Brandon Nimmo hit a go-ahead home run in the sixth inning off Zack Wheeler that just cleared the glove of leaping right fielder Nick Castellanos. This helped the New York Mets defeat Philadelphia 2-1 on Sunday night, stopping the Phillies from clinching the NL East at Citi Field.
Edwin Díaz earned his second career six-out save, his first since August 4, 2022. He left Trea Turner stranded at third base when Alec Bohm grounded out in the eighth and also stranded Bryson Stott at third in the ninth when Kody Clemens struck out.
“We’ve been protecting him the whole year and now it’s big boys time,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
New York (87-69) won three out of four games against the Phillies and has taken 18 of its last 23 games, reaching a season-high 18 games over .500.
The Mets moved ahead of Arizona into the second of three NL wild card spots, leading the Diamondbacks because they won the season series 4-3, and stayed two games ahead of the Braves (85-71). New York will end the regular season with three games each against Atlanta and Milwaukee.
Philadelphia (92-64) needs just one win in its last six games to secure its first NL East title since 2011. The Phillies will face the Chicago Cubs in a three-game series starting Monday night.
“Hopefully we get it done because that’ll be exciting,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson.
Nimmo opened the sixth inning with his 22nd home run, breaking the 1-1 tie by hitting a first-pitch fastball over the 8-foot fence.
“This is playoff atmosphere, playoff baseball and really you see how much more every pitch means in these games,” Nimmo said. “These guys are just rising to the challenge and it’s just a beautiful thing to see.”
Before a lively crowd of 43,139, which was the second straight sellout at Citi Field but only the fifth this season, Tylor Megill gave up four hits over four innings, and Phil Maton (3-3), Joey Butto, and Díaz combined to secure the win, with Díaz earning his 20th save in 26 chances this season.
