NEW YORK -- Right-hander Jake Arrieta had a game he would like to forget on Saturday, a game in which the Phillies lost to the Mets, 6-5, at Citi Field. He allowed six runs (five earned) in 4 1/3 innings and hit three batters.

• Box score

The Phillies did everything they could to give Arrieta run support. The Phillies had a 3-1 lead after the top of the second inning. It helped that Jay Bruce hit a two-run homer and Maikel Franco added a solo shot in a three-run second. After four innings, Arrietta had a 4-3 lead.

But things started to unravel for Arrieta in the fifth. With one out, he hit Todd Frazier with a pitch. Frazier, who was also plunked on Friday, took exception to the pitch. After both benches were warned, Frazier was ejected for arguing with the umpire.

After Dominic Smith doubled to put runners on second and third, Arrieta hit Amed Rosario with a pitch to load the bases. Mets manager Mickey Callaway argued that Arrieta should have been thrown out of the game to no avail. But it was Callaway who was thrown out instead.

"The reason [home-plate umpire Tripp Gibson] ran Todd is, you can't argue when they issue warnings. It's automatic ejection,” Callaway said. “And he felt like Todd left first base, and came to argue why they put out warnings at that point. And then when I went out there, we just got one of our players thrown out, and then the guy comes and hits a batter two batters later, and I felt like I needed to protect our players at that point."

Arrieta was shocked that the Mets thought he hit them on purpose, because all three batters were hit with changeups.

“If Frazier is not happy about it, he can come see me. I’ll put a dent in his skull,” Arrieta said. “[Frazier] didn’t say [anything] to me. He was talking to the umpire and I’m 25 feet away.”

Said catcher J.T. Realmuto, “It was a tight game and both of those pitches [in the fifth inning] were changeups. Obviously, there is no intent to hit anybody there. We are trying to win a ballgame. [Arrieta[ didn’t have his command all night. … There is definitely no ill will there. We are trying to get those guys out, and make our pitches.”

For the Mets, it was a good thing that Arrieta stayed in the game, for he allowed a three-run double to Tomas Nido that gave the Mets a 6-4 lead, and proved to be the game-winning hit. Arrieta has allowed five earned runs in four of his last seven starts.

Manager Gabe Kapler said Arrieta was the best pitcher on the roster to get out of the inning.

“Jake has so much experience getting a ground-ball double play,” Kapler said. “Every step of the way, you are thinking this is a guy who knows how to induce a ground ball. He has done it many times. … We felt confident that he was the right guy against Nido to get that ground-ball double play.”

After the game, Arrieta said he was “laboring physically,” and wasn’t able to put the ball where he wanted. He lost feeling for everything on the mound. It’s been that way for a few weeks, he said. He even hinted that he may be hurting. As of Saturday, he is not scheduled to see a doctor. Arrieta started being concerned after he hit three batters with changeups.

“Physically, I’m not in a great spot,” Arrieta said.

Asked if he was healthy, Arrieta hesitated and said, “Overall, I feel all right, but we’ll see.”

When told there was meaningful pause in his answer, Arrieta said, “Overall, I feel pretty good. We’ll see in the next couple of days. … We’ll have a better idea over the next couple of days.”