PHILADELPHIA — Take a dominant pitching performance into the late innings against the Mets at your own risk.
Eventually, the Mets find a pitcher they can hit.
So as much as Zack Wheeler resembled Cy Young for seven innings Saturday, there were still two other frames for the Phillies to cover.
And soon the home team was getting booed.
The Mets slumbered and then stomped, scoring all their runs in the final two innings in a 6-2 victory over the Phillies in Game 1 of the NLDS at Citizens Bank Park.
This wasn’t the ninth-inning thunder of Pete Alonso’s home run in Milwaukee to clinch the NL Wild Card Series or Francisco Lindor’s blast three days earlier in Atlanta to deliver a postseason berth.
Instead, the Mets methodically carved up the Phillies, using five singles and two walks in the eighth.
Mark Vientos, Brandon Nimmo and pinch hitter J.D. Martinez each stroked an RBI single in the inning and Alonso and Starling Marte drove in the other runs with sacrifice flies.
Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahm, the Phillies’ two best relievers, were charged for all the runs.
“[Wheeler] was pretty much unhittable today, and that’s who he is,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “The fact we were able to get to the bullpen, it was really good to see.”
The Mets could thank their bullpen for keeping it close enough for the bats to rally. David Peterson and Reed Garrett combined for five scoreless innings behind Kodai Senga, in his return after two months on the injured list. After the Mets went ahead, Phil Maton pitched a scoreless inning and Ryne Stanek allowed one run in the ninth.
“It helped us to be able to still think small, like we don’t have to hit home runs,” Nimmo said. “We don’t have to do anything like that, we just have to keep wearing on Wheeler.”
Wheeler scintillated for the Phillies with seven shutout innings in which he allowed one hit and four walks and struck out nine. The stud right-hander threw 111 pitches, his highest career total in a postseason game. Wheeler produced 30 swings and misses, the third-highest total in a postseason game since 2008.
“For us to be able to get to him, at least not let him throw a complete game, that’s kind of a win in that situation and to be able to get to that bullpen and see what happens,” Nimmo said. “These guys did an amazing job of that.”
Senga, on his third pitch of the game, surrendered a monstrous home run to Kyle Schwarber. But the right-hander retired six of the next seven batters he faced before calling it a day at 31 pitches. Mendoza said the plan was to cap Senga at 35 pitches.
Schwarber’s blast into the right-field mezzanine put the Mets in a fast hole. Senga started with a slider and fastball before Schwarber jumped on a 96-mph four-seamer over the middle and launched a rocket that left the bat at 115 mph.
Bryce Harper walked later in the inning, but Senga escaped without further damage. The right-hander returned to work a perfect second.
Peterson piggybacked Senga and gave the Mets three scoreless innings in which he allowed one hit and three walks over 50 pitches. It was a second straight relief appearance for Peterson, who recorded the save Thursday in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series in Milwaukee.
Vientos’ single leading off the fourth gave the Mets their first hit against Wheeler and Nimmo followed with a walk. But Wheeler got Alonso on a called third strike and Jose Iglesias hit into an inning-ending double play.
“My approach today with Wheeler was just trying to be as short as possible,” Vientos said. “It was tough to see with the shadows. I was just trying to put the barrel on the ball, see what happens.”
Marte was drilled in the left wrist in the fifth, but Wheeler recovered to strike out Tyrone Taylor and Francisco Alvarez to end the inning.
Peterson walked a batter in each of his first three innings in relief, but escaped each time. Most notably he struck out Harper to conclude the fifth after walking Johan Rojas leading off the inning.
Alvarez singled leading off the eighth against Hoffman and Lindor walked before Vientos’ RBI single tied it 1-1. Nimmo’s ensuing single gave the Mets the lead. Alonso hit a sacrifice fly to put the Phillies in a 3-1 hole and Iglesias singled. Martinez followed with an RBI single and Marte’s sacrifice fly put the Mets ahead 5-1.
“I feel like one of the things we’ve talked about is just finishing the game all the way to the ninth inning,” Vientos said. “And the game is never over until the ninth. We have been kind of running with that mentality.”
Nimmo returned with an RBI single in the ninth for the final Mets run.
“One game, but that was a pretty cool atmosphere there,” Mendoza said. “It was loud, packed house, and then the crowd is into every pitch. But we were able to control our emotions … it’s a good start.”
