PHILADELPHIA — As his outing neared an end and the New York Mets threatened to score, Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler stared down a familiar face: Juan Soto, who didn’t seem to care whatsoever about being booed by the Citizens Bank Park crowd for the third time, settled into his signature stance in the batter’s box.
This high-profile showdown would be Wheeler’s last batter on Friday night. He was at 92 pitches with two outs in the fifth inning. The Phillies gave him a two-run lead. But there was a runner on second base. Despite not having his best command, things were going alright for Wheeler until Soto suddenly represented the tying run at the plate. Plus, he would drive up his pitch count. So there was almost no chance Wheeler could come back out to pitch the sixth. However, he could still finish on a positive note. All he needed to do to neutralize the Mets’ offensive threat was retire Soto, the batter he’s faced the second-most in his 11-year career.
The odds were in Wheeler’s favor because the Mets were showing cracks. Even though New York had increased its division lead over the Phillies to 5 1/2 games last Thursday — the largest gap between the National League East rivals this season — by the time the Mets played the Phillies in the series opener on Friday, they had lost six consecutive games and were tied with the Phillies for first place. Not that he needed it, but Wheeler had plenty of incentive to try and put up another zero against his former team before his manager, Rob Thomson, turned to the bullpen.
Before the fifth inning, Soto drew a walk in each of his two at-bats against Wheeler, which was something the Mets slugger could anticipate when facing the imposing 6-foot-4 right-hander. They used to go up against each other all the time in the NL East, when Soto was a Washington National and Wheeler was a Met. Soto has two home runs, 15 walks, and a .864 OPS in 64 career plate appearances against Wheeler. Freddie Freeman is the only batter that Wheeler has faced more frequently than Soto in his career.
“It’s always a good, competitive at-bat,” Wheeler said of pitching to Soto. “We’ve faced each other a lot over the years. I always enjoy facing him.”
After a six-year hiatus, they’re back in the same division again. Everything about it was familiar, from the way Soto clenched his jaw and looked out in obvious rage toward the mound, to the way Wheeler was determined to step up to the challenge and execute his best pitch mix. The sold-out crowd of 44,432 was on its feet, living and dying on every pitch for a fifth-inning face-off that felt much bigger than a mid-June regular-season matchup.
Wheeler knew Soto was his last batter of the night, so he intended to leave it all out there. And he wasn’t going to let Soto beat him again. Still, wavering with his command, borderline pitches from Wheeler were met with pushback from Soto and the Phillies dugout, each side wanting the calls to go their way. Finally, the count full, the Phillies ace got Soto to whiff on a nasty sweeper and the crowd erupted. Wheeler was feeling it.
He’s usually unemotional when he goes to work on the mound. But tensions were high, the game was tight, and this was an exception. After striking out Soto, Wheeler uncharacteristically chirped at the home-plate umpire on his way back into the Phillies dugout. No matter that he escaped the inning unscathed, Wheeler was irritated with Jonathan Parra’s calls, anyway. Soto, meanwhile, was just as agitated, but by the result of the at-bat. His fury was written all over his face as he watched Wheeler put the finishing touch on his hard-fought, 98-pitch outing.
“It didn’t go the way I wanted it to early on, but probably in the fourth inning is when I started feeling good,” Wheeler said after the Phillies 8-2 win over the Mets. “It was a grind at the beginning. Struggling a little bit to find the zone, and my command. I had to fight through it and keep putting up zeroes no matter if my pitch count was getting high. I knew it was going to be one of those games.”
Maybe this division rivalry hasn’t reached the San Diego Padres-Los Angeles Dodgers level of hatred. But it’s clear the Mets and Phillies dial up the intensity when they face each other. This clash between two of the top five teams in Major League Baseball reached new heights after the Mets defeated the Phillies in the NLDS last October, which was followed by a three-game sweep of the Phils in April. The Mets were stepping on their necks, but the Phillies weren’t going to just sit there and take it.
This meant that when the series opened at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night, there was a chance it would be must-watch television — and man, did they deliver.
After Wheeler walked off the mound, the Mets immediately clobbered the Phillies bullpen. Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil hit back-to-back home runs off right-hander Taijuan Walker to tie the game at 2-2 in the top of the sixth inning. The air was sucked out of the stadium as fans, screaming their heads off just an inning prior, fell completely silent after New York’s offensive response. Just like that, the Mets erased Wheeler’s hard work and were back in the game. Suddenly, it seemed like it was going to be a long night.
But the Phillies (46-30) wasted no time making loud contact, putting together a six-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning that was punctuated by Bryson Stott’s wild and wacky three-run double.
After Stott’s sharp flyball bounced off the left-field wall, J.T. Realmuto took off from first base so fast that he flat out caught up to Nick Castellanos at second base. Together, they sprinted home, with Realmuto literally on Castellanos’ heels, less than a step out from colliding with him. Realmuto said he was urging Castellanos to pick up speed. As he was rounding third, he came to the realization that they would either both be out at home, or both be safe. Fortunately for the Phillies, it was the latter.
“I kind of felt like I was playing a Little League game with that play,” Realmuto said. “Even getting back in the dugout, everybody was laughing and having fun with it. It was just a different scenario than you usually see in the game. So being able to have that fun and just laugh in the dugout, it was a special moment.”
The Phillies’ statement-making six-run lead took the Mets out of the game for good. New York is soul-searching after being handed its seventh consecutive loss, three of which came against the division-rival Braves in Atlanta. The Mets handed the Phillies first place in the NL East, and now they’re in danger of falling into a deeper hole if they don’t find a way to play better — and soon.
The Mets (45-31) on Monday will open a three-game series against the Braves, who are 11 games behind the Phillies but still look like a strong club that could quickly get back into the race. Things can change fast around here; just ask the Mets. A couple of months ago, they looked unstoppable when they outscored the Phillies 14-8 at Citi Field. But now, they’re dealing with injury hits to their pitching staff, and a whole host of questions about their inability to cash in with runners in scoring position.
“Collectively, as a group, whether it’s defensively or offensively, we’re not necessarily in sync on either side of the ball right now,” Mets first baseman Pete Alonso said after Friday’s loss. “I just think as a group we’re not playing clean baseball. We’re not playing up to our potential. It’s not our standard. How we’ve been playing doesn’t match the talent or the standard that we set for ourselves.”
And yet, there’s still plenty of season left to turn it around. One thing is for sure, this rivalry never disappoints. Beginning Saturday, the Mets and Phillies are set to face each other nine more times before the regular season is over. After that, who knows? Maybe, just maybe, another rematch in the NLDS is in store. So, brace yourselves. More drama-filled encounters await.
Mets vs. Phillies Highlights | MLB on FOX
Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
