close. They can’t win at Citi Field. The Phillies now lead the Mets by four games in the NL East, and with four games still to play between the two teams, this division is very much either team’s for the taking.

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