Mets/Phillies series could be classic

Watching Game 1 and reading about Game 2, both teams seem to be on a collision course to play in winner-take-all in Game 5.

You figured the Mets and Philadelphia Phillies would be even at one heading to Citi Field on Tuesday afternoon for Game 3.

Yes, the Mets could have had a 2-0 series lead had they held on to a 4-0 lead or taken their chances in extra innings. It didn’t happen. The Phillies went on to take a 7-6 victory in Game 2 after Nick Castellanos hit a game-winning RBI single off Tylor Megill in the ninth inning on Sunday.

Sure, the Phillies could have made a case they should have had a 2-0 series lead if manager Rob Thomson left Zack Wheeler in to pitch the eighth inning with a 1-0 lead instead of taking him out after 111 pitches. After all, the Mets couldn’t hit Wheeler for seven innings, for which he produced 30 swings and misses. Instead, the Mets scored five runs on five singles off Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering in that inning, and they went on to a 6-2 victory in Game 1 on Saturday.

In the end, it evened out for both teams. They stole victories from their respective games, and now we have a series. All four of the baseball’s division series are even at one.

Conventional wisdom says the Mets have an advantage here to finish the series. There’s nothing like Mets fans in the postseason when you feel Citi Field is shaking. Plus, it will be the Mets’ first home game since Sept. 22.

No doubt Phillies fans were loud and proud, but Citizens Bank Park in the first two games did not seem that intimidating. Honestly, I have heard of other ballparks that were much more hostile than that.

Sean Manaea gives the Mets a chance to win Game 3. He feeds off the intensity of the Citi Field crowd. In 16 starts at home this season, he finished 6-3 with a 3.75 ERA and 104 strikeouts.

The Phillies will counter with Aaron Nola, who has a 2.49 ERA in 12 starts against the Amazin’s at Citi Field dating back to 2018.

This could be a pitcher’s duel or slugfest.

In Game 1, it was a pitcher duel. Kodai Senga, David Peterson and Reed Garrett delivered a yeoman effort to match what Wheeler did.

In Game 2, both teams combined for six home runs. Matt Vientos hit two of the Mets’ four home runs.

So who knows what Game 3 will bring in store?

This had the making of a five-game series when it started on Saturday. The Mets and Phillies played each other well. Both teams can hit, and they can also pitch.

We can talk about how fate has smiled on the Mets, but you can say the same thing about the Phillies, as you saw the other day. The Phillies can come back late with their offense and that hitting-friendly ballpark that they play in.

Just because the series is at Citi Field doesn’t exactly mean it can go according to plan for the Mets. Postseason baseball always has different twists and turns.

If this series goes five, the Mets are equipped to win this at Citizens Bank Park. They know how to hit, and most importantly, they know how to grind it out, as we saw last week in winning three come-from-behind wins (one in the regular season and two in the postseason). They always seem to do their thing late in the game. This is a team that recovered from a 0-5 and 25-35 start. These experiences should harden the Mets into believing nothing is impossible.

Yes, the Phillies can trot out Wheeler for that game, but the Mets can trot out Peterson and then unveil Senga to carry more length in the game after throwing 31 pitches in the first two innings he pitched.

Plus, there will be plenty of pressure for the Phillies to not only win the series, but also avoid having the Mets eliminate them at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies can come up small when it matters. We saw that in the World Series two years ago and in the NLCS last year when they blew a 3-2 series lead to the Arizona Diamondbacks and went on to lose Game 6 and 7 at home.

While the Phillies can rely on sheer talent with that lineup, the Mets can rely on grit and Grimace magic to counterattack.

You knew the series would be interesting when it first started, and it has lived up to it. Now, it comes down to the best-of-three.

One can only hope that this series can finally establish a rivalry between those two teams that hasn’t happened in our lifetime.