PHILADELPHIA — You’re kidding, right?

Is this baseball or a movie script?

Just this past week alone, they survived in Atlanta to qualify for the playoffs, hit a miraculous game-winning homer in Milwaukee to advance, and were completely shut out Saturday by one of the game’s best starters, only to have a stunning comeback victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Yes, these New York Mets, these Miracle Mets, these Amazin’ Mets – “OMG.”

Limited to just one hit in the first seven innings and seemingly lifeless, the Mets rallied to win 6-2 in Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park.

You’ve never heard a frenzied crowd of 45,751 people become so eerily quiet.

Thus, the Mets make the Phillies worry that their glorious season will go up in smoke.

This is a game the Phillies felt they had to win with Zack Wheeler on the mound. The former Met had one of the best postseason performances in franchise history, giving up one hit in seven shutout innings.

Wheeler stifled the Mets offense. He didn’t give up his first hit in the fourth inning on Mark Vientos’ leadoff single. The Mets went 1-for-21 on Wheeler. He generated 30 career swings and misses, the most of any Phillies pitcher in a postseason game dating back to 2008. It was the most of any pitcher in a postseason game, behind only Gerrit Cole in 2019 while with the Houston Astros. , said MLB researcher Sarah Langs.

And then the eighth inning happened.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson pulled Wheeler after 111 pitches and called on All-Star reliever Jeff Hoffman to open the eighth.

It became a horror movie for the Phillies.

Francisco Alvarez led off with a single. Francisco Lindor walked. Mark Vientos tied the game with a single down the leftfield line.

Thomson immediately yanked Hoffman, who was escorted by loud cheers, and called up another All-Star reliever: Matt Strahm.

Too late. The Mets now had the momentum.

Brandon Nimmo singled for another run.

Pete Alonso hit a sacrifice fly to center. Jose Iglesias singled to knock Strahm out of the game.

Right-hander Orion Kerkering came in to face pinch-hitter JD Martinez, who singled in another run. And then it was another sacrifice fly by Starling Marte, making it 5-1.

It wasn’t meant to be.

The Phillies promised, after losing the National League Championship Series lead to the Arizona Diamondbacks last year and dropping the final two games in Philadelphia, that they would get that bitter taste out of their mouths.

It just got much worse.

They face a blistering team that has momentum on their side and won’t let go.

The Mets gambled by starting Kodai Senga, who had thrown just 5 ⅓ innings this entire season. It took just three pitches to make them grimace, as leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber sent Senga’s 90-mph fastball into the second deck. Mets right fielder Starling Marte didn’t even move as the ball sailed 400 feet away.

Who would have thought this would be the Phillies’ all-out offense until the ninth inning?

While the Phillies’ bullpen gave up seven hits and six runs in two innings, the Mets’ bullpen pitched six shutout innings, giving up only three hits until the Phillies finally scored a consolation run in the ninth.

The Phillies, having a week off after winning the NL East, learned that momentum is better than rest and relaxation any day.

“This game is such a game of momentum and success in baseball, it’s very contagious,” Phillies catcher JT Realmuto said before the game. “So when you start to feel confident and you start to feel good about yourself and you see your teammates succeeding, and then you come in at a big spot, it’s extremely contagious and it just gives you confidence to move on .

“I think that’s something you’re seeing with the Mets right now. They are a very good team, they have a lot of momentum.”

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

Magic again: New York stuns Phillies with eight-inning rally.

Brandon Nimmo followed by poking an RBI single in the opposite direction to put the Mets up 2–1, then Pete Alonso’s sacrifice fly to center field brought Vientos around to score and give New York a 3–1 lead.

J.D. Martinez added an RBI single and Starling Marte hit a sacrifice fly, turning a 1-0 hole into a 5-1 lead before the Phillies finally got the third out.

Zack Wheeler throws seven scoreless

Phillies ace Zack Wheeler has completed seven scoreless innings and 111 pitches with the Phillies leading 1-0 going into the bottom of the eighth. Wheeler, who made his MLB debut with the Mets in 2013, gave up just one hit with nine strikeouts and a walk.

Phillies lead 1-0 through 5

Kyle Schwarber’s leadoff home run in the first inning remains the lone score in the game, with Zack Wheeler going scoreless through five innings, giving up just one hit with seven strikeouts.

Mets reliever David Peterson had thrown three shutout frames replacing Kodai Senga and worked around a man on second in the fourth and fifth innings, striking out Bryce Harper to end the final frame .

Mets get the first hit, but Wheeler works without any problems

Mark Vientos led off the top of the fourth inning with a single after the Mets were held without a base for three innings and a walk to Brandon Nimmo gave New York a scoring opportunity with no outs. But Zack Wheeler struck out Pete Alonso and got Jose Iglesias to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Kodai Senga was done after two innings

Mets right-hander Kodai Senga made his first start since July and was replaced after two innings of work by left-hander David Peterson with three strikeouts, giving up Kyle Schwarber’s homer in the first inning.

Peterson got the save in Game 3 of the wild-card series on Thursday, the first of his career. The 29-year-old went 10-4 with a 2.90 ERA in 21 regular-season starts.

Kyle Schwarber’s leadoff home run sets the tone

After Zack Wheeler put the Mets down in the top of the inning, Kyle Schwarber homered off Kodai Senga to lead off the bottom of the first inning, sending the crowd at Citizens Bank Park into a frenzy.

Schwarber’s home run was his 21st of the postseason, breaking a tie with Derek Jeter for fourth on the all-time list.

What time is Mets vs. Phillies?

The first pitch for Game 1 is scheduled 4:08 PM ET on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.

How to watch Mets vs Phillies NLDS

Mets lineup for Game 1

1. Francisco Lindor (S) SS

2. Mark Vientos (right) 3B

3. Brandon Nimmo (L) LF

4. Pete Alonso (right) 1B

5. José Iglesias (R) 2B

6. Jesse Winker (L) DH

7. Starling Marte (R) RF

8. Tyrone Taylor (R) CF

9. Francisco Alvarez (right) C

Phillies lineup Game 1

1. Kyle Schwarber (L) DH

2. Trea Turner (R) SS

3. Bryce Harper (L) 1B

4. Nick Castellanos (R) RF

5. Alec Bohm (right) 3B

6. Bryson Stott (L) 2B

7. JT Realmuto (R) C

8. Brandon Marsh (L) LF

9. Johan Rojas (R) CF

Phillies vs. Mets Predictions

All six USA TODAY Sports MLB writers and editors picked the Phillies to beat the Mets in the NLDS, with three predicting the Phillies would win their first World Series since 2008.

Check out USA TODAY Sports’ complete MLB postseason predictions

Kodai Senga vs. Phillies: Mets name Game 1 starter in stunning move

PHILADELPHIA – One day Kodai Senga is pitching in Florida and wonders if he’s wasting his time trying to get healthy for a game that might not exist.

Next up, Pete Alonso hits a game-winning three-run homer in Milwaukee, keeping the New York Mets’ Cinderella season alive, and Senga boards a plane to join his teammates in Philadelphia for one of the most improbable starts in Major League Baseball. post-season history.

Senga, who has pitched just once all season and played a total of 5⅓ innings on July 26, will start against the mighty Phillies on Saturday afternoon in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.

“I’m ready for anything,” Senga said. “If they say 10 pitches, I’m all in for 10 pitches. If they say 200, I’m all in for 200 pitches.”

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was coy when asked, saying he also has no idea how long Senga will pitch.

“We’ll see, we’ll just let it happen,” Mendoza said. ‘We have a plan. But we’ll go out there and keep a close eye on him, and we’ll go from there.”

– Bob Nightingale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mets vs Phillies highlights: New York has stunning rally in NLDS