PHILADELPHIA — Do it at your own peril to have a dominant pitching performance in the second half of the Mets game.
Eventually, the Mets find a pitcher who can hit.
So even though Zack Wheeler looked like Cy Young in seven innings on Saturday, the Phillies still had two more spots to cover.
And soon the home team was booed.
In Game 1 between the National League and the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, the Mets slumbered but held on, scoring all their runs in the final two innings and winning 6-2.
This wasn't Pete Alonso's bottom-of-the-ninth home run in Milwaukee that clinched the National League Wild Card Series championship or Francisco Lindor's outburst that clinched a postseason berth in Atlanta three days earlier.
Instead, the Mets methodically carved up the Phillies using five singles and two walks in the eighth inning.
Mark Vientos, Brandon Nimmo and pinch hitter J.D. Martinez each had RBIs in the first inning, and Alonso and Starling Marte added runs with sacrifice flies. Jeff Hoffman and Matt Stram were charged with all crimes.
The Mets can thank the bullpen for keeping the hitters close enough to rally.
David Peterson and Reid Garrett pitched five scoreless innings, second only to Kodai Chiga, who returned from the two-month disabled list.
After the Mets took the lead, Phil Mayton pitched a scoreless game and Ryne Stanek allowed one run in the ninth inning.
Chiga was hit with a huge home run by Kyle Schwarber on the third pitch of the game.
However, the right-hander retired six of the next seven batters he faced and finished the day with 31 pitches.
Wheeler pitched seven shutout innings for the Phillies, allowing one hit and four walks with nine strikeouts.
The stud right-hander threw a career-high 111 pitches in a postseason game.
Wheeler had 30 swings and whiffs, the third-most in a postseason game since 2008.
Schwarber's shot to the right field mezzanine put the Mets in a fast hole.
Chiga started with a slider and fastball, and Schwarber dove over the middle with a 96 mph four-seamer, sending a 115 mph rocket into his bat.
Bryce Harper issued a walk late in the inning, but Chiga escaped without any further damage. The right-hander was back to work in a perfect second.
