PHILADELPHIA — That’s one for each game of the now deceased losing streak.
The Mets employed a proven strategy on Saturday night, hitting seven solo home runs to end their seven-game losing streak with an 11-4 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto both hit two home runs, while Francisco Lindor, Jared Young, and Francisco Alvarez added to the tally, helping the Mets collect 15 hits in total and breathe a sigh of relief.
The lineup’s top three — Lindor, Nimmo, and Soto — were responsible for driving in nine runs. The Mets, now tied with the Phillies for the top spot in the NL East, had managed just 16 runs during their losing streak.
Nimmo was philosophical about the losing streak before it was snapped, telling The Post:
“Sometimes it’s just your time to fail. It doesn’t mean that you are OK with it. Aaron Judge, for example — amazing hitter, unbelievable job, AL MVP. But in the playoffs, it was a huge slump. Did he want to pick that time for it to happen? No. But it’s baseball. It happens to everyone.”
Griffin Canning rebounded from shaky innings early and got the team through the fifth.
Overall, he allowed four runs, one of which was unearned, on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
He departed after 94 pitches.
Nimmo homered in the first for the game’s initial run, but the Mets’ struggles with runners in scoring position continued in the inning as Soto and Pete Alonso were left stranded at second and third (following Mick Abel’s wild pitch) by Jeff McNeil and Young.
The Phillies countered with two runs against Canning in the bottom of the inning. Nick Castellanos smashed an RBI double and Max Kepler’s ground out brought in the other run.
Canning allowed consecutive one-out singles to Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm, fueling the rally.
Otto Kemp scored on Canning’s wild pitch in the second to extend the Phillies’ lead to 3-1. Kemp doubled with one out.
Lindor homered leading off the third to begin a barrage in the inning: Nimmo blasted his second homer of the game and Soto cleared the right field fence, putting the Mets ahead 4-3.
It gave the Mets back-to-back-to-back homers for the first time since Oct. 4, 2022 against the Nationals when Nimmo, McNeil and Lindor all went deep successively.
Soto’s second blast of the night — a shot that reached the mezzanine in right on a hanging breaking ball from Joe Ross — extended the Mets’ lead to 5-3.
It was the third multihomer game of the season for Soto.
He is two behind Alonso’s 18 homers this season for the team lead.
McNeil’s two-base error on Trea Turner’s fly to center leading off the fifth led to the Phillies scoring an unearned run to slice the Mets’ lead to 5-4.
On the play, Nimmo and McNeil converged, with the ball hitting off McNeil’s glove following the apparent communication snafu.
Bohm’s single brought in the run.
Lindor delivered a two-run double in the sixth that gave the Mets a 7-4 cushion.
Alvarez and Ronny Mauricio each singled before Lindor hit a shot toward the right-field foul that nearly became his second homer of the night.
The ball hit the fence, allowing both runners to score.
Young homered leading off the eighth for the Mets’ sixth blast of the night, placing the Phillies in an 8-4 hole.
Soto’s two-run single in the inning added to the cushion.
Alvarez went deep in the ninth against Taijuan Walker for the Mets’ final run.
