Big Hits By Plummer, Escobar Rally Mets Past Phils For Sweep
NEW YORK (AP) — Nick Plummer launched a tying homer in the ninth inning for his first major league hit, Eduardo Escobar doubled home the winning run in the 10th and the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 on Sunday night for a three-game sweep.
Nick Castellanos put Philadelphia ahead 4-3 with a three-run homer on an 0-2 pitch from reliever Adam Ottavino with two outs in the eighth.
Plummer, making his first major league start after getting recalled from the minors Saturday, drove the first pitch from Corey Knebel — a 96 mph fastball — into the second deck in right field leading off the bottom of the ninth.
It was Knebel's third blown save in 11 opportunities.
Edwin Díaz (2-1) stranded the automatic runner at second in the 10th. He was aided by a terrific defensive play at third base from Escobar, who reached way over the railing of the Philadelphia dugout to catch a foul pop.
Knebel (1-4) struck out Francisco Lindor to begin the bottom half, and Pete Alonso was intentionally walked. Escobar then lined a double into right field to score automatic runner Starling Marte from second and was swarmed by excited teammates in the infield.
Escobar's fifth career walk-off RBI gave the NL East leaders, who are 12-2-1 in series this year, their first sweep of the season.
Mets setup man Drew Smith dislocated the pinkie on his pitching hand reaching for a comebacker in the seventh, but New York improved to 9-3 against the Phillies this year. The division rivals don't meet again until Aug. 12.
Zack Wheeler settled in after a tough start for the struggling Phillies, delivering six solid innings against his former team.
Maligned for poor fielding all year, the Phillies played more shoddy defense in the first that helped New York jump out to a 3-0 lead. But center fielder Odúbel Herrera made a diving catch in the seventh and shortstop Johan Camargo turned in a sensational stop in the eighth to slow the Mets.
Lindor knocked in a run with a grounder for New York, extending his career-best RBI streak to seven games. That's the longest by a Mets player since Lucas Duda did it in 2014.
Escobar and Mark Canha had RBI groundouts in the first.
Philadelphia loaded the bases with nobody out against starter Chris Bassitt in the third, but mustered only one run on Alec Bohm's double-play grounder.
Bassitt walked three in the inning and needed 34 pitches to get through it. But he found a groove after that and rebounded from a dreadful start in San Francisco on Tuesday, when he set career highs by giving up three homers and eight runs in 4 1/3 innings.
This time, the right-hander struck out seven in six innings of two-hit ball. He threw 100 pitches and retired his final 10 batters.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Phillies: OF Mickey Moniak, the top pick in the 2016 amateur draft, could come off the injured list in the next day or two. Sidelined all season by a broken right hand, Moniak has been playing rehab games at Double-A Reading. ... SS Didi Gregorius (sprained left knee) is rehabbing at Triple-A Lehigh Valley and is probably further from a return than Moniak.
Mets: CF Brandon Nimmo (sore right wrist) sat out his second consecutive game. ... Hot-hitting 2B/LF Jeff McNeil was out of the starting lineup to rest his legs but pinch-hit in the ninth. "Just kind of a day-to-day thing," manager Buck Showalter said. "More preventative. Trying to get ahead of something that might turn into something if we don't take some precautions here and there." Showalter said Nimmo could also be available off the bench and is expected back shortly. Luis Guillorme started at 2B and batted in Nimmo's leadoff spot. Plummer played left field, with Canha starting in center for the third time this season. ... Smith reached with his bare hand for J.T. Realmuto's two-out comebacker in the seventh and it deflected off his right pinkie for a single into center field. The reliever was visibly angry as he walked off the field with an athletic trainer. X-rays were negative for a fracture, the Mets said, and Smith is day-to-day.
LET'S MAKE A DEAL
Before the game, the Mets acquired INF/OF JT Riddle from Cincinnati for cash and assigned him to Triple-A Syracuse.
UP NEXT
Phillies: RHP Kyle Gibson (3-2, 3.94 ERA) pitches Monday at home against San Francisco RHP Logan Webb (5-1, 3.54) in the opener of a three-game series.
Mets: LHP David Peterson (2-0, 2.16 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game set Monday night against Erick Fedde (3-3, 3.55) and the last-place Nationals at Citi Field. Peterson won last week with six solid innings at San Francisco in his first major league start in three weeks. He is 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA in three career outings versus Washington.
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