For the second time in the NLDS, the Philadelphia Phillies couldn’t get the bats going. They are now one game away from elimination because of it.
Led by Sean Manaea’s fantastic performance on the mound, the New York Mets claimed Game 3 of the NLDS over the Phillies, 7-2.
Solo homers from Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker paced the offense early, while Starling Marte’s two-run single in the bottom of the sixth, Jose Iglesias’ two-run single in the seventh and Francisco Lindor’s RBI in the eighth provided the Mets with more than enough insurance.
Not that the Mets needed all those runs. Manaea had the Phillies absolutely befuddled throughout the contest, giving up just one run on three hits across seven innings, striking out six and walking two.
Philly’s disappearing act at the plate—even Bryce Harper, who did have an RBI on the evening, was just 1-of-3 with runners in scoring position, while the team overall finished 2-of-7 with runners in scoring position—earned the ire of the team’s fans and surprise from pundits on social media:
One of the key differences in the series to this point has been consistency at the plate. The Mets scored six runs in each of the first two games and seven on Tuesday. The Phillies have managed two runs in Games 1 and 3 and exploded for seven runs in Game 2.
The Mets have shown solid plate discipline and have hammered the Philly bullpen, while the Phillies have generally struggled to string good at-bats together, often flailing at pitches outside of the zone.
If that doesn’t change in Game 4 on Wednesday (2:08 p.m. ET on FS1), this series won’t be returning to Philadelphia for a decisive Game 5. Philly’s bats better wake up, and in a hurry.
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