Matz Homers Again But Mets Fall To Phillies 5-2
PHILADELPHIA (CBSNewYork/AP) — Jorge Alfaro hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the sixth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies rallied past the New York Mets 5-2 on Tuesday night to boost their faint playoff hopes.
Philadelphia overcame an uneven outing from ace Aaron Nola and a home run by starter Steven Matz that made him the third Mets pitcher to homer in consecutive appearances.
Wilson Ramos and Justin Bour delivered pinch-hit RBI hits in a five-run sixth before Alfaro drilled a curveball from Drew Smith (1-1) to left-center for his 10th homer.
And with that, Matz's eventful performance was wasted by the Mets.
The left-hander hadn't clubbed a homer in his first 70 major league games before going deep last Thursday against Miami. He entered Tuesday hitting .093 (4 for 43) this season and .140 in his career, but lifted a fastball to left against Nola in the third that just cleared the wall and withstood a video review to put New York ahead 1-0.
The other Mets pitchers to homer in back-to-back outings were Hall of Famer Tom Seaver (1972) and Ron Darling (1989).
Matz worked around five walks and gave up two hits in five scoreless innings. He also snagged a line drive between his legs to start a double play, before the bullpen faltered and the Mets' bats went silent.
Pat Neshek (3-1) relieved Nola and got the final out of the sixth. Seranthony Dominguez, Tommy Hunter and Hector Neris each pitched a scoreless inning as the Phillies improved to 7-11 against the Mets this season.
Neris earned his 11th save.
Nola allowed two runs and six hits with nine strikeouts and two walks in 5 2/3 innings as his ERA climbed to 2.44. He's given up eight home runs in September as he continues to battle for the NL Cy Young Award with New York's Jacob deGrom.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mets outfielder Jay Bruce started in right field, the fourth straight game he has not played first base. But manager Mickey Callaway said Bruce's troublesome back is fine and he'll return to first soon.
WHEELER DECISION
The Mets were still mulling whether to shut down RHP Zack Wheeler, who has pitched nearly 100 more innings than last season. "The main things we want is him going into the offseason feeling good about the season and being totally healthy," Callaway said.
UP NEXT
Mets RHP Noah Syndergarrd (12-3, 3.26 ERA), who has won three straight starts and four consecutive decisions, goes for the Mets in the season series finale Wednesday night against RHP Zach Eflin (10-7, 4.26).
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)