Game 2 of the NLDS between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies kicked off Sunday afternoon, just one sleep removed from a gut-wrenching implosion in Game 1. That 6-2 loss left fans feeling the impending doom of their playoff hopes and cost them a chance to secure the early series lead.
Sunday was an opportunity to punch back and even the series up. What looked like more of the same early, the Phillies were down in a 3-0 hole before Bryce Harper lit Citizens Bank Park on fire with a 431-foot home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the lead down to one. Nick Castellanos followed it up with a no-doubt home run of his own and reset the scoring at 3-3.
The Mets took the lead back and the ballpark awaited yet another comeback in the eighth inning. Trea Turner struck out to begin the inning, but Harper followed with a walk. After an opposite-field single by Castellanos put runners on the corners, Stott stepped to the plate.
Bryson Stott salvaged his season with one clutch swing in Game 2
During the regular season, Stott struggled to find his way, batting .245 with 11 home runs and 57 RBI. That all melted away when the Mets closer Edwin Diaz, who has been their go-to late in games to stop the bleeding, fell to the mercy of Red October.
The birthday boy Stott laced a 3-2, 90 mph slider to right field just inside the line and drove home two. Stott slid into third with a triple and the Phillies were back on top 5-4, per MLB.com's Paul Casella. The crowd immediately exploded and left Citizens Bank Park shaking and rattling the hopes of Mets fans to put this team away.
THE BIRTHDAY BOY ON HIS BIRTHDAY FOR THE LEAD pic.twitter.com/kx6QaQIeLh
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 6, 2024
The deafening roar was the culmination of relief and belief that the Phillies were always the team that just wouldn't die. There are levels to this, and with third-year second basemen Stott struggling the way he did this season, it means that much more to the fans because he's their guy in that spot.
It can always be tough to accept during a game that either team's stars will show up more often than the role players. The opposing team's best versus the Phillies' best will always be the nature of the postseason. This proved true when Harper and Castellanos put the finishing touches on a walk-off 7-6 thriller in the jungle of CBP.
Stott has had adversity but now has his moment in October; who knows what else it could bring with 10 more wins away from forever.