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With the Mets’ ace on the mound; with the specter of the Phillies’ ace set to take the mound Sunday; with a three-game showdown looming against the hanging-around Braves; and with a sellout, energized crowd on hand, Saturday’s Mets game technically took place on Sept. 21 but had the weight and feeling of October.
It was not just the atmosphere, though, that seemed worthy of the postseason: The Mets are playing like a playoff team.
In what might have been the rowdiest afternoon in Queens this season, Sean Manaea was dominant and his offense loud enough, a three-run seventh inning making the difference in a 6-3 win over the Phillies in front of 44,152 at Citi Field.
The Mets (86-69) awaited the finish of the Braves’ game in Miami and will finish this series against Zack Wheeler before their season may be decided beginning Tuesday in Atlanta.
Carlos Mendoza’s group will enter its most significant showdown of the season having at worst split a series with the NL East-best Phillies.
Luisangel Acuña launched his third homer in just his eighth big-league game and Francisco Alvarez smoked his fifth dinger in his past nine games.
But the tied game was decided in the seventh, when a Mets team that had left too many on base finally capitalized on its opportunities.
Against dominant righty Orion Kerkering, the Mets mounted a threat with a walk to Starling Marte and Pete Alonso (who had one hit but reached base five times) getting drilled.
With one out, Brandon Nimmo looped a single into left field and screamed to his dugout with joy and, suddenly, with a lead.
That lead grew, two batters later Alvarez coming through for a second time on the day with an outfielder-splitting double into left-center that scored two.
The Phillies scored once in the eighth against Reed Garrett before Edwin Diaz entered with a runner on first and Kyle Schwarber at the plate.
Diaz struck out the potential tying run and — after an Alonso bloop, RBI single added some insurance in the bottom of the eighth — Diaz shut down the Phillies in the ninth.
The Mets and Phillies traded leads through the first five innings.
Schwarber’s home run on the second pitch of the game put the Mets in a hole.
Home runs by Alvarez and Acuna in the second inning put the Mets ahead before Nick Castellanos stuck out his bat and pulled a solo shot over the left-field wall in the fifth to tie the game at 2-2, setting the stage for the decisive seventh.
Even without Francisco Lindor, the Mets seem to be consistently finding a way to escape these close games. Just as importantly, they have found an ace.
Manaea was excellent again in seven-plus innings in which he was charged with three runs on three hits (two of them homers) without a walk and with six strikeouts.
In 11 games since July 30, the lefty has only allowed as many as four runs once and has pitched to a 2.50 ERA.
He was efficient, needing just 89 pitches to get into the eighth inning.
After Manaea allowed a leadoff single to J.T. Realmuto, the fifth-largest crowd in Citi Field history gave him a standing ovation, Manaea returning the gesture with a tipped cap and a blown kiss.
The Mets’ pitching and late-game offense ensured they would not bemoan the previous missed opportunities, including a bounce that went the Phillies’ way in the sixth.
With Harrison Bader on first and two outs, Acuña sent a bloop down the right-field line that was just out of the reach of a sliding Castellanos.
With Castellanos out of the play and center fielder Johan Rojas nowhere near, the ball caromed off the dirt and into the seats for a grounds-rule double that kept Acuña at second, Bader at third and the game tied.
If the ball stayed on the field, at least one run would have scored and the speedy Acuña might have raced to an inside-the-park homer.
Instead, Jose Iglesias stepped up and grounded back to Jose Ruiz, who knocked the ball down, recovered and threw him out to escape.
Manaea, Diaz and some important swings made sure the bounce was forgotten.
