Ebb and Flo: Wilmer wins it for Mets in 10th
NEW YORK -- Wilmer Flores hit a walk-off single Tuesday at Citi Field, leading the Mets to a 5-4 win over the Phillies in 10 innings.
Juan Lagares sparked the winning rally with a leadoff single against Jeanmar Gomez in the 10th, moving into scoring position when Lucas Duda drew a walk off Elvis Araujo. After Daniel Murphy hit into a double play and Michael Cuddyer walked, Flores then served a single into left-center field to plate Lagares.
"It's a good feeling, obviously because we got the win," Flores said. "That's always a good feeling."
Fresh off eight shutout innings last time out against the Cardinals, Mets starter Jacob deGrom dominated early to extend his scoreless-innings streak to 15, before Hansel Robles allowed two inherited runners to score in the eighth. Robles also gave up one of his own to turn a three-run lead into a 3-3 tie, before Maikel Franco drove home the go-ahead run with a single off Carlos Torres.
Video: PHI@NYM: Franco singles to put Phillies ahead in 8th
But the Mets fought back with a game-tying run in the bottom of the eighth, when Flores plated Duda, who had drawn a leadoff walk, with a sacrifice fly off Phillies reliever Ken Giles. Franco prevented that rally from being fatal when he made a spectacular barehanded play on Darrell Ceciliani's soft grounder to third.
Video: PHI@NYM: Flores ties game on sacrifice fly in the 8th
"Obviously, we had a rough eighth inning, but we kept pushing," Flores said. "We never gave up. We got it back."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Wilmer's walk-off: Flores, who came into the night tied for the Major League lead for home runs by a shortstop, didn't need to put one over the fence against the Phillies. Instead, he took an Araujo fastball for a ball before serving a slider into center for the game-winner.
Video: PHI@NYM: Flores talks about his walk-off hit in 10th
"I faced that guy before and I was looking for a breaking ball," Flores said. "He threw it and I was ready for it." More >
Franco's big eighth: Franco came up with a two-out, go-ahead single in the top half of the eighth inning. Then in the bottom half, the Mets had Murphy on third base with two outs. He represented the go-ahead run when Ceciliani chopped a ball to the left of the mound. Franco charged and made a fantastic off-balance, barehanded snag and throw to first base to end the inning.
Video: PHI@NYM: Franco makes barehanded play to end the 8th
"That's total instincts and arm strength and ability just taking over," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. More >
Wha' happened? The Phillies did not have a runner reach second base until the eighth inning, when Carlos Ruiz and Cesar Hernandez reached on singles against deGrom. He left the game, Robles entered and everything changed in an instant. Ben Revere tripled to clear the bases and Freddy Galvis singled to score Revere to tie the game.
Video: PHI@NYM: Revere triples in two in the 8th
No-deCision: Though deGrom was not quite as sharp as last week, when he held the Cardinals to a single hit in eight innings, he wasn't too far off, either. The right-hander struck out five straight batters in the second and third innings, as part of a stretch of 11 consecutive outs. But Robles' blown save robbed deGrom of his second straight victory. deGrom pitched 7 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and two runs while walking none and fanning nine. More >
Video: PHI@NYM: deGrom strikes out nine in 7 1/3 innings
QUOTABLE
"I didn't get as much on it as I would like in an ideal situation."
-- Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, whose flip to Galvis at second base arrived low and late in the third inning. It prevented a double play and led to a three-run rally for the Mets.
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Utley went 2-for-4 with one walk. It was his fifth multihit game out of his last seven. He is hitting .417 (15-for-36) with five doubles, one triple, six RBIs and a 1.111 OPS in his last 11 games.
deGrom owns a 1.56 ERA in 17 career starts at Citi Field, the lowest home ERA in the Majors by any pitcher over the last two seasons.
WHAT'S NEXT
Phillies: Phillies right-hander Sean O'Sullivan hopes to keep pitching like he has recently. He has allowed two or fewer runs in six or more innings in consecutive starts for the first time since April 2011, when he pitched for the Royals.
Mets: Rookie right-hander Noah Syndergaard will make his fourth big league start in the Mets' 1:10 p.m. ET series finale against the Phillies on Wednesday. Syndergaard pitched well enough over his first three outings to earn a spot in the Mets' six-man rotation, going 1-2 with a 3.63 ERA.
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