PHILADELPHIA — The Mets, in a sense, completed a circle in their four games this week against the Phillies.
There was an Edwin Diaz blown save at the beginning of the set and another one at the end, but the difference on Thursday was the Mets had an extra-innings rally awaiting to propel them from the dumpster.
J.D. Martinez delivered the go-ahead base hit, and Jose Alvarado’s wild pitch later helped send the Mets to a 6-5 victory over the Phillies in 11 innings at Citizens Bank Park.
The Mets ended a three-game skid a night after manager Carlos Mendoza addressed the team following sloppy play.
After Diaz buckled for his third blown save of the season, Jorge Lopez pitched a scoreless 10th and Jake Diekman navigated through the 11th, allowing one run.
Diekman struck out Kyle Schwarber to end it with the tying and winning runs in scoring position.
Brandon Marsh walked leading off the ninth against Diaz and reached second on a wild pitch before Bryson Stott atoned for an earlier error that led to Mets runs by slapping a game-tying RBI single.
Stott’s throwing error in the eighth on Tyrone Taylor’s grounder positioned the Mets for the steal.
Harrison Bader’s two-out single tied it and a Jeff Hoffman wild pitch gave the Mets a 4-3 lead.
Mendoza’s tone in his address to the team the previous night was reassuring, according to Mets players, and welcomed following a performance in which the team committed two errors that led to three unearned runs and contributed to a 10-5 loss.
“It was just to make sure they know that it’s 162 [games] … we just have to continue to keep going and making sure that we all believe we are a good team,” Mendoza said before Thursday’s game.
Jose Quintana took a shutout into the sixth, but was knocked out after allowing two singles that led to two runs.
Overall, the left-hander surrendered two earned runs on four hits with four walks over 5 ¹/₃ innings in which he threw 81 pitches.
Pete Alonso crushed a solo homer to left field in the first inning to give the Mets their first run.
The blast, which left the bat at 115.3 mph, was No. 11 for Alonso this season.
Brett Baty, who returned to the lineup a night after Mark Vientos’ arrival to play against lefties, stroked an RBI double against Taijuan Walker that gave the Mets a 2-0 lead in the second inning.
Starling Marte singled in the inning and stole second before Baty delivered to snap an 0-for-14 skid.
Marte’s shot through the box in the fourth inning drilled Walker’s left foot and knocked him from the game. The right-hander was diagnosed with a contusion to the foot, according to the Phillies.
Quintana pitched to soft contact in the fourth, allowing an infield single to J.T. Realmuto. Quintana plunked Edmundo Sosa in the fifth, but kept the Mets’ lead at two runs.
Alec Bohm jumped on Reed Garrett’s first pitch and delivered an RBI single in the sixth that pulled the Phillies within 2-1. Nick Castellanos’ ensuing sacrifice fly tied the game.
Quintana surrendered singles to Realmuto and Bryce Harper to start the rally before he was removed with one out. Garrett retired Whit Merrifield to keep the go-ahead run stranded at second base.
Garrett surrendered only his second earned run of the season in the seventh on Schwarber’s RBI double that gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead.
Stott drew a two-out walk and scored the go-ahead run.
Bader hit a one-hop shot off Hoffman’s back for an RBI single in the eighth that tied it 3-3.
Hoffman’s ensuing wild pitch allowed Alonso to score the go-ahead run.
Stott’s throwing error on Taylor’s grounder got the Mets started in the inning.