Mets wait out Zack Wheeler, rock Phillies with 5-run 8th inning to win Game 1: Takeaways

The Philadelphia Phillies had everything going for them. They had extra rest from the first-round bye. They had a raucous home crowd. They had one of the best pitchers in baseball at his absolute best. It wasn’t enough, though, as the New York Mets rallied in the late innings to stun the Phillies 6-2 in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.

It’s possible that Zack Wheeler will never have a better postseason start for the rest of his career, if only because almost nobody will have a better postseason start. Wheeler threw seven innings, struck out nine and allowed just one hit, but a pair of All-Star relievers — Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahm — entered in the top of the eighth inning and allowed five runs on a parade of singles. The Phillies couldn’t recover.

The Mets had something of a bullpen game, with Kodai Senga making only his second appearance of the year and his first since July 26. He allowed a leadoff homer to Kyle Schwarber, but settled down and finished two full innings, an encouraging development for the Mets’ rotation plans for the rest of the month.

The real pitching heroes of the game, though, were the Mets’ relievers. David Peterson, Reed Garrett, Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek allowed just four hits and one run over the final seven innings.

Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Sunday at 4:08 p.m. ET at Citizens Bank Park. Luis Severino will throw for the Mets, and Cristopher Sánchez will attempt to keep the Phillies out of a deeper hole. — Grant Brisbee

Kodai Senga was mostly sharp

Senga’s abbreviated outing mostly went fine. New York received just about what it expected in his first start since July: two innings (31 pitches), one run, one hit, one walk, three strikeouts.

When Senga struggled last year, the trouble often happened in the first inning (4.34 ERA, his highest for any inning). So it was always going to be interesting to see how he fared in a designed short start. Three pitches into the game, Senga allowed a leadoff home run to Kyle Schwarber but settled in from there. Senga’s velocity dipped a bit compared to last year, but he threw as hard as 97 mph with his fastball and recorded a few whiffs with his forkball.

In the process, the right-hander showed he should still be an option for the Mets later in this series, perhaps in a similar role in a decisive Game 5. In theory, Senga should continue to be able to build up his pitch count if the Mets’ postseason run continues. — Will Sammon

Mets had to tread carefully with David Peterson’s usage

The Mets probably want to use lefty Peterson out of the bullpen again in this series. That’s the guess here as to why he didn’t stick around longer after relieving Senga. Peterson threw three scoreless innings and the Mets kept him at 50 pitches. The Phillies’ lineup contains scary left-handed batters such as Schwarber and Bryce Harper. The Phillies had done damage in the regular season against Danny Young, the Mets’ only other lefty in the bullpen. — Sammon

Zack Wheeler delivers an ace of aces performance

The fourth pitch Wheeler threw Saturday afternoon was 99 mph — harder than any fastball he had thrown in two years. Maybe that was the first sign of greatness. Maybe it was the 14 swings-and-misses in his first three innings. Maybe it was how he conquered erratic command in the fourth inning with a 4-6-3 double play on a 97 mph fastball that Jose Iglesias pounded into the ground.

Maybe it was how the Phillies pushed him further than any pitcher in this sport has gone in three previous postseasons. Wheeler’s final pitch, his 111th of the afternoon, was a 96.7 mph heater that Tyrone Taylor bounced to shortstop. Wheeler threw more pitches than anyone has in a postseason game since Tyler Glasnow tossed 112 for the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the 2020 World Series.

Wheeler permitted one hit in seven scoreless innings. The Mets never reached third base against him. He now has a 2.18 ERA in 70 1/3 postseason innings. He has a 0.82 ERA in Game 1s; this was his fifth time pitching a series opener. He is 34 and at the apex of his career. — Matt Gelb

Phillies’ bats went quiet — again — at the worst time

Schwarber blooped a single to shallow center with one out in the third inning. He had two hits, including a prodigious homer to begin the game.

The next 19 Phillies batters failed to collect a hit. Until the eighth inning, Schwarber was the only Phillie with a hit. They didn’t make solid contact in the middle innings against Peterson and Garrett. The scouting report on how to beat the Phillies has been evident for months. They are susceptible to off-speed pitches. They are aggressive. They will chase. New York exploited all of that.

It sucked the life out of the ballpark.

The Phillies, all week, said they were pleased with their work as they awaited their opponent. It was focused. It had intensity. It was the right balance between rest and recovery.

“Obviously people think about during the week, ‘Oh, you’re going to lose this or lose that,’” Harper said before Saturday’s game. “I don’t see that. I just think it’s going out there and playing the game we know how to play.”

Harper might not be wrong; the Phillies went through stretches during the season in which their lineup was beatable. The bye isn’t an excuse. It happened again at the worst time. — Gelb

(Top photo of the Mets celebrating after their Game 1 win: Eric Hartline / Imagn Images)