Last Saturday, 40 lucky Stags were part of history, joining 44,152 fans at Citi Field in making up the fifth-largest crowd in the ballpark’s history. In the hunt to clinch the National League East Division, the Philadelphia Phillies were one win away from securing the division. The 85-69 New York Mets were fending off the Atlanta Braves for the final Wild Card spot and the last ticket into October baseball. Tensions could technically be higher, but this is late September baseball; every game is life or death.
The house was absolutely rocking for Saturday night’s matchup between the Mets and Phillies, and the home team did not disappoint.
Leaving at 2 p.m., the aim was for students to arrive at Citi Field just in time for the gates to open and provide them with the chance to grab concessions and peruse the park before first pitch. New York traffic did not let that happen.
Listening to the first two innings of the game from friends giving a play-by-play to others on the bus amid stop-and-go traffic made this experience quite unique; especially when Kyle Schwarber ripped open scoring with a lead-off home run. The handful of Philadelphia faithful on the bus lamented missing the “Schwarbomb” while the Mets fans grew nervous about what starting pitcher Sean Manaea had in store for the evening.
By the bottom of the second inning, students were on the park grounds rushing to get into the first gate in sight, when a roar erupted from inside the stadium. For a quick second, everyone stopped to look around and figure out what the fuss was about. A glance at the outdoor scoreboard was all it took for some of the more serious fans to piece together what happened. Francisco Alvarez was at the plate, and more likely than not had just hit a home run.
Knowing Alvarez tied it up gave the Mets fans of the group some more pep in their step. The subsequent Luisangel Acuña home run made them practically run. After receiving a fan appreciation gift—a bright orange beanie with the Mets logo—the last rush was to get seated and not miss out on any more of the action.
By the top of the third, Fairfield’s crowd was placed in the left field corner, section 132, and ready to watch the rest of this National League rivalry play out.
The Mets stayed up 2-1 until the fifth inning when Nick Castellanos homered to left field and evened out the score— giving the swarm of Phillies fans along the third baseline something to cheer about.
The sixth inning saw the first pitching change of the night, with the Phillies opting to put Jose Ruiz on the mound to face the tail end of the Mets lineup. Ruiz managed to coax two fly-outs from the Mets but couldn’t hold on and had to walk Harrison Bader. With two outs, Acuña stepped up to the batter’s box with the sell-out crowd eagerly awaiting the outcome of the rookie’s at-bat.
Dealt a 95 mph sinker, Acuña took a swing and sent a bloop to right field that looked like a routine foul ball but ended up being in play as Nick Castellanos couldn’t help but keep his hands off it. Racing home, Bader sent the crowd into a frenzy with the impression of taking the lead once more from the Phillies, but the play was ultimately ruled a ground-rule double as the ball went over the wall once landing in foul territory. Ruiz collected the final out and the Mets were forced to accept the tied score and strike again later.
Sean Manaea remained on the bump for the seventh, facing Bryce Harper for the second time. Having a long history with the first baseman, Citi Field booed Harper for merely existing during his at-bat and celebrated extravagantly when he flew out to left field after seeing seven pitches from Manaea. Alec Bohm was up next and swung with a 1-1 count, launching the ball off Manaea’s foot, which bounced towards second base but was stopped by Acuña and whipped to Alonso at first to get Bohm out. Castellanos flew out to center and the side was retired.
To cap out the seventh, the Phillies sent in Orion Kerkering to hopefully get them through the ninth. Facing Starling Marte, Kerkering dealt five pitches and walked the designated hitter. Kerkering recovered the struck-out Mark Vientos but then drilled Pete Alonso with a wild pitch, setting Brandon Nimmo up with two men on base.
Needing a clutch hit more than anything, the crowd practically begged Nimmo to produce a run, and the homegrown Met delivered with a single right through the gap in left field. Marte scored and Alonso settled with third base. Taking care of unfinished business, Alvarez smoked a ball to center field and sent the Philadelphia outfield into a daze of miscommunication, giving the Mets another two runs and putting them up 5-2.
The reaction of the home crowd was electric. Strangers were high-fiving, children were jumping and others were cheering. The reaction of the visitors can be summed up with two sentences: “Three of you and you can’t catch that!? What are we doing?” said one Stag supporting the Phillies.
The top of the eighth saw Manaea retired after giving a single to JT Realmuto. The Phillies capitalized on the pitching change to Reed Garrett and remixed the batting order with pinch hitters to squeeze out a run from a fielder’s choice, making it 5-3. Not willing to bleed anymore, Carlos Mendoza made the call to the bullpen for the Mets’ star closer, Edwin Díaz.
The broadcast camera charging the bullpen was a dead giveaway of what was to come next for the Metropolitans. Before the trumpets started, the home crowd was on their feet. The crowd stood as the lights flickered and the beat to Timmy Trumpet’s “Narco” signaled the entrance of Díaz. Dealing six straight heaters, the right-handed pitcher struck Schwarber out looking and crushed any dreams of another “Schwarbomb” at Citi Field for the night.
Philadelphia closer Tyler Banks was entrusted with keeping the score as close as possible. Acuña walked and was called out on a fielder’s choice that left Jose Iglesias at first. Marte walked and was moved to third after Alonso sent an RBI single to center field, capping the scoring at 6-3.
At the top of the ninth, Díaz collected two outs and was three strikes away from securing a win for the Mets. Bohm was dealt a 90 mph slider from the Puerto Rican closer, grounding it to Vientos who tossed it to Alonso. The Mets won 6-3.
After a quick celebration in the stands and a thank-you speech from Nimmo, the crowd quickly headed out to beat the post game traffic. Chants of “Let’s Go Mets!” filled the stairwells as fans made their exit, and the Stags headed back home to Fairfield with a memory of some good baseball under their belts.
The October chill and playoff mentality has crept into Citi Field early. Turning around an 0-5 start, piggybacking off internet sensations and pulling off plays only luck could ensure—this Mets team is not the “pivot squad” the front office described at spring training.
Thanks to the RecPlex and FUSA’s Programming Board, these Stags got to witness part of what is hopefully a rags-to-riches run from their neighbors 60 miles south. To secure a playoff spot, the Mets will have to take two from the Braves this week or go 4-2 to finish off their regular season schedule. In other words, the job’s not finished.
Leave a Reply