The smoky weather from the Canadian wildfires finally cleared out of the area to provide a picturesque summer afternoon for baseball in South Philadelphia.
The Phillies turned to fifth-day starter Alan Rangel for the rubber match against the New York Mets, but it was the road squad who celebrated early and often after striking for a handful of runs in the early innings.
All Phillies fans could do was shower the visitors in boos as they watched the Mets' celebratory handshakes following a 6-1 loss to their National League East rivals at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday afternoon.
Rangel struggled to find his out pitch on the afternoon, with the Mets showcasing patience at home plate in the early innings. Turncoat Bo Bichette’s 11-pitch walk in the first inning set the table for Francisco Lindor’s two-run home run to give New York an early 2-0 advantage.
Things got worse for Rangel in the second inning after Juan Soto worked a nine-pitch walk to load the bases for RBI singles from Bichette and Lindor to double that lead to 4-0. Rookie Carson Benge hit a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 5-0 before the first six outs were recorded against the blue and orange-clad visitors.
New York would never concede that advantage on Sunday afternoon.
Lindor, a potential trade candidate ahead of the 2026 MLB Trade deadline on Aug. 3, had a particularly noteworthy day at the dish. The five-time All-Star finished 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs and two walks. Lindor could certainly be a needle-moving player for a contending team this fall.
Mets starter Nolan McLean was solid against the Phillies hitters, who struggled to find an offensive rhythm with one hit (and two base runners) through the opening five innings. There wasn’t much for the home crowd to celebrate as the only run-scoring opportunity was thwarted after J.T. Realmuto grounded into an inning-ending double-play in the second frame.
From there, McLean sat down the next 11 batters he faced, never really giving Philadelphia’s offense a chance across the early innings.
McLean struck out 10 Phillies hitters on the afternoon, his first double-digit strikeout performance since April 21st against the Minnesota Twins. The 24-year-0ld starter has been a recent bright spot in a dismal season for New York, with four wins in his last five outings.
Mets bullpen arm A.J. Minter entered in relief of McLean in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the Phillies offense found a late spark of life. Alec Bohm smashed a no-doubt about it solo home run above the orange Asplundh banner on the left field wall to put a crooked number on the board for Philadelphia at 6-1. It was just the third hit of the afternoon for Philly.
Bryson Stott and J.T. Realmuto swatted singles past the Mets infielders to extend the rally, but it came to an abrupt end after pinch hitter Edmundo Sosa ground into an inning-ending twin-killing with the Phillies still trailing by the same handful of runs.
New York’s bullpen, Huascar Brazoban in the eighth and Cionel Perez in the ninth, slammed the door shut and doomed the Phillies to their 23rd home loss of the 2026 campaign.
Perhaps the Phillies (55-45) were looking past the N.L. East-worst Mets (42-58) on Sunday afternoon with a pair of tough matchups on deck in South Philly? The reigning World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers (63-36) arrive for a three-game midweek series beginning tomorrow night at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
Next weekend, the other squad from New York, the Yankees (54-44), arrive for an interleague series at The Bank in South Philly. Tickets are available for both series via the Phillies ticket website on MLB.com.
