File Photo /TheNYExtra.com
The Mets came to Philly knowing they had to face a team that had plenty of offense plus a rotation that carves out great performances on a regular basis. And Zack Wheeler illustrated that in the first inning striking out 2 in a quick 1-2-3 inning and then Kyle Schwarber followed with a solo homer greeting Kodai Senga with a long ball.
But much like they have all season the Mets took a deep breath and fought back as the bullpen threw 7 innings allowing only one run keeping the Mets in the game. And once again, a late inning magic spree gave the team the win.
This time it was the 8th inning as Francisco Alvarez hit a single followed by a Lindor walk that got the Mets jumpstarted after Wheeler handed the game over to the bullpen. Mark Vientos, Brandon Nimmo and Jose Iglesias carved out RBI hits sandwiched around sac flys from Pete Alonso and Starling Marte. And yes the Mets had another 5 run inning which is becoming mighty commonplace in the last few weeks.
This lineup is not afraid to take walks passing the baton down and with 2 strikes they have an approach that would make George Brett smile. They never overswing and just hit the ball where it is pitched creating a plethora of RBI hits. Sometimes, I watch thee innings and it seems like encore performances I have seen in previous games.
In a best of five, Game 1 is so crucial because it forces your opposition to win 3 of the next 4 games to win the series pretty much insuring at least a deciding Game 5 for the team that wins the opener. Add in the fact that the Mets were able to give Edwin Diaz an extra day of rest knowing Monday is already a day off. That means if needed you could see Diaz for 2 innings on Sunday.
The atmosphere here in Philly was electric and the team noticed it. The bottom line is the Met players know Citi will be electric as well and they know they could go there up 2-0 with a win on Sunday. And that fact could pressurize a Phils team that got 7 innings of 2 hit ball from their ace and still could not hold off the Mets in their home park.
So, tomorrow we will once again see an electric crowd and it will be real interesting to see the look in the Phils eyes if the Mets take an early lead. It could end up being the same look the Phils saw in the eyes of the Atlanta Braves when they upset the NL East winners in playoff time the past 2 years.
To quote the great Yogi Berra it could be deja vu all over again. Or more precisely, OMG all over again. Or as I have been saying all year, 1973 all over again.
