Mets Sweep the Phillys in Home Game Series

The New York Mets hit the road for the first time this season, journeying to Philadelphia on Monday for a series against the Phillies. The Queens team – perhaps chastened by its lackluster performance against the Miami Marlins – made Citizens Bank Park its own, blowing out their rivals over the course of three games.

The tone was set early on Monday night, as the Mets’ Yoenis Cespedes hit a double to left field, sending fellow outfielder Michael Conforto home at the top of the first inning. Once at bat, the Phillies failed to respond in kind, allowing their opponents to score a total of five runs unanswered – until the bottom of the 6th, when Philadelphia’s Maikel Franco drilled a Zack Wheeler fastball out over center field for a grand slam. The game ended 5-4.

Philadelphia scored another four runs on Tuesday, but to no avail: The Mets scored in eight innings, homering four times. Three of those hits were due to a seemingly unstoppable Cespedes, who became the first player in franchise history to hit three home runs in a game on two occasions. The lopsided gamed concluded 14-4.

The series ended with another 5-4 game in the Mets’ favor. Conforto ran the ballpark, again scoring off a Cespedes double in the first inning. Not content, Conforto homered in the third. Mets infielder Asdrubal Cabrera singled in the fifth, allowing Travis d’Arnaud and Wheeler to run home before Conforto scored yet another, thanks to a sacrifice fly made by Cespedes. A sense of déjà vu hit the field deep in the sixth inning, as Franco made his second grand slam of the series. The Mets, unfazed, prevented the Phillies from scoring in all subsequent innings.

The sweep brought the Mets to a 6-3 record overall, placing the team at the top of the National League East rankings. The Phillies, now 3-6, sit near the bottom of the league.

The Mets return to action on Thursday, as they take on the Marlins in Florida at 7:10 p.m. EDT.

syunker@ramapo.edu