2024 National League Division Series 2

2024 National League Division Series

New York Mets 89 - 73 in the NL	3 - 1 Series Summary	Philadelphia Phillies 95 - 67 in the NL

Overview[edit]

The Teams[edit]

Managers: Phillies: Rob Thomson | Mets: Carlos Mendoza

Phillies

Mets

Umpires[edit]

Andy Fletcher, Edwin Moscoso, Doug Eddings, James Hoye (Crew Chief), Carlos Torres and Rob Drake

John Tumpane replaced Drake in Game 4 after Drake had to leave the previous game due to a medical issue.

Series results[edit]

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	New York Mets 6 Philadelphia Phillies 2	October 5	Kodai Senga (0-0) Zack Wheeler (0-0)	4:08 pm
2	New York Mets 6 Philadelphia Phillies 7	October 6	Luis Severino (0-0) Cristopher Sanchez (0-0)	4:08 pm
3	Philadelphia Phillies 7 New York Mets 2	October 8	Aaron Nola (0-1) Sean Manaea (1-0)	5:08 pm
4	Philadelphia Phillies 1 New York Mets 4	October 9	Ranger Suarez (0-0) José Quintana (0-0)	5:08 pm

Results[edit]

Game 1 @ Citizens Bank Park[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Mets	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1	6	8	0
Phillies	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	5	0
WP: Reed Garrett (1-0); LP: Jeff Hoffman (0-1)
Home Runs: PHI - Kyle Schwarber (1)

Attendance: 45,751

The Mets continued to display their uncanny ability to come from behind in Game 1, as they built their 6-2 win on a great 8th inning in which they scored five runs off three of the Phillies' top relievers. Before that, they had been completely muzzled by Zack Wheeler, who continued his string of great postseason starts dating back to 2022. The Mets pulled off a bit of a surprise in naming their starting pitcher, as Kodai Senga took the mound after making just one start during the regular season, and that back in July, after which he was on the injured list until this game. It was a bold bet, but Senga had been among the top pitchers in the majors in his first season in 2023 and also had years of experience pitching in Japan.

As mentioned, Wheeler had a great start, giving up just one hit, a softly hit ball by Mark Vientos to lead off the 4th that landed for a single. He did walk four batters during his seven innings on the mound, but was never in trouble. It was a masterful performance by an outstanding pitcher and in another day and age he would have been left on the mound to finish what he had started, but today, after making 111 pitches, he was never going to go any longer than he did. In contrast, Senga gave up a monster homer to Kyle Schwarber on just his second pitch, a ball that left his bat at 119 mph and ended up in the upper deck in right field. It looked like Senga was in for a tough afternoon, but he recovered very well as, after the blast, he only gave up a walk in two innings. The Mets were not planning for a long outing on his part anyway, and David Peterson was ready to step in in the 3rd. He also pitched very well, giving up just one hit - a single to Schwarber - over three innings, after which Reed Garrett followed with two more hitless and scoreless innings. As a result, it was still just 1-0 after seven innings.

The turning point in this game was immediately obvious for all to see: as soon as the Phillies' bullpen was called into action, it completely fell apart. Jeff Hoffman was the first man to come out in the 8th, and he gave up a single to Francisco Alvarez, only the Mets' second safety of the game. Alvarez immediately gave way to pinch-runner Harrison Bader while Francisco Lindor drew a walk. Bader scored on a single by Vientos while Lindor advanced to third base. The game was now tied and lefty Matt Strahm replaced Hoffman, and while he threw 17 pitches and they were all strikes, it would probably would have been a better idea to throw a few outside the strike zone and try to have the Phillies' hitters chase them. Instead, the results were a single by Brandon Nimmo that gave Philadelphia its first lead, a sacrifice fly by Pete Alonso, and a single by José Iglesias after he had fouled off seven straight pitches. Out came Strahm, in came Orion Kerkering, but the results were no better: pinch-hitter J.D. Martinez singled to drive in a fourth run, and Starling Marte hit another sacrifice fly. By the time Tyrone Taylor popped up to the catcher for the third out, the Phillies had a 5-1 lead and the ballpark was eerily quiet. The Mets were unable to reply against Phil Maton in the bottom of the inning, stranding two baserunners, and both teams scored a largely meaningless run in the 9th, to make the final score 6-2.

Game 2 @ Citizens Bank Park[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Mets	0	0	2	0	0	1	1	0	2	6	11	1
Phillies	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	3	1	7	10	1
WP: Jeff Hoffman (1-1); LP: Tylor Megill (0-1)
Home Runs: NY - Mark Vientos 2 (2), Pete Alonso (1), Brandon Nimmo (1); PHI - Bryce Harper (1), Nick Castellanos (1)

Attendance: 45,679

Game 2 was a thriller featuring a number of dramatic lead changes, before the Phils eventually came out on top in what was almost a must-win game for them, with a dramatic game-ending hit with two outs in the bottom of the 9th. The Phillies had decided to send Cristopher Sanchez to start the game, largely based on the fact that he had a much better record at home than on the road, leaving Aaron Nola for Game 3 in New York; they also replaced 3B Alec Bohm by the better-fielding Edmundo Sosa, motivated by the fact that Sanchez was a ground-ball pitcher. There were no such considerations for the Mets: it was Luis Severino's turn to take the mound, and that is what he did.

There was only one scoring play through the first five innings and it came in the 3rd inning when Francisco Lindor singled with one out and Mark Vientos followed with a two-run homer. There had been a few runners in scoring position before that, when Vientos hit a double in the 1st, and when José Iglesias hit an infield single and made it to second on a wild throw by Sosa, who was there for his defensive work, need we remind you, in the 2nd inning. That said, both starters were solid, but Rob Thomson decided to turn to his bullpen in the top of the 6th, and Jose Ruiz gave up a solo homer to Pete Alonso to make it 3-0. Citizens Bank Park was pretty quiet by then, but after two outs in the bottom of the 6th, things turned around very quickly: Trea Turner singled, Bryce Harper followed with a long homer off the batter's eye in center, and Nick Castellanos followed with a solo shot. The score was tied at the end of six innings.

In the 7th, the Phillies took the lead again and on another long ball, this one a solo shot by Brandon Nimmo off Orion Kerkering. In the bottom of the inning, José Butto took over for Severino, but he ran into trouble by plunking the first batter he faced, J.T. Realmuto. He retired the next two batters, but then gave up a single to Kody Clemens. With the top of the order coming up, Carlos Mendoza turned to his closer, Edwin Diaz, to face Kyle Schwarber and Diaz prevailed, ending the inning by striking out Hulk on a full count. Needing to keep the game close, Thomson also went to his closer, Carlos Estevez in the top of the 8th and he did a great job, retiring the Phils in order and needing just eight pitches to do so. Diaz was still pitching in the bottom of the 8th, but he coughed up the one-run lead: after striking out Turner, he walked Harper and gave up a single to Castellanos, putting runners on the corners. Bryson Stott followed with a triple to the right field corner to give the Mets their first lead of the game, 5-4. That was it for Diaz, who was replaced by Tylor Megill. Realmuto then hit a dribbler towards third; Stott was running home on the play, and when Vientos tried to field the ball quickly in order to throw home, he bobbled it and everyone was safe, with the lead now 6-4.

Thomson then made what could have been a disastrous decision, which was to remove his closer, Estevez, and ask Matt Strahm to try to get the save with a two-run lead. And as had been the case in Game 1, Strahm was not able to do the job, giving up a one-out single to Lindor, followed by Vientos's second homer of the game. The Mets had done it again, avoiding what looked like certain defeat by tying up the score again at the last moment. However, the Phils still had a chance to avoid extra innings, if they could also score in their half of the 9th. Megill was still on the mound, and he struck out the first batter he faced, Austin Hays then got Schwarber to pop up to third base. But the third out never came. Turner drew a walk, and so did Harper, as Megill was very careful around him. But next up was Castellanos, who had already had two big hits in this game, and he did it again, hitting the ball into deep left field to end the game. The series was tied at one win apiece.

Game 3 @ Citi Field[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Phillies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	5	1
Mets	0	1	0	1	0	2	2	1	x	7	9	0
WP: Sean Manaea (1-0); LP: Aaron Nola (0-1)
Home Runs: NY - Pete Alonso (2), Jesse Winker (1)

Attendance: 44,093

The Mets were back at Citi Field for the first time in two weeks for Game 3, having finished the season on the road where they had won some key games to qualify for the postseason, and then having played their first five games of said postseason on the road. They were met by an enthusiastic packed house and controlled the game almost from the start as they received an excellent performance from their starting pitcher, Sean Manaea, who pitched into the 8th inning and was never in serious trouble, thanks to some early runs scored off Aaron Nola. As a result, they ended up with a comfortable 7-2 win and a two-games-to-one lead in the series.

Manaea got things started with a 1-2-3 inning in the 1st, in what would be a harbinger of things to come. Nola also got the Mets in order, and even if Manaea hit J.T. Realmuto with a pitch in the 2nd, it came with two outs and Austin Hays grounded out on the next pitch. The Mets got on the board in the bottom of that inning when Pete Alonso went deep deep to right field on Nola's first pitch; they would never trail after that. José Iglesias followed with a single and Jesse Winker hit a ball to the right field wall that Nick Castellanos held in his glove and then dropped. It wasn't clear if a catch had been made, but after a video review, it was determined that the ball had fallen out of Castellanos' glove only when he was making the transfer to his throwing hand, so Winker was out and Iglesias had to return to first base. That decision averted a potential big inning. Manaea plunked a second batter, Edmundo Sosa to lead off the 3rd, and after two outs Trea Turner got the Phillies' first hit, a single, but Bryce Harper hit a comebacker to the mound to end the inning. In the 4th, Alec Bohm hit a ball to the centerfield wall, but was caught stretching at second thanks to a great throw by Tyrone Taylor. In the bottom of the inning, however, Winker made up for the hit he lost to Castellanos two innings earlier by driving a ball to the second deck in right field for an absolute no-doubt homer, doubling the Mets' lead.

Manaea continued to work quickly and efficiently and in the 6th got out of a potentially troublesome situation after walking the first two batters, Kyle Schwarber and Turner. He struck out Harper and got Castellanos to line out to 2B Iglesias, who then relayed to SS Francisco Lindor to catch Schwarber before he could return to the bag. Apart from the two long balls, Nola had pitched well until then, but in the bottom of the 6th he got himself in a bad jam by giving up a single to Mark Vientos and then walking Brandon Nimmo and Alonso to load the bases with no one out. Orion Kerkering was given the unenviable task of trying to escape from that situation and he almost did so, by first getting Iglesias to hit a ball to 2B Sosa with the infield drawn in. Sosa bobbled the ball, but managed to pick it up and throw to Realmuto in time to force Vientos at home. Next up was Winker, who flew out to left, but not deep enough for Nimmo to attempt to score. However, Starling Marte delivered a very painful blow for the Phils as he hit a ball up the middle for a single, and two runners crossed the plate, increasing the lead to 4-0. In the 7th, José Alvarado got two quick outs for the Phillies, but then lost the plate, giving up a single to Vientos, who was replaced by Harrison Bader, who came in as a pinch-runner. Bader quickly stole second base, after which Alvarado walked both Nimmo and Alonso to load the bases again. It was now Iglesias' turn to deliver a key hit, another two-run single off José Ruiz that made it 6-0. The Mets got a bid greedy when Alonso also tried to score all the way from first base on the hit and was thrown out at home, but it did not really matter.

Manaea came out to start the 8th, but after he gave up a lead-off single to Sosa, he was replaced by Phil Maton. Maton was not particularly sharp, as he walked Schwarber with one out, then allowed an RBI single to Harper with two outs. Ryne Stanek came in to pitch and gave up another run-scoring single, to Castellanos, to reduce the lead to 6-2. Maybe manager Rob Thomson felt that his charges were just getting started, but it's still difficult to understand why he then used his closer, Carlos Estévez to pitch the bottom of the 8th. It was anything but a smooth inning, as the Mets scored a seventh run while Estévez needed 26 pitches to record three outs, making his availability for a do-or-die Game 4 doubtful. Stanek then came back for the 9th, and retired the Phillies in order to seal the win for New York.

Game 4 @ Citi Field[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Phillies	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	0
Mets	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	x	4	8	1
WP: David Peterson (1-0); LP: Jeff Hoffman (1-2); SV: Edwin Diaz (1)
Home Runs: NY - Francisco Lindor (1)

Attendance: 44,103

The Mets completed their upset of the Phillies with another come-from-behind win in Game 4. It was a close game, as both teams had only one run-scoring play all game, but the difference was that the Phillies' was only good for one run, while the Mets' plated four. On the mound, there was speculation that Phillies manager Rob Thomson might scrap his original plan to go with Ranger Suarez as his starter in favor of ace Zack Wheeler on short rest, but in the end he stuck with Suarez, reasoning that he had to win two games, not just one, so that upsetting his pitching rotation made little sense. Suarez had been an All-Star after a strong first half but hadn't done much in the second half, explaining why he had been pushed back even after turning in a number of excellent outings in the last two postseason runs by the Phillies. For the Mets, it was José Quintana, coming off a strong performance against the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card Series.

After a perfect 1st inning by Quintana, the Mets had the first scoring chance in the bottom of the inning when Mark Vientos doubled with one out and Brandon Nimmo drew a walk. Pete Alonso followed with a grounder to Alec Bohm at third base. The initial call was that Alonso had been thrown out, but it was overturned following a video review and the bases were loaded. However, Suarez struck out José Iglesias and J.D. Martinez in succession to get out of the jam. More trouble ensued in the bottom of the 2nd when the first two batters, Starling Marte and Tyrone Taylor, reached on a walk and a single, but Suarez now struck out Francisco Alvarez and Francisco Lindor before an infield single by Vientos loaded the bases for the second straight inning. Nimmo was up next and while he did not strike out, he hit a grounder to 1B Bryce Harper to end the inning and make it six runners stranded as the game was still scoreless. Suarez again courted trouble in the 3rd with a lead-off walk to Alonso, but a double play grounder by Martinez ended that inning with no damage. For his part, Quintana had only given up a walk through the first three inning, but in the 4th, he walked Harper with one out and Nick Castellanos followed with a double. Bohm was up next and he hit a bouncer to 3B Vientos who hesitated about what to do and ended up bobbling the ball and not making a throw. Harper crossed the plate with the first run of the game as Vientos was charged with an error. However, Quintana kept his focus, getting the next two batters to fly out, and no more runs were scored.

After a first inning without anyone reaching base in the 4th, Suarez was again in trouble in the 5th when he allowed a lead-off double to Lindor, then walked Vientos. But once again, he reached back for his best stuff, striking out Nimmo, before Thomson yanked him from the game in favor of Jeff Hoffman. The reliever struck out Alonso and got Iglesias on a ground out as the Mets wasted yet another good opportunity. In the 6th, Quintana allowed a lead-off double to Harper and was replaced by Reed Garrett. Garrett struck out Castellanos, walked Bohn, and then struck out J.T. Realmuto before Carlos Mendoza made another pitching change, calling on David Peterson to face Bryson Stott. Stott hit a grounder, and it was now the Phils who had stranded runners in scoring position in back-to-back innings. The bottom of the 6th proved to be the pivotal inning of the game. Martinez led off with a single against Hoffman, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Hoffman then hit Marte with a pitch, putting a second runner on base. He then continued in his wild ways with another wild pitch, advancing both runners, and a walk to Taylor to load the bases with still nobody out. Alvarez was up next and he hit a ground ball to SS Trea Turner, who threw home to get the force out. Next up was Lindor, the author of countless big hits for the Mets during the season and also in the postseason, and Thomson decided to call on his best reliever, Carlos Estévez, even if he had thrown a lot of pitches in one inning of work in a relatively meaningless situation the day before. This time, the situation was as tense as could be and on a 2-1 count, Estévez threw a fastball just a tick below 100 mph but right in Lindor's hot zone, and it was crushed almost 400 feet into right field for a no-doubt homer, a grand slam that turned the game completely around. The Mets now had a three-run lead, and the Phillies were running out of outs.

Peterson was back on the mound for the 7th, and while he gave up a one-out single to Brandon Marsh, Kyle Schwarber folowed by grounding into a double play to end the inning. In the bottom of the inning, with Orion Kerkering now pitching, Alonso led off with a double, went to third base on a wild pitch, and Iglesias drew a walk, as the inning looked increasingly like the previous one. But Kerkering recovered to strike out Martinez and Marte, then got Taylor to fly out, and the Mets had stranded two more runners, but with a three-run lead, it was less excruciating than it had been in their first couple of turns at bat. In the 8th, Castellanos hit a two-out single off Peterson, but he did not advance further, while Matt Strahm finally had a decent outing, retiring the Mets in order in the bottom of the frame. It was now up to erratic closer Edwin Diaz to close out the game and the series. He made it interesting, as tends to be his habit, but still got the job done. He walked the first two batters, Realmuto and Stott, to bring the potential tying run to the plate. Thomson called on Kody Clemens to pinch-hit for Weston Wilson, but his best pinch-hitter struck out. Next up was Marsh who hit the ball hard, but it was caught by Harrison Bader who had just come in as a defensive substitute in center field at the top of the inning. Realmuto advanced to third base after the catch, but there were now two outs. It was up to Kyle Schwarber to decide the game's outcome. Stott quickly advanced to second on defensive indifference, but Diaz won his battle against the big slugger, striking him out on four pitches, the last a fastball timed at 101.1 mph, to send the Mets on their way to the NLCS.