By Will Sammon, Matt Gelb, Tim Britton and Jen McCaffrey
NEW YORK — The New York Mets are one win away from clinching the National League Division Series.
On the strength of seven commanding innings from Sean Manaea, two solo homers from Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker and a clutch two-run single from Starling Marte, the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-2, to take a 2-1 series lead.
Until Tuesday, Manaea had struggled in four previous postseason appearances, but his performance against the Phillies marked his best October outing by far. The left-hander pitched seven scoreless innings before allowing the first batter, Edmundo Sosa, to reach in the eighth and exiting to a standing ovation. Sosa later came around to score as Manaea finished with on run allowed on three hits and two walks, striking out six.
The Mets offense gave him an early lead and some late insurance.
For the third time in four games, Alonso homered to put the Mets on the board in the second. After just missing a homer in his first at-bat on a catch against the wall in right by Nick Castellanos, Winker made it 2-0 with a mammoth shot into the upper deck at Citi Field in the fourth inning.
The Mets had one homer in their first four postseason games, but now have six in their last two games.
Manaea ran into trouble in the bottom of the sixth, walking the first two batters before a momentum-shifting strikeout of Bryce Harper followed by a timely double play as Castellanos lined out to second baseman Jose Iglesias, who flipped to shortstop Francisco Lindor to end the inning.
Phillies starter Aaron Nola, who led the National League with 30 homers allowed this season, failed to record an out in the sixth as the first three batters reached base. Reliever Orion Kerkering nearly got out of the bases-loaded jam, but with two outs, Marte’s two-run single extended the Mets’ lead.
One inning later, Iglesias gave the Mets further insurance, driving in two more runs on a single with the bases loaded. In the bottom of the eighth, Lindor drove in another run for the Mets with a double to score J.D. Martinez.
The Phillies tacked on two runs in the eighth on RBI singles from Harper and Castellanos.
Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday at 5:08 p.m. ET.
Sean Manaea was masterful
Even though the Mets had a day off Monday, it was imperative for Manaea to go as deep as possible on Tuesday. Put simply, the Mets’ bullpen is reeling from an unavoidable high workload the past couple of weeks, and signs of fatigue have been showing. Also, they just don’t have a bevy of attractive options for high-leverage situations. By pitching into the eighth inning, Manaea got the job done.
Manaea masterfully mixed things up. After throwing just one changeup since the All-Star break to a left-handed batter, the lefty relied on the pitch during a pivotal sixth inning. He threw four left-on-left changeups, none bigger than a swinging strike to start an at-bat against Bryce Harper with runners on first and second. Manaea ended up striking out Harper on three pitches, using back-to-back sweepers. Both the sweeper and changeup acted as effective complements to the sinker, his main offering. He deftly used all three pitches to hold the Phillies to one run, three hits and two walks against him, and also hit two batters.
The Mets signed Manaea in the offseason to stabilize their rotation. Instead, he led it. Through six postseason games, the Mets have received at least six innings from their starting pitcher four times. (Kodai Senga’s two-inning start in Game 1 of the NLDS was designed to be short.) Manaea’s stands out as the best of the bunch.
A missed opportunity cemented the game
The Mets’ bullpen stirred as Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner worked back-to-back walks to begin the sixth inning. It was still a two-run game. Reed Garrett, a righty reliever, warmed up fast. New York’s pitching coach, Jeremy Hefner, visited the mound to talk to Manaea, who would have to throw strikes to Harper with the tying runs on base.
Manaea was on the ropes.
But Harper flailed at all three pitches Manaea threw him. Nick Castellanos lashed an 0-2 changeup right at the second baseman for an easy double play. Those three outs on six pitches (plus two insurance runs in the bottom half of the inning) nudged the Mets toward keeping Manaea in the game. He breezed through the seventh inning, needing only seven pitches.
It looked all too familiar for the Phillies. The Schwarber and Turner walks were two of their better at-bats of the night. Manaea’s command wavered, then the Phillies made it easier for him by hacking.
They took better at-bats in the game’s first three innings but had nothing to show for them. Austin Hays, a righty hitter inserted into the lineup to combat Manaea, was not effective. Hays went 0-for-3 and saw a mere eight pitches. The Phillies could opt for Weston Wilson in left field against another Mets lefty starter in Game 4.
Pete Alonso stays hot
Sixteen days ago, before his final plate appearance in the final scheduled Mets home game of the regular season, Alonso received a standing ovation.
“It was storybook,” he said.
He had no idea.
While Alonso and the Mets always expressed optimism they’d be back again at Citi Field this season, they couldn’t have imagined the circumstances — the series of mind-bending wins they’ve compiled to get here, and Alonso’s seismic role in them.
So when he came to the plate for the first time Tuesday, there was nothing but love from a fan base whose support of Alonso had previously wavered this season. And he gave them plenty of reasons to cheer again.
Alonso took Nola’s first-pitch fastball the other way for his third home run in the last four games — all of them to the opposite field — to open the scoring. He continued his mastery of Nola, who he’s now taken yard six times in just over 50 at-bats.
Aaron Nola loses command at an inopportune moment
For the first five innings, Nola limited the damage. He threw two meatballs to Alonso and Winker that landed for long solo homers. But he threw strikes while Mets hitters took aggressive first-pitch swings. He lost control in the sixth, beginning with a stellar, eight-pitch at-bat by Mark Vientos. He singled to left.
Nola walked Brandon Nimmo, which prompted a mound visit. The Phillies had a righty (Orion Kerkering) and a lefty (Matt Strahm) ready in the bullpen. They let Nola face Alonso for a third time. He worked a six-pitch walk to load the bases.
Kerkering was one pitch from escaping unscathed. The inning might have unfolded differently had Kerkering faced Alonso – or had Edmundo Sosa cleanly fielded a nubber hit to him with the infield in. The Phillies might have turned a double play. They settled for one out at the plate.
Nola’s outing, until the sixth, was fine. But, without run support, the Phillies needed something even better.
(Photo of Sean Manaea: Elsa / Getty Images)
