Breaking news; Mets walk-off thriller helped their own case in playoff hunt filled with ‘watching’……..
If you needed to be convinced of the top playoff seed’s importance after watching the Phillies make deep runs two postseasons in a row despite entering as a wild-card team, just look at their last two homestands.
The Phillies have gone 10-3 in their last 13 games at Citizens Bank Park, winning seven of them in dramatic fashion. They’re rarely out of a game in front of these fans.
J.T. Realmuto singled in Nick Castellanos in the bottom of the ninth Sunday as the Phillies walked off, 2-1, over the Mets.
Castellanos fell behind 0-2 before singling off Edwin Diaz. With two outs, Castellanos stole second, and Diaz started Realmuto 0-2 as well. Realmuto said the first pitch looked like it was “110 mph” because of the shadows. Two pitches later, he sent a 99 mph fastball into right-center for the win.
“These are the type of games and teams you’re gonna play in the postseason,” Realmuto said. “Honestly, for us, every game is really important. It’s been that way for a while. This time of year, you can’t think too far ahead or think about which series is important or isn’t. Every day, we need a win until we clinch the first seed.”
At 90-59, the Phillies are guaranteed of ending the weekend at least three games ahead of the Dodgers for the 1-seed in the National League, which comes with home-field advantage. Given the top American League team trails the Phillies by 3½ games, home-field advantage looks like it would extend through the World Series should the Phils get there.
