It was hitting season on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park where one ace and a rookie lefty were battered around in a barrage of home runs and extra-base hits in a record-tying game.
With eight homers from the Mets and three from the Phillies, the teams combined to tie the National League record of 11 homers in a game, a feat accomplished just five times. The last time there were 11 homers in an NL game was May 17, 1979, in the Phillies’ epic 23-22 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley.
When the dust finally cleared on Monday night, the Mets powered to a 16-7 victory thanks to a franchise-record eight home runs and 15 extra-base hits.
The loss snapped the Phillies’ modest three-game winning streak as they fell to 50-75. The Mets won their fourth straight game and pushed their lead over the Nationals in the NL East to 5½ games.
Starting pitching
Adam Morgan lasted just 3 2/3 for the shortest outing of his 11-game big-league career. Morgan gave up solo homers in the second and third innings and was charged for three more in the fourth before he got the hook.
In that 3 2/3, Morgan allowed five runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. On the plus side, Morgan has not issued a walk since Aug. 8, a span of 19 1/3 innings since his last free pass.
MLB
The Phillies knocked out Cy Young Award candidate Jacob deGrom with a career-worst seven runs on eight hits in the shortest outing of his career, just 2 2/3 innings. deGrom also allowed three homers and three walks in the loss.
Bullpen report
Hector Neris was tattooed for four runs in the fifth inning, serving up homers to Wilmer Flores and Michael Cuddyer. Neris also gave up a double to Daniel Murphy and hit Yoenis Cespedes with a pitch.
Justin De Fratus followed and gave up four runs in the sixth and one more in the seventh before turning it over to Adam Loewen for the final two innings. Loewen gave up a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth to finish it up.
At the plate
Ryan Howard got the Phillies on the board in the first with a three-run homer for his 20th of the season. In hitting home run No. 20, Howard became just the second player in franchise history to hit 20 homers in nine seasons. Mike Schmidt hit at least 20 homers in 14 seasons.
Domonic Brown also clubbed a three-run homer in the third inning and catcher Cameron Rupp hit a long solo shot into the visitors’ bullpen in the second inning.
While Howard and Brown picked up a pair of hits, Freddy Galvis had his 10th three-hit game of the season.
The Mets’ eight homers breaks the franchise record of seven, last reached on April 19, 2005, at Citizens Bank Park. The Mets beat the Phillies, 16-4, in that one with two homers from Jose Reyes and Victor Diaz and one each from Mike Piazza, Doug Mientkiewicz and David Wright.
Wright hit the first homer for the Mets on Monday night, followed by two from Flores and one from Travis d’Arnaud, Juan Lagares, Murphy, Cuddyer and Cespedes.
Cuddyer and Murphy also hit two of the Mets’ seven doubles while Flores drove in five runs. Lagares, Murphy and d’Arnaud also had multi-RBI games.
Wright returns
Mets All-Star Wright returned to the lineup for the first time since April 14 after sitting out with spinal stenosis. The third baseman bashed an upper-deck homer to left field in his first at-bat. He followed that with a single to left in the fourth on his way to a 2-for-5 night.
Up next
The four-game series continues on Tuesday night when Jerome Williams (4-9, 6.10) takes on hard-throwing righty Noah Syndergaard (7-6, 3.17). Williams is 1-2 with a 5.73 ERA in six career starts against the Mets, including 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA in two starts this year.
Williams last faced the Mets on May 26 when he allowed three runs on five hits and four walks over five innings.