By: Rebecca Serad, Sports Talk Philly Staff 
Final: Philadelphia Phillies 6, New York Mets 4 ❖ Attendance: 24,656
Flushing, NY — The Philadelphia Phillies (6-9) came into tonight's game against the New York Mets (8-8) determined to win the series. For the first time since April 8-10 of last year, the Phils pulled out a series win against their National League East rivals. Outside of allowing a three-run homer, starter Aaron Nola had an okay outing. He grinded through five innings, walking four and striking out two. Nola didn't have the best control, but kept his team in the game. The bullpen was excellent, pitching four scoreless innings and striking out four.
The Phillies offense took advantage of the opportunities they were given by both Mets starter Noah Syndergaard and the poor defense behind him. Five of the six runs that they scored tonight were in the first three innings. A big part of the contributions were the number four through six hitters: Maikel Franco, Aaron Altherr and Tommy Joseph. Franco burst out of a 0-22 slump with a two hit night, including a home-run to left field.
WP: Aaron Nola (2-0, 4.50 ERA) ❖ LP: Noah Syndergaard (1-1, 1.73 ERA) ❖ SV: Hector Neris (1)
Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| PHI | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0 |
| NYM |
0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 3 |
The Phillies struck first in the game. With one out in the top of the second, Aaron Altherr singled. He stole second during Tommy Joseph's at-bat, and scored on Joseph's double to right field. A wild pitch by Mets starter Noah Syndergaard moved Joseph up to third. Shortstop Freddy Galvis followed with an infield single. There was a lack of communication regarding who was covering first base, and the ball ended up being thrown away, which allowed Galvis to move up to second and Joseph to score from third. Andrew Knapp followed with a ground-rule double to score another run. Both pitcher Aaron Nola and second baseman Cesar Hernandez were retired to end the inning, but the Phils were still able to take an early lead against an excellent starting pitcher.
The Mets struck back in the bottom of the frame. With two outs, Jose Reyes singles to center. During the at-bat of Syndergaard, Reyes stole second base. Syndergaard was walked to put runners on first and second for catcher Rene Rivera. He singled just over the glove of a jumping Hernandez to score Reyes. Nola was able to retire Curtis Granderson to avoid any more damage.
The Phils got back to work against Syndergaard in the top of the third. Daniel Nava was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Odubel Herrera followed with a ball that should have been a force out at second. However, an error by Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera allowed Herrera to reach base and Nava to go to third. Maikel Franco ended a 0-22 streak with a double over the head of left fielder Yoenis Cespedes, scoring Nava and moving Herrera up to third. Altherr made a productive out, grounding out to second to score Herrera and move Franco up to third. Syndergaard struck out Joseph and Galvis to end the inning.
The bottom of the third brought more runs for the Mets. Cabrera led off the inning with a single to center. One out later, Jay Bruce walked to put runners on first and second. Neil Walker followed with a homer to right-center field to put a big dent in the Phils' lead. Center fielder Michael Conforto followed the homer with a single to left field. However, he was stranded, as Nola was able to retire the next two batters.
The bats of both teams were silent until the top of the eighth. Franco led off with a homer to left to give the Phils a 6-4 lead. Altherr followed with a single to left. Joseph then singled to center field and Altherr went to third on the play. Mets center fielder Juan Lagares attempted to throw Altherr out at third, but ended up throwing the ball away. This allowed Joseph to move up to second. The next three Phillies were retired in order and an excellent opportunity was wasted. It ended up not being a factor in the outcome of the game, as the two run lead was all the Phils' bullpen needed to secure the win.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Nola | 5.0 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4.50 |
| Noah Syndergaard | 7.0 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1.73 |
Phillies
- Maikel Franco: 2-4, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, .172 AVG
- Tommy Joseph: 3-4, R, 2B, RBI, .208 AVG
- Aaron Altherr: 2-5, R, RBI, .333 AVG
Mets
- Neil Walker: 1-3, R, HR, 3 RBI, .228 AVG
- Rene Rivera: 1-3, RBI, .304 AVG
- Asdrubal Cabrera: 2-4, R, .284 AVG
Phillies
- Joely Rodriguez (6th, 7th): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR, 6.75 ERA
- Joaquin Benoit (8th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.52 ERA
- Hector Neris (9th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
Mets
- Fernando Salas (8th): 0.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1 HR, 3.86 ERA
- Josh Edgin (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.86 ERA
- Jeurys Familia (9th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
- Friday, April 21, 2017: vs. Atlanta Braves, 7:05 p.m.
- Philadelphia – Citizens Bank Park
- RHP Bartolo Colon (1-1, 4.24 ERA) vs. RHP Jeremy Hellickson (2-0, 1.59 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
