NEW YORK — The Phillies had an opportunity to wrap up the National League East with a win on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field.
The Mets said not so fast. And it was a pair of Mets 22-year-olds that helped halt that chance.
Luisangel Acuña and Francisco Alvarez both homered and Sean Manaea reaffirmed his stature atop the rotation to lift the Mets to a 6-3 victory over the Phillies in front of a boisterous sold-out crowd of 44,152 fans at Citi Field.
With the game tied 2-2 and two runners on, Brandon Nimmo hoisted the Mets ahead with an opposite-field RBI single to left field, and Alvarez provided key insurance with a two-run double into the left-center field gap.
"That's going to be the type of caliber teams that we're going to be playing in the playoffs," Nimmo said. "For us, we want to try and win series and try and be ultra-competitive in these games and win games.
"For me, we're just trying to go out there and take care of one day at a time, but that includes winning. It would be great if we could postpone that for them."
The win helped the Mets improve to 86-69 with the teams' series finale looming on Sunday. The Mets remained two games up on the Braves for the final spot in the National League wild card race.
Francisco Alvarez's adjustment
Alvarez appears to be heating up at the best imaginable time for the Mets.
For Nimmo, he sees a player in Alvarez that is "foaming at the mouth" to produce in the clutch. Carlos Mendoza now sees a player that's on time with rhythm, conviction and an explosive lower half of his body.
After collecting one home run in the month of August, the 22-year-old catcher has ignited for five home runs in his last eight starts. Fourteen of Alvarez's 44 RBI have come in September — the most of any month for the catcher.
"I was working with the hitting coach. I was working with my mind too, like how I can feel powerful by working my hips," Alvarez said. "I don't want to open my hips too early. I want to use my hips, stay closed and do the move a little later because it was too early before."
Alvarez put the Mets ahead with a solo home run off Suarez on a knee-high cutter that he pulled over the left-field wall in the second inning. It was Alvarez's 11th home run of the season.
Alvarez's two-run double off Orion Kerkering ran one of the top Phillies relievers from the game with the Mets leading 5-2. It provided critical insurance with the Phillies tallying one run in the next half inning. Alvarez finished 2-for-4 with a home run, double, three RBI and a run.
"This is a guy that when it was really hard for him, he was the first guy on the field, whether it was at home or road trips, hitting on the field, hitting in the cages, watching film and talking to coaches," Mendoza said. "I don't think this is an overnight thing, but it's fun and special."
Luisangel Acuna's spark
Acuña has the same calm, cool demeanor on and off the field.
When Mendoza said he believed the 22-year-old shortstop looked like a major-league player earlier in the week, Acuña politely agreed. His new walk-up song, "Hakuna Matata," mirrors that worry-free demeanor.
In a week where the Mets are missing Francisco Lindor, Acuña has looked every bit the part in the midst of a pressure-packed playoff race.
The rookie's spark continued to glow on Saturday, finishing 2-for-3 with a home run, double, run and an RBI. It was his third multi-hit performance in his first eight games, including six extra-base hits.
"I wasn't expecting to be here a couple of weeks ago. At that point, I was focusing on my season in Triple-A, just trying to get better each and every day. Like I always say, it's just a grain of sand. Each day, it's trying to get better. Now, I look up and I'm here, just trying to help the team win in whatever way I can."
In the bottom of the second inning against Phillies All-Star lefty Ranger Suarez, Acuña did not waste any time. He received a first-pitch curveball and pulled it over the left-field wall to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.
Acuna added a ground-rule double in the bottom of the sixth and a walk in the eighth. He's now 10-for-26 in his first eight games and shown sparkling defense, including a play on a deflection by Manaea up the middle to throw out Alec Bohm.
"I don't think you can predict how guys are going to react when you put them under the lights and the big lights in this situation here that we're in," Mendoz asiad. "It feels, it seems like he's been with us the whole year. You got to give those guys credit in that locker room, they are allowing him to feel that way, not only the players but the coaches."
Sean Manaea's master class
There might very well be an unquestioned ace on the Mets starting rotation right now.
Sean Manaea has been that guy for the Mets. In another big spot on Saturday, the left-hander delivered.
After Kyle Schwarber tagged him for a leadoff home run on an inside sinker, Manaea retired 12 straight batters as the Mets built a 2-1 lead. Then, Castellanos hoisted a solo home run to left that narrowly cleared the wall.
Then, it was another nine straight outs for the veteran left-hander. He was pulled after a leadoff single to J.T. Realmuto in the eighth, who later scored against Reed Garrett.
Manaea finished with three earned runs allowed on three hits across seven innings, while picking up six strikeouts. He held Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Bohm hitless across nine combined at-bats. He ended up grabbing the win to improve to 12-5.
"We've been grinding the whole year and it doesn't really make a difference what city we're in or who we're playing," Manaea said. "We can only control the things that we can. At the end of the day, we can do that and just trying not to make it bigger than it needs to be."
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Luisangel Acuna, Francisco Alvarez show poise in the big moment of Mets' win over Phillies
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