Field Level Media
Jul 6, 2019
Tomas Nido's three-run double capped a wild fifth inning Saturday night and gave the host New York Mets the lead for good in a 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Mets won for just the third time in 12 games. The Phillies fell to 9-16 since June 9 -- though they are 5-1 against the Mets in that span.
Until Nido's hit, the Mets were in danger of seeing more people ejected than runners cross home plate in the fifth.
With one out and the Phillies up 4-3, Todd Frazier was plunked by Phillies starter Jake Arrieta (8-7). Frazier, who was also hit on Friday, glared at Arrieta as he slowly walked to first base. Home plate umpire Tripp Gibson then warned both benches, at which point Frazier stormed off first base and began yelling at Gibson before he was ejected.
Dominic Smith doubled on the next pitch. Amed Rosario was then hit by a pitch -- the third time Arrieta hit a Mets batter Saturday -- but when Arrieta wasn't ejected, Mets manager Mickey Callaway bolted out of the dugout and earned himself an ejection. But Nido then cleared the bases on a 1-0 pitch in the next at-bat to give the Mets a 6-4 lead.
The rally made a winner out of starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard (6-4), who gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out three over five innings.
The Mets' beleaguered bullpen, which entered Saturday with an 8.01 ERA in the previous 35 games, preserved the lead for Syndergaard by allowing one run over the final four innings. Edwin Diaz earned his 19th save with a scoreless ninth in which he allowed one hit and struck out one.
Arrieta allowed a season-high six runs (and tied a season high with five earned runs) on a season-high 11 hits while walking none and striking out four over 4 1/3 innings.
The teams traded early rallies once the game began after a 46-minute weather delay (though it didn't actually rain). Michael Conforto gave the Mets the lead with an RBI double in the first before the Phillies went ahead 3-1 on a two-run homer by Jay Bruce and a solo shot by Maikel Franco in the second.
Jeff McNeil's RBI single, his second of four hits, pulled the Mets within 3-2 in the second before Rhys Hoskins extended the Phillies' lead to 4-2 with an RBI double in the third. Smith answered with a double in the bottom of the inning, with an error by center fielder Scott Kingery allowing Frazier to score and again close Philadelphia's lead to a run.
Two innings after Nido's double, Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto hit an RBI single in the seventh to bring the Phillies to within 6-5.
--Field Level Media