PHILADELPHIA — The Mets are gone.
Everything felt right again for the Phillies on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. They beat Cincinnati in the series opener, 4-1, to move into a tie with the Padres for the second NL Wild Card spot. Noah Syndergaard pitched seven innings in his second consecutive start, which the bullpen needed because it had been pushed to its limit over the weekend against New York. Philadelphia got big hits from the middle of the lineup, which might get Bryce Harper back as early as next Monday in Arizona.
“It puts us right back on track,” Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos said. “These are games that we’re supposed to win. We’ve done a really good job all year of winning games that we’re supposed to win. All those games add up. And [it’s good] just to put to bed a tough series against a really good baseball team.”
There had been consternation from some Phillies fans following Sunday’s 10-9 loss to the Mets. Philadelphia blew three leads in the game as it fell to 5-14 this season against New York.
It was frustrating. But what did it mean exactly?
It meant the Phillies could not beat the Mets in the regular season. But they are pretty good at beating everybody else, having gone 62-41 (.602) against every other team, including the other five NL postseason contenders in the Dodgers (4-3), Braves (6-6), Cardinals (4 -3), Padres (4-3) and Brewers (4-2).
A .602 winning percentage would be the sixth-best record in the Majors.
Philadelphia is 45-26 (.633) since Rob Thomson became interim manager on June 3, too. That is tied for the third-best record over that period.
“These guys bounce back, they really do,” Thomson said. “Their memory isn’t very long.”
Castellanos crushed a solo home run into the trees in front of the batter’s eye in the second inning to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. The homer extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Bryson Stott followed with a home run into the second deck in right field to make it 2-0.
Castellanos is batting .351 with four home runs, 12 RBIs and a .916 OPS in his past 24 games. Stott is batting .300 with four homers, 16 RBIs and an .831 OPS in his past 32 games.
JT Realmuto singled and scored on Castellanos’ double in the third to make it 3-0. Alec Bohm singled and scored on Realmuto’s double in the fifth to make it 4-1.
Realmuto is batting .349 with six home runs, 22 RBIs and a 1.047 OPS in his past 29 games. Bohm is batting .348 with six home runs, 31 RBIs and an .886 OPS in his past 46 games.
Bohm, Realmuto, Castellanos and Stott were the Phils’ No. 3-6 hitters on Monday. The lineup will be adjusted next week when Harper returns. He will presumably return to the No. 3 spot, which he held until he broke his left thumb on June 25.
Bohm has hit third for the Phillies since July 28. He could move down or up, although Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins have been a formidable 1-2 punch at the top.
The Phillies have options.
“Wow,” Syndergaard said about Harper’s return. “It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Getting one of the best baseball players out there back in our lineup. This offense is going to be a lot of fun to watch.”
Syndergaard has added stability to the rotation following Zach Eflin’s right knee injury. He is 3-0 with a 3.60 ERA in four starts since he joined the Phillies. He has pitched six or more innings in each of his past three starts.
Syndergaard allowed only three hits on Monday. He got only one strikeout and two swing-and-misses, but he got a lot of weak contact.
“He moves the ball,” Reds catcher Austin Romine said. “He’s got a good sinker in. He uses his curveball and his slider well. He knows how to pitch. He’s been around the block, so he knows how to use his stuff, get guys out and get weak contact.”
Said Syndergaard: “My time here so far has been amazing. I feel like I’ve been on Cloud 9.”
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