Expecting a Mets-Phillies series to be conventional is a lot like expecting a Todd Phillips movie to be conventional. It's just not gonna happen.
The paint that these two teams traded during Game 2 was the result of an entire season of sniping at each other. The Mets have routinely had the Phillies' number this season, and now they have the momentum as well. Yet the Phillies have the better team, the better rotation, and the better bench. So anything can happen. And in Game 2, just about everything did. Two excellent starts from Cristopher Sanchez and Luis Severino, some amazing long ball moments from Bryce Harper and Pete Alonso, several lead changes [one happening the moment I flipped the channel back], several close calls, and the Phillies' bullpen again letting the team down.
This game came down to two players: Mark Vientos and Nick Castellanos. On one hand, Vientos very much played the part of the hero, hitting two home runs at pivotal points, forcing the game to go to the bottom of the ninth, and cementing his status as a starring player for this Mets team. On the other hand, Vientos did two things that wounded this team. The first was bobbling an easy ground ball that led to the sixth Phillies run scoring in the eighth. Then in the ninth, he didn't communicate going for a fly ball, nearly trampling over Brandon Nimmo, and essentially knocking the wind out of him. These are rookie moves, and he needs to grow out of them.
Nick Castellanos, though, rose to the occasion when he could have made mistakes. He had a welcome knock late, after Harper's. Then in the ninth, after the game was already tied, he had an incredible diving catch that reminded many of the 2022 postseason. And then, as the came came down to him, he took a very tired Tylor Megill to the back wall and brought Turner home for the win. This win happens because Castellanos was THE guy when we needed him.
And so, the series is tied. We shouldn't have had to fight quite as hard for it, but we got there. And now we head to Queens, where the Mets will try to take the leverage back again.
As for the other matchup, uh...Padres-Dodgers is gonna be the Yanks-Sox of the 2020s. Both teams are competitive, both teams have legends playing for them, both teams have had ebbs and flows, and both teams have strived to one-up each other. The Dodgers took down the Padres on the way to a ring in 2020, the Padres retaliated on the way to an NLCS [that they arguably should have taken] in 2022. And now here we are again.
This Padres win should be a wake up call for the Dodgers. Trying the same things with less starting pitching and an emphasis on just throwing Ohtani out there and hoping it'll work is not a winning strategy. Jack Flaherty struggled tonight against a hot lineup, while the much older Yu Darvish thrived in the high-pressure environment. Ohtani, Betts, Freeman and Smith were all hitless, while the only starting Padre without a hit was Jake Cronenworth; Machado, Bogaerts, Merrill, Higgy, even Peralta had huge moments.
And of course it all comes down to Fernando Tatis Jr., who had a 2-homer night, and reestablished himself as the main attraction in San Diego. Some Dodgers fans were throwing trash at him, there is absolutely no place for that. He's a great player, you can boo him, you can wish he wasn't as good, don't go throwing shit. That's not a good look for the fanbase. If you had a team that could hit 6 homers right back you wouldn't be throwing trash. The Dodgers should be able to bounce right back, a lot like the Mets and Phils did, and they just...couldn't tonight. The Padres just kept hammering them down, and the end result was an overwhelming win for SD. After what the Dodgers did last night, that's not a great sign.
And now the action moves to San Diego, where I assume the home crowds will make things difficult for Dodgers fans. The Dodgers were always gonna be here. The Padres had to fight, and many fans thought there wasn't a chance of getting back here. They're gonna be a lot thirstier, and a lot louder, than many Dodgers fans who likely have next year to look forward to anyway. For the Padres, this could be the shot. So they're gonna savor every moment. Game 3 could be a continuation of that.
Tomorrow, the AL matches continue. We'll see if anyone's able to fashion a lead.
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