Tylor Megill carried a shutout into the eighth inning Saturday afternoon, when the host New York Mets withstood a late comeback by the Philadelphia Phillies to earn a 4-3 victory in the opener of a doubleheader.
The Mets (73-86) won for just the third time in nine games. Pete Alonso had a run-scoring groundout in the first, when Brett Baty added an RBI single and Francisco Lindor scored on a wild pitch. Omar Narvaez homered in the second.
Edmundo Sosa had a run-scoring single in the eighth while Brandon Marsh (double) and Weston Wilson (single) each had RBIs in the ninth for the Phillies (89-71), who will be the top National League wild card when the playoffs begin next week.
J.T. Realmuto had a pair of singles as Philadelphia lost its second straight following a seven-game winning streak.
Megill (9-8) surrendered one run on four hits and two walks while striking out seven over 7 1/3 innings. Brooks Raley got the final two outs of the eighth before Adam Ottavino notched his 12th save despite giving up the ninth-inning runs.
Taijuan Walker (15-6) gave up four runs on four hits and four walks while striking out three over seven innings. He retired 12 straight batters between the third and sixth and 16 of his final 18 overall.
The Mets immediately went ahead against Walker in the first. Rafael Ortega and Ronny Mauricio opened the game with singles before Ortega scored on Alonso’s ground out to third. Francisco Lindor walked and DJ Stewart popped out before Baty singled home Mauricio.
Lindor, who went to third on the hit, then raced home on a wild pitch.
Narvaez led off the second with his second homer of the season.
The Phillies didn’t get a runner beyond first base until Wilson and Jake Cave opened the eighth with consecutive singles. Megill exited after retiring Cristian Pache on a fly out to left, after which Raley struck out Kyle Schwarber. Sosa followed with his RBI single and Raley whiffed Bryce Harper on five pitches.
Realmuto walked leading off the ninth, moved to second on Bryson Stott’s groundout and scored on Marsh’s double. Marsh came home on the single by Wilson, who stole second and third but was left there when Cave whiffed and Cristian Pache flew out.
–Field Level Media