New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was proud of the fight his team showed in a thrilling 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.
“We just continue to punch back,” Mendoza said after the Mets defeated their NL East rival despite blowing a three run lead.
Brandon Nimmo won the game with a walk-off single against Phillies closer Jhoan Durán.
The heroic moment for Nimmo came after Philadelphia tied the game at five on Harrison Bader’s two-run homer off Ryan Helsley in the top of the eighth.
When Helsley followed that up by walking Bryson Stott, Mendoza didn’t mess around and went to closer Edwin DÃaz with one out in the inning.
DÃaz was perfect for 1.2 innings, striking out four of the five hitters he faced. It was his third game of the season recording at least five outs. Two of them have come in the last 10 days, which could speak to the level of urgency Mendoza and the Mets are feeling heading into the final month of the season.
The Mets have opened up a 3.5 game lead over the Cincinnati Reds for the final wild card spot in the NL. They are within five games of the Phillies in the NL East race.
Despite a 9-14 record in August, the Mets have been playing better of late with four wins in their last five games. They have taken the first two games in this three-game set against the Phillies with the finale scheduled for Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. ET.
New York and Philadelphia will play a four game series in Citizens Bank Park from Sept. 8-11 that could go a long way toward deciding which team wins the division.
