The New York Mets suffered their seventh straight loss Friday night, falling 10–2 to the Philadelphia Phillies at Philly’s Citizens Bank Park. The defeat not only extended their worst skid of the season but also knocked them out of first place in the NL East.
Tied 2–2 heading into the seventh, the Mets looked to build off back-to-back solo home runs by Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil. Instead, the game unraveled quickly as the Phillies exploded for six runs in the bottom half of the inning. Trea Turner broke the tie with an RBI double before Bryson Stott cleared the bases with a triple and Nick Castellanos added another run with a single.
Mets rookie Blade Tidwell pitched 3⅔ innings, allowing two early runs, but the bullpen couldn’t hold the line. Relievers Reed Garrett and Justin Garza were tagged for six runs in the seventh, sealing the team’s fate.
On the mound for Philly, Zack Wheeler was sharp and in control. The right-hander held the Mets to five hits over five shutout innings while striking out eight in his ninth win of the season.
Offensively, the Mets struggled again with runners on base, a season-long issue that has now seen their average drop to a league-worst .215 in those situations. Their seven hits produced just two runs, both coming off solo blasts. They’ve been outscored 40–15 during this losing streak and now find themselves chasing the Phillies in the division.
“Obviously it’s a tough stretch we’re going through right now,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said postgame. “We’ve got to continue to stay positive, continue to stay together. I believe in this group. We’ve been through stretches like this before, and we’ll get through it.”
The Mets will try to stop the bleeding and salvage the series when they return to action tonight in Philadelphia’s CBP.