Mets vs. Phillies Recap: Five straight wins for the Mets

For the second time in as many nights, the Mets beat the Phillies, extending their winning streak to five games. And they once again did so by coming back from behind in the middle of the game.

The Mets got off to a good start in this one. Yoenis Cespedes continued his torrid stretch since joining the Mets at the trade deadline with a two-run home run in the top of the first inning. He’s been a great hitter since the trade, and it’s a joy to watch him play the game. The Mets scored their third run of the night on a double by Noah Syndergaard, which brought home Travis d’Arnaud.

Things got a dicey for Syndergaard in the bottom of the third, though. He gave up a leadoff double—automatic because of a fan who interfered with the ball by catching it over the railing in center field at Citizens Bank Park—to Carlos Ruiz. After back-to-back strikeouts, he gave up a two-run home run to Freddy Galvis. And after inducing a weak ground ball from Odubel Herrera that resulted in a Kelly Johnson error, Syndergaard gave up another two-run home run, this time to longtime Mets nemesis Ryan Howard.

Those were the last runs that Syndergaard allowed in his outing, but he struggled a bit with his pitch count. He threw 93 pitches over five innings, struck out nine, and walked two. It wasn’t a dominant start, but it was hardly a terrible one.

The Mets turned that one-run deficit into a lead in the sixth inning. With the bases loaded and two outs in the inning, Travis d’Arnaud had an excellent plate appearance that resulted in a game-tying walk. Michael Cuddyer then hit for Syndergaard and singled to center to bring home the Mets’ fifth and sixth runs of the night. Those runs would ultimately hold up and decide the game.

Eric O’Flaherty gave up one run in the bottom of the sixth, continuing his struggles since the Mets traded for him, but Hansel Robles finished that inning and pitched a scoreless seventh. Tyler Clippard recorded two outs in the eighth but allowed a couple of baserunners, and Terry Collins called upon Jeurys Familia for a four-out save. Familia looked as dominant as he ever has in the outing, throwing his usual hard fastball and a wicked splitter/changeup thing that was clocked at 95 miles per hour. He’s pretty good.

The most intense moment of the game came during Robles’s outing as he quick pitched Daring Ruf in the seventh inning. The Phillies took exception to the move, with a few of them stepping out of their dugout to yell at Robles. Philadelphia bench coach Larry Bowa was ejected in the process, and former Mets outfielder Jeff Francoeur played the part of tough guy.

Aside from that, it’s worth noting that David Wright made another awkwardly-bad play at third base in the game. He’s scheduled to get the night off on Wednesday, and according to the SNY booth, he has a long session of infield practice scheduled before the game. Given the condition of his back and his relatively short rehab stint, it’s understandable that Wright isn’t as fluid as usual in the field. Going forward, it would be overly optimistic to disregard any concern about his defense, but perhaps things will get better as he plays more baseball.

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Win Probability Added

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Big winners: Jeurys Familia, +28.7% WPA, Michael Cuddyer, +26.8% WPA, Travis d’Arnaud, +17.2% WPA, Hansel Robles, +14.7% WPA, Kelly Johnson, +13.5% WPA
Big losers: Noah Syndergaard, -27.3% WPA, Wilmer Flores, -24.5% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Michael Cuddyer gives the Mets the lead with a two-run single in the sixth, +26.8% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Ryan Hoaward gives the Phillies a lead with a two-run home run in the fourth, -26.5% WPA<#br /> Total pitcher WPA: +6.5% WPA
Total batter WPA: +43.5% WPA
GWRBI!: Michael Cuddyer