Mets Blow Big Lead, Lose to Phillies in 9th Inning
No lead is insurmountable in the band box that is Citizens Bank Park, and no lead is safe if you’re the Mets. New York built a 6-1 lead Sunday only to see the Phillies come back to win it in the bottom of the ninth.
The Mets jumped on Kyle Kendrick in the first. Curtis Granderson led off by reaching on an easy grounder to first that Ryan Howard botched. He moved to second on a ground out and scored on a David Wright single.
But in the bottom of the first Chase Utley got the run back with a solo home run.
The Mets broke the tie in the top of the second. Juan Lagares led off with a walk and Wilmer Flores followed with a single. Zack Wheeler sacrificed them to second and third, respectively. Granderson walked to load the bases. Daniel Murphy hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-1. But Flores was out at third trying to tag up to end the inning, so the Mets had to settle for just one run.
They made up for it in the third. Wright and Travis d’Arnaud each singled and scored when Lagares tripled with two outs to give the Mets a 4-1 lead.
Lucas Duda and d’Arnaud homered back-to-back leading off the fifth to extend the lead to 6-1.
Wheeler was cruising along, allowing just one hit through five when he let up two runs in the sixth as the Phillies narrowed the lead to 6-3.
Wheeler was done after six, allowing three runs on just three hits. He struck out five and walked three.
Vic Black took over in the seventh, and he was not good. He got the first two outs but Ben Revere and Jimmy Rollins both singled to put runners on first and second. Utley tripled to right to score both runners to make it a one-run game, 6-5. Josh Edgin came on to strike out Ryan Howard to strand the tying run at third.
Edgin would go on to strike out the side in the eighth to preserve the Mets lead.
In the ninth it was Jenrry Mejia, back from his calf soreness. Cody Asche greeted him with a lead off double down the right field line. Marlon Byrd pinch hit and came through a single up the middle to tie the game at six. Mejia struck out Revere for the first out. Rollins flied out to deep right for out number two. That brought up Utley, a double short of the cycle. During the at bat Byrd stole second on a pitch that made it a 3-2 count. Terry Collins then chose to intentionally walk Utley to face Howard. Howard responded with a single to right to win the game for the Phillies.\
Mets blow it, 7-6.