PHILADELPHIA — After barely surviving the House of Horrors in Atlanta and a stunning late win in Milwaukee, the competition just got tougher for the magical Mets here against their hated division rivals. It became serious.
But that's not a problem for the Mets these days.
They have magic, momentum, and mojo on their side. No need to worry. That might be all they need.
They continued to be baseball's story in October, coming from behind to beat the Phillies 6-2 to take the Division Series to 1-0.
The opponents are getting tougher and tougher, but things seem to be getting easier for the Queen's side. This year was supposed to be a year of transition. But anyone who bets on them now is a fool. Their rolls are truly amazing and getting more amazing each day.
The Mets' five runs in eight innings won a crucial game in October, casting a pall over a perpetually deafening Citizens Bank Park. Fans were loud early in the morning and loud late into the night, but mostly booed after the best Mets rally in recent memory.
On paper, facing former Mets pitcher Zack Wheeler (perhaps the second-best pitcher the Mets let go after Tom Seaver) wouldn't be such a difficult task here, and the Philadelphia star The studded lineup is ready to go, the Phillies are well-rested (although that may be detrimental) and all the wild and wacky fans here in Philadelphia.
But now it seems like nothing can stop the Mets.
The great thing about the Mets is that they can't do anything most of the game and it doesn't matter. As long as they have one or two at-bats left, they are very much alive.
On paper, they may not be the best team yet. But I feel they are the most dangerous team in the derby right now.
Perhaps the victory wasn't as dramatic as the two come-from-behind doubleheaders in Atlanta or Pete Alonso's 11th-hour homer that saved his team in Milwaukee, but at the time Alonso said, “Hold your beer.” But this one might be more impressive.
This time, the Mets were unable to hold out until the 9th inning (my personal favorite). They simply waited until Wheeler finished the game after 7 o'clock and took advantage of the moment when the Phillies brought in a human pitcher. None of the Phillies' vaunted bullpen (manager Rob Thomson's first two pitchers were All-Stars!) gave up one hit in seven innings against Wheeler, and five hits in the victory rally against the Mets. I couldn't deal with it.
In many ways, the Mets had the toughest draw of the derby. Not only is Wheeler great, but he probably doesn't love the Mets because of how they handled free agency.
The Phillies feature a winning batting lineup filled with star players who made it to the World Series two years ago, and should have made it to the World Series last year as well. Unlike the past two times, this time the Dodgers' pitching staff was drastically reduced, so many people supported them advancing to the World Series.
Fans are also tough here. Some say they are legendarily loud, rowdy, or even rude (Santa Claus might agree). They didn't stop from the first pitch until the end.
Kudos to the Philadelphia fans, but my guess is they might be excited about a cheesesteak or something harder. I'm also pretty sure it's the fans who use steroids, not the players (some of whom look horribly buff). Anyway, the match started out loud, and got even louder.
Despite this, the Phillies fell to 28-14 in postseason games at Citizens Bank Park, close to the best home record in MLB history. The park feels comfortable and the fans are excited.
But, of course, it's mainly about the team. This is a pretty special Phillies team that made it out of the National League East.
So the Mets know they have quite a challenge here. But they definitely knew they were stepping up in class.
The Braves are a perennial thorn in the side of the Mets, but they weren't themselves. Half of their stars were on the shelf and some of the rest were in the doldrums.
This is a tough team for the Brewers. After a terrible 2023 season with an unexpected blowout win in the opening game, Milwaukee won every regular season game in 2024 except for one last game, which meant nothing to Milwaukee.
The Mets had a pretty strong October.
That positive feel came as surprise starter Kodai Chiga, who looked great in Port St. Lucie's backfield, fed perennial star Kyle Schwarber an early meatball in October, hitting about a mile in the first. It only lasted three pitches to the Phillies. They said it was 425 feet, but I think they probably mixed up the numbers. It says 524. Anyway, I was deep in the second deck of the right wing of the straight.
If the idea of starting Chiga was to surprise the Phillies, it didn't quite work out. But that's the only thing going wrong right now for the mysteriously good Mets.
