Mets defeated Phillies 7-2 behind Alonso and Manaea to take a 2-1 lead in the NLDS

NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso hit another home run off Aaron Nola and Sean Manaea pitched a two-hit shutout in the eighth inning as the New York Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7-2 in the third game of their NL Division Series on Tuesday defeated.

Jesse Winker also singled and Starling Marte had a game-tying two-run single to give the wild-card Mets, playing their first home game in 16 days, a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series helped.

Game 4 is Wednesday at Citi Field, with All-Star Ranger Suárez (12-8, 3.46 ERA) set to face fellow lefty Jose Quintana (10-10, 3.75 ERA) for Philadelphia.

With a win, New York advances to the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Diego Padres.

Manaea was elevated after allowing a leadoff single to start the eighth. The big left-hander, who emerged as New York’s star in the second half of the season, received hearty pats on the back from his teammates and a standing ovation from the towel-waving sellout crowd of 44,093 as he strolled down the hill.

Manaea struck out six and scored two runs in his first playoff win after going 0-3 with a 10.66 ERA in his postseason career.

Manaea held on to a 2-0 lead and escaped major trouble in the sixth period. After issuing consecutive walks to start the inning, he received a mound visit from pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and struck out star slugger Bryce Harper on three off-speed pitches.

Nick Castellanos then led an inning-ending double play as the Mets middle infield doubled Kyle Schwarber at second base. A pumped-up Manaea screamed “Let’s go!” as he bounced off the hill.

Alonso sent Nola’s first throw of the second pitch deep to the right. On his way to first base, he threw his bat high in the air as the ball reached the first row of the second deck.

It was Alonso’s second home run of the Series and third in New York’s last four playoff games. All of them were on the opposing field – the bat only went the other way on four of his 34 home runs during the regular season.

Nola and Alonso have been feuding in the Southeastern Conference since their college days, but in the majors the duel was one-sided. It was Alonso’s sixth career home run as a right-handed hitter, having entered the game with a .320 batting average and a 1.050 OPS in 54 appearances against him.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson left Nola on the mound in the sixth and faced Alonso, who drew New York’s second straight walk after Mark Vientos’ leadoff single.

With the bases loaded, Orion Kerkering replaced Nola and got two outs before Marte’s two-run single made it 4-0.

Brandon Nimmo and Alonso issued back-to-back walks to load the bases again in the seventh before Jose Iglesias added a two-run single off Jose Ruiz with two outs.

Harper and Castellanos each hit an RBI single in the eighth before Ryne Stanek singled and Alec Bohm slumped to end the inning.

Francisco Lindor, playing his first home game since Sept. 8 because of a back injury, hit a run-scoring double in the bottom half to make it 7-2.

The cocky Winker hit a solo shot in the fourth, all the while watching from home plate as his first career postseason home run flew into the second deck in right.

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Suárez, who went 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA in three games against the Mets this season, had a 6.04 ERA in five starts in September, totaling just 22 1/3 innings. But he and the Phillies are confident he has found a mechanical solution after Suárez threw well during an intrasquad game last week.

“What happens in September stays in September. It’s time to turn the page. I just forget,” Suárez said through a translator. “We are in the spirit of October.”

Quintana pitched six shutout innings last Thursday in Milwaukee and earned a no-decision in the deciding Game 3 of a Wild Card Series. He was 1-0 with a 2.81 ERA in three starts against the Phillies this year and pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball against them for St. Louis in the 2022 playoffs.

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