USATSI_18907265 — © Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Jean Segura's Heroics Not Enough as Philadelphia Phillies Fall to New York Mets

The Philadelphia Phillies fell to the New York Mets in heartbreaking fashion to seal a series loss on Sunday afternoon.

Author:
Ben Silver
Aug 21, 2022 7:03 PM EDT

In this story:

The offense finally reappeared in the first inning Saturday afternoon. At the outset it seemed as if the Philadelphia Phillies would have a stress-free day ahead of them.

After a solid first inning when Philadelphia starter Kyle Gibson shut down the New York Mets' side with two strikeouts, Alec Bohm struck for the Phillies. Three batters into the game, Philadelphia led 3-0 off the back of a line drive home run from their third baseman.

The Phillies continued to tack on in the first, adding another run on an RBI single from Nick Maton.

Nevertheless, the Phillies old friend came back to haunt them against an enemy to which they could ill afford: bad fundamentals.

Two second inning errors allowed the Mets to creep back in, scoring two on just one hit.

The following inning, Gibson continued to allow more Mets hits, and Daniel Vogelbach's double brought New York to within one. The bleeding continued in the fourth as it became more and more apparent the Phillies' starter was not up to the challenge.

Following back-to-back walks, Starling Marte knotted the game up at four with a single.

The Phillies, not to be silenced, stormed back in the fourth. Again Bohm was the man of the hour. With center fielder Bradley Zimmer on second and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber on first with a walk, Bohm lined a ball deep down the left field foul line.

Hooking foul, it caught the netting up against the pole just above the '330' sign. Philadelphia once again had a multi-run lead gifted to them by their third baseman. Bohm's six RBI on the day were the most by a Phillie in all of 2022.

Gibson, however, was lifted after recording just one out in the fifth. Needing a long outing to spell a tired bullpen, Gibson recorded only 13 outs on 105 pitches.

Mets' starter José Butto was no better. Making his debut, the Phillies took him for seven runs and two walks. Not an ideal debut for a budding Major Leaguer.

The Phillies bullpen, tired as they were, held Met bats silent until the seventh inning. With setup man Connor Brogdon coming into the contest, the Phillies lead seemed all too comfortable. His season to date ERA was 1.63 in 27 2/3 innings, but Mark Canha's three-run game-tying home run brought that figure to 2.51.

It was Philadelphia's first blown save since July 30. Again, the Phillies were down but not out.

Their bats silenced in the seventh, pinch-hitter Jean Segura led off the eighth inning. He crushed a ball, a low liner into left field just scraping over the top of the wall. The Phillies, for the third time in the game, had taken the lead.

David Robertson came in, looking to close the game less than 24 hours after a gutsy 36-pitch two inning save on Saturday night.

The lead evaporated quickly. Jeff McNeil lined a double into right field. Immediately following him, Mark Canha crushed a ball deep into the seats in left field. After going almost two months without blowing a save, the Phillies had two in one game.

Tyler Cyr, making his big league debut, followed Robertson out of the 'pen in the ninth. He faced a baptism by fire when Brett Baty, who had made his own debut quite recently, launched a solo home run off the young reliever to give the Mets some insurance.

Down two in the bottom of the ninth, facing baseball's best closer in Edwin Díaz, the Phillies immediately served notice that they would not go down quietly. J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos hit back-to-back first-pitch singles to get on board.

Realmuto scored on two warning track fly balls from Bryson Stott and Nick Maton, their combined distance almost 700 feet. Segura then walked to put the tying run in scoring position.

To the plate, strode 'Casey at the Bat,' Darick "Long Ball" Hall. Just as Casey's story ended, so did Hall's: a strikeout.