PHILADELPHIA — I suppose coming back from a 1-0 deficit is child’s play to a team that, last time out, overturned a 2-0 ninth-inning deficit against one of the best closers in the league. A team that clinched its playoff berth with a six-run eighth inning in Atlanta, coughed that lead up, then took it back for good an inning later. A team that, on August 28, was just five games over .500, with a 13.1% chance of making the playoffs. And this was supposed to be a rebuilding year anyway.
After beating the Phillies in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, 6-2, and weathering the best starting pitcher they’re going to see at least in this series, maybe for the rest of the postseason, the Mets now have a chance to go up 2-0 in enemy territory on Sunday. With two advancement-clinching wins already in the bag, and as many iconic victories over the team’s two most hated division rivals, this is the best week the Mets have had in… well, it’s been a while.
Once again, we saw what happens when you let the Mets hang around. After bashing their heads against one of the best playoff starts of Zack Wheeler’s career — which is saying something — the Mets broke through against All-Star relievers Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahm in the top of the eighth. Five of the six batters to face Hoffman and Strahm reached base, and all who reached base scored.
Reed Garrett, who threw two perfect innings of relief, became the first pitcher since Tim Lincecum in the 2010 NLCS to beat the Phillies in Game 1 of a playoff series. The parade of singles marked the most runs the Phillies have allowed in a postseason inning since Game 2 of the 2022 NLCS (the Nola Family Split Allegiances inning); the last time they allowed more than that was Game 4 of the 1993 World Series.
The eighth-inning reversal was shocking, not just because it came against the three best components (Hoffman, Strahm, and Orion Kerkering, who allowed two inherited runners to score) of a bullpen that’s generally been a strength for the Phillies. But also because of what came before.
Surprise starter Kodai Senga, in just his second competitive appearance of the season, was plenty effective. He threw just 31 pitches to eight batters over two innings, which is to be expected given the long layoff. But he struck out three, got a whiff every time an opponent swung at his forkball, and really only made one mistake.
That mistake came on the third pitch of his outing: A letter-high fastball to Kyle Schwarber.
