PHILADELPHIA — After the Mets MacGyvered their way through 27 outs against one of the best offenses in baseball on Saturday, after they committed more late-game larceny — at The Bank, of course — in a 6-2 Game 1 win over the Phillies, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner could exhale and smile.
“That,” Hefner said, “was Plan A.”
Line the Mets up against the Phillies and an objective observer would come to one conclusion quicker than any: Philadelphia has the edge from the mound.
The Phillies had five All-Star pitchers. The Mets haven’t had that many in the past eight years combined. By wins above replacement, the three best starters and three best relievers in this series play for the team in red.
Perhaps nothing emphasizes Philadelphia’s advantage from the mound than a juxtaposition of what constitutes “Plan A.” For the Phillies, it was handing the ball to a Cy Young Award frontrunner in Zack Wheeler and getting out of the way. For the Mets, it was taking a guy off the 60-day injured list, starting him with a limit of 30 to 35 pitches, and piecing together 27 outs with super glue and duct tape.
David Peterson, who tossed three shutout innings, might be the Mets’ most valuable pitcher over the past week. (Heather Barry / Getty Images)
“We just made it work,” Ryne Stanek said, shrugging.
“We were ready to go,” said Reed Garrett, who earned the win with six critical outs in the middle innings. “No matter what the game calls for, everybody’s going to do their job.”
Indeed, the Mets are not stacking victories this week. They’re compiling a multi-city spree of heists. They lull you into a false sense of security by slumbering through seven innings, typically scoreless. Then they strike — for eight runs in two innings Monday in Atlanta, for four runs in the ninth Thursday in Milwaukee, for six runs over the final two frames Saturday.
And any student of the heist — from “The Great Train Robbery” through “Ocean’s Whatever” — can tell you success derives less from singular leadership than it does from the quality of the crew. Postseason baseball is supposed to be about a team’s stars. The Mets showed Saturday that the precise execution of your depth can be a winning formula, too.
That’s how New York’s makeshift quintet of pitchers Saturday bested Philadelphia’s All-Stars.
“It’s not only the depth but their willingness to do whatever it takes to get the win,” Hefner said.
“Everybody that we needed was ready to go,” David Peterson said. “Every guy knew their job, and guys executed to get it done.”
“Any situation, that’s the mantra,” Garrett said.
Deciding to go with Senga set all this uncertainty in motion. The Mets hoped he could get them six outs within his prescribed pitch limit. If he couldn’t, Garrett would be the one to pick him up, which is why the righty warmed up in the second inning — four frames and 70 minutes before he finally entered the game.
When Senga made it through those first two innings, the Mets had their biggest decision of the game: Turn to Peterson and make this a bullpen game from there, or hand the ball to Tylor Megill for five or six bulk innings. Down a run, they went with Peterson.
“He’s a gamer,” Hefner said. “He wants the Mets to win, and he’ll do whatever’s asked.”
Maybe nobody’s been as nails for the Mets this week as Peterson. He started Sunday in what was essentially a must-win and shut out the Brewers for seven innings. He closed Thursday in what was a must-win to end Milwaukee’s season and send the Mets to Philly. He tossed three scoreless innings Saturday, bridging the gap between Senga and the usual bullpen hierarchy.
“Give the guy the ball,” said Garrett.
“It’s a group thing. One guy goes out there and pitches really well and that gives you the confidence to go out there and attack and execute,” Peterson said. “We just continue to pass the ball to the next guy and piece it together.”
Once Peterson got through the fifth, the game normalized for the bullpen.
“It gets to the point you’re counting down outs,” Stanek said.
Garrett took it from there for two perfect innings, keeping the Mets in position to stage their by-now customary late-inning rally. Phil Maton and Stanek took it from there. The Mets didn’t even have to use Edwin Díaz, who’d thrown 99 pitches over the last six days.
“Our whole bullpen gave us a shot,” Brandon Nimmo said. “We’re not even in that position if our bullpen doesn’t do what they do.”
Of the 27 outs New York recorded Saturday, zero came from pitchers on its Opening Day roster — a testament to the club’s season-long evolution in the bullpen, in particular.
“We take a lot of pride in putting up those zeroes, especially in a close game like that,” said Peterson. “We felt like we had to keep it close and do our part.”
Contemplating what Senga’s performance might mean later in the series and how soon Peterson could play a role again, Hefner took in how it all transpired Saturday.
“It went,” he said, “about perfect.”
(Top photo of Ryne Stanek and Luis Torrens: Hunter Martin / Getty Images)
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