Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper each delivered home runs on Sunday night, putting an exclamation point on their standout weekends, as the host Philadelphia Phillies secured a 6-2 victory over the New York Mets in the deciding game of their three-game National League East matchup.
For the 10th consecutive outing, Zack Wheeler lasted into the sixth inning for the Phillies, who outscored the Mets 21-5 across the final two contests of the set, pushing their record to 12-6 for the month.
Carson Benge contributed a homer and crossed the plate twice for the Mets, who remain at the bottom of the division and finished their six-game road trip with a 2-4 mark.
The Phillies wasted no time carrying over the momentum from Saturday’s 15-3 rout, putting up two runs in the first inning against David Peterson (3-6). The left-hander needed 29 pitches to get through the opening frame in his first start since May 26.
Peterson began the game by walking Trea Turner and Schwarber, then struck out Harper. Turner came home on Alec Bohm’s infield single, which hugged the third-base line and stayed fair. Schwarber advanced to third when Brett Baty’s throw to first baseman Jacob Young sailed wide, and he scored on the very next pitch via Edmundo Sosa’s single.
Schwarber, who launched three homers on Saturday, added a 418-foot three-run shot in the second inning Sunday. Harper, fresh off his first career cycle the day before, took Austin Warren deep in the fifth.
Harper went 3-for-4 on the night and finished 7-for-9 over the final two games, lifting his batting average from .248 to .266.
Wheeler (7-1), who began the season on the sidelines for four weeks while recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery near his right shoulder, allowed two runs on four hits including Benge’s third-inning homer and issued three walks while fanning seven over 5 2/3 innings. His ERA ticked up slightly from 2.01 to 2.11.
All three walks came in the sixth, a frame in which Wheeler departed after A.J. Ewing grounded into a forceout that plated Benge. Jonathan Bowlan came on to punch out Marcus Semien, and the Mets managed only two singles the rest of the way.
Ewing finished with a pair of hits.
Peterson lasted four innings, surrendering five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks, with five strikeouts.
Leave a Reply