PHILADELPHIA -- Give Marcus Semien a fraction of an inch, and he just may take 402 feet. Or however that old expression goes.
Semien made the most of his second life in the seventh inning Thursday at Citizens Bank Park, tripling home two key runs in the Mets’ 6-4 win over the Phillies after just barely foul tipping a would-be third strike into the dirt. In a game that saw Juan Soto club two homers and Sean Manaea continue to pitch well in his return to the rotation, it was the tiniest sliver of Semien’s bat that played an outsized role.
“I’m glad that ball hit the dirt,” Semien said. “I would have been walking back to the dugout. No runs would have been scored.”
Moments after Eric Wagaman gave the Mets the lead with a pinch-hit, RBI single off Phillies left-hander José Alvarado, Semien came to bat with two men on base and two outs in the seventh. On a 2-2 count, Semien swung through a cutter in the dirt, prompting catcher J.T. Realmuto (and most of his Phillies teammates) to begin making their way off the field.
But Semien, suspecting there was a chance he had tipped the ball into the dirt, asked home-plate umpire Brian Walsh to check it for a smudge. Walsh complied, and replays clearly showed the ball hitting the ground before nestling in Realmuto’s mitt.
“You’re looking for any help you can get,” Semien said. “I took a bad swing, so all I could do was beg. Luckily, he checked.”
That afforded Semien a second chance, of which he took full advantage. One pitch later, the veteran blasted a 98.3 mph sinker off the left-center-field fence for a two-run triple. The insurance runs gave the Mets a three-run advantage for their leverage relievers, who took it from there in New York’s second straight win.
“Alvarado’s a guy you still have to get up in the zone, even though he throws so hard,” Semien said. “He has a really good cutter down in the zone. I got him up in the zone, but I was shorter to the ball. Put it in play and got it up in the wind, and good things happened.”
Soto opened the scoring for the Mets with a solo homer off Aaron Nola in the first, before adding a second long ball -- his 17th of the season -- in the third. Since May 14, Soto leads the Majors in homers.
The Phillies fought back on a pair of RBI hits from Alec Bohm, eventually tying the game in the fourth, but New York’s three-run rally three innings later -- fueled by Semien’s triple -- all but sealed the game. A.J. Minter recorded two outs in the seventh, Luke Weaver struck out the side in the eighth (and has fanned six consecutive batters overall) and Devin Williams survived a shaky ninth for the save.
For Semien, it was the latest chapter in a mini-resurgence that has seen him raise his OPS more than 80 points in less than four weeks. Since May 25, Semien’s slugging percentage is .519, or more than 200 points better than his mark over his first 53 games as a Met. For comparison, his career slugging mark is .432.
“He’s beating the ball to the spot, short, controlling the strike zone better,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “This is a guy that is capable of doing damage, too. We’ve seen it over the years. I think it’s just making better swing decisions, getting the head out and doing damage. It’s good to see that.”
And if Semien receives a little help along the way, all the better. With a single in the third inning, Semien finished 2-for-4 with his triple, two RBIs, one strikeout and one very important foul tip.
“Today, every at-bat was different,” Semien said. “I felt all over the place, chasing a little bit, but found a way to get two hits. Every day I show up to the ballpark, it’s, 'How can I grind my at-bats out and do something to help us win?' And today was definitely one of those days.”