How sweep it is: Phillies bounce back in series vs. Mets

The Phillies took care of business against their division-rival Mets

After being swept by the Baltimore Orioles, the following Phillies’ series was with the New York Mets and they did a little sweeping of their own. The Phillies won all three games, made even sweeter by their long-standing rivalry; it was their first three-game home sweep of the Mets since September 29-October 1, 2015.

In game one, rookie Spencer Howard took the mound for his second career start against Walker Lockett. Howard went just over 3 innings, giving up four runs, before the bullpen took over, giving up the remaining run.

The Phillies won it 6-5 after recording 11 hits, with Hector Neris recording the win. Rhys Hoskins, Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Didi Gregorius, Jean Segura and Roman Quinn all scored runs; J.T.’s a home run.

The game two matchup was between Aaron Nola and Steven Matz. Nola pitched seven scoreless innings, while Matz went just over four and gave up six runs. The final score of the game was 6-2, with Nola recording the win. He is now 2-1 on the season so far through four starts. Scoring this game’s runs were Hoskins, Gregorius, Segura, Andrew McCutchen, Phil Gosselin and Alec Bohm, with Segura’s being their team’s lone home run.

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Sunday’s series finale featured Phillies starter Zack Wheeler opposite the Mets’ Rick Porcello. Wheeler pitched seven innings, giving up two runs, before the bullpen came in and gave up none. Wheeler earned the win, making him 3-0 so far this year. The Phillies won this game 6-2, the same amount of runs they scored in each of the first two games of the set, as well as the same score overall as Saturday’s. Bohm, Harper, McCutchen, Realmuto, Segura, and Neil Walker all scored runs the Sunday matinee, with McCutchen’s coming via a clutch home run.

Coming up, the Phillies are headed to Boston for a two-game series against the Red Sox. Then, they face the Toronto Blue Jays in Buffalo for a doubleheader, before making their way to Atlanta for a three-game series against the Braves.

Maybe what the Phillies needed was a nice sweep against a division rival to get back in the swing of things.