PHILADELPHIA — Rain, wind and hills.
The first two of those words described the situation at Citizens Bank Park for much of Wednesday’s game, and the third summed up the Mets’ play.
Joey Lucchesi, who entered the rotation for the first time this season, was forced out of the strike zone in the fifth inning, which almost decided the game, but the left-hander was not the only one who brought down the Mets, who lost 10-5. Phillies.
The Mets, who have lost three straight and for the fifth time in six games, committed two errors and were lackluster on several other defensive fronts.
And the Mets were relatively quiet on offense until they fell into a big hole.
Lucchesi died in the fifth inning, allowing five earned runs on five hits and four walks.
The ugliness continued when Grant Hartwig took the mound, and the Phillies were left alone, scoring a combined five runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
Mark Vientos hit an RBI double on his first pitch after being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead.
The run against Ranger Suarez was unearned after Johan Rojas dropped Brandon Nimmo’s fly ball that led off the game.
Francisco Lindor was hit by a pitch in the first inning.
Bryce Harper, who missed Tuesday’s game at Citi Field because of a migraine, hit a two-out homer against Lucchesi in the first inning to tie the score at 1-1.
The home run was Harper’s 10th of the season and gave him 30 RBIs.
Pete Alonso hit a leadoff double in the third inning, scored three runs on a throw error by Christian Pache, and scored on a wild pitch to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.
Lindor and Marte drew walks to extend the inning, and Harrison Bader was retired for the final out.
In the fourth inning, Nick Castellanos hit a single, but it was thrown by Starling Marte, who tried to convert it into a double.
Lucchesi needed only eight pitches to escape the inning.
Lucchesi’s night ended in the fifth inning, when he walked three batters and allowed four earned runs.
Edmundo Sosa and Cristian Pache started the inning with back-to-back walks, then Rojas bunted and Lucchesi threw to third base to try to nail the first runner.
However, Vientos was late in reaching the bag, giving the Phillies a loaded base.
Kyle Schwarber walked and JT Realmuto’s RBI hit put the Mets up 3-2.
Harper then hit a two-run double, throwing Realmuto to the plate and ending Lucchesi’s night.
Hartwig led off Bryson Stott in the bottom of the sixth inning, Sosa’s single put runners on the corners, Pache grounded out, but Vientos wandered into a double play.
Vientos led the way and Stott scored, giving the Phillies a 6-2 lead.
With two outs, Schwarber grounded out, but Jeff McNeil stopped and threw it away, allowing one more run.
After the Phillies scored three runs in the seventh inning to extend their lead, J.D. Martinez hit a home run and McNeil and Tomas Nido each scored a run.
