The Philadelphia Phillies have tried everything at Citi Field, but they still can’t find a way to beat the New York Mets on their home turf.
A day removed from an emotional, razor-thin defeat to their division rivals, the Phillies were outclassed again on Wednesday night. Standout rookie Nolan McLean worked the vaunted Philadelphia lineup like a speedbag for eight shutout innings in a 6-0 laugher.
Not only was it a sweep of the Phillies, but it was the Mets’ 10th consecutive home win over Philadelphia, dating back to last regular season and including the two wins last October to send the Phillies home for the winter.
After entering the series seven games back of the Phillies, the Mets have made the National League East race interesting again, cutting the deficit all the way to four. The teams have four games remaining at Citizens Bank Park from Sept. 8-11.
Manager Rob Thomson was asked if the Phillies had injected the Mets with some energy for a comeback chase, and he wasn’t in the mood to speculate.
“I don’t know,” Thomson said, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic. “You’ll have to ask them.”
What Thomson did know was that the Phillies can’t afford to dwell on their issues in Flushing. They’ve got 29 games left to play, 17 of which are at home, and they have a golden opportunity to win the division again and secure a bye straight to the Division Series.
“We know that we need to play better,” Thomson said, per Gelb. “Yeah, it’s one of those series. We’ll just have to flush it and move on.”
Maybe the Phillies will be back at Citi in October, and they’ll have to confront their demons then. But for now, all they can do is focus on this weekend’s showdown with the fourth-place Atlanta Braves.
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