Phillies give Mets a taste of their own medicine to change NLDS look

Phillies give Mets a taste of their own medicine to change complexion of NLDS originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Mets spent all week trying to get back to their teams in the eighth and ninth innings with their season on the line.

Now they know what it feels like.

The Phillies took the lead in the bottom of the eighth, blew it in the bottom of the ninth, and ran away with Nick Castellanos' two-out single to tie the NLDS at one game apiece.

Instead of traveling to Citi Field and needing three straight wins to advance, the Phillies just need a split in Games 3 and 4 in New York to bring the series back to Citizens Bank Park.

You'll rarely find more late-inning drama than this one.

The Phillies were five outs away from losing each of the first two home games of the NLDS when Bryson Stott hit a two-run triple to give them the lead. He scored on a JT Realmuto single for the safety and it looked like that would be enough, but the Phils' bullpen faltered again when Matt Strahm hit a game-winning two-run home run off budding Phillie hitter Mark Vientos with one out in the ninth.

It came a day after Strahm and Jeff Hoffman combined to allow six runs in a game-changing eighth inning. Orion Kerkering also allowed a home run to Brandon Nimmo in the seventh Sunday before Stott came through. Hoffman was able to complete the ninth Sunday and deserved the win.

The Phils were trailing by three runs and two outs in the bottom of the sixth when they tied it with two loud swings from Bryce Harper and Castellanos. Harper roused the crowd of 45,679 with a two-out, two-run blast off the Ivy Wall up the middle and Castellanos followed by a Luis Severino fastball over the middle.

After Nimmo gave the Mets a lead early in the seventh, they turned to closer Edwin Diaz with two outs in the bottom half. He hit Kyle Schwarber to end the seventh and Trea Turner to start the eighth before the Phils rallied.

Diaz gave Harper nothing to hit on a four-pitch walk. Castellanos, whose home run tied the game two innings earlier, followed with an opposing single and Stott plated both with a full-count triple.

Diaz is the most underwhelming pitcher the Mets have to offer and this was a huge confidence booster for the Phillies, the opposite of what happened to their two best relievers, Hoffman and Strahm, in Game 1.

Castellanos' duality was on display in one afternoon. He took two ugly swings on sliders in the dirt on his second at-bat and received a Bronx cheer after he dropped the next pitch, which bounced away. He shook his head in frustration and ended the at-bat with a groundout.

Then he got an error from Severino in the sixth and missed. Diaz's opposing single was just as important. The single in the ninth inning might have saved their season.