Christian Scott opens second half with stellar outing as Mets top Phillies

Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News on Jul 16, 2026

Published in Baseball

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PHILADELPHIA — The sky was so dense with wildfire smoke that the view of Philadelphia’s Center City from Citizens Bank Park all but disappeared a few innings into the game Thursday night. None of it seemed to obstruct the view Christian Scott had of Francisco Alvarez’s mitt.

The right-hander was one batter shy of holding the Philadelphia Phillies scoreless over six innings. With two out in the sixth, Kyle Schwarber doubled off the right-field wall to end Scott’s outing. Still, 5 2/3 shutout innings isn’t half bad.

The Mets used a stellar start by Scott and a trio of homers to win the series opener against the Phillies, 4-1. It was a positive way to start the second half of the season, and much-needed after a sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox over the weekend.

Francisco Alvarez hit two home runs to bring his season total to 11, and Brett Baty hit his fifth. The two former “Baby Mets” went back-to-back off right-hander Aaron Nola to start the seventh inning, knocking him out of the game. Alvarez hit his first of the game in the third inning with one out, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead.

But Scott (3-1) was the reason the Mets were able to beat a playoff-caliber team. He allowed only three hits and struck out seven without issuing a single walk. To keep a deep Philadelphia lineup off balance, Scott used his four-seam fastball for strikeouts, went to his sweeper early and often in counts, and mixed his cutter, curveball and splitter effectively.

The Phillies didn’t make much hard contact. Schwarber’s double, which was only inches from being a home run, was the hardest-hit ball Scott gave up all night, registering at 98.3 mph off the bat. Scott worked quickly and efficiently, and he probably could have gone deeper into the game.

The Mets are still limiting his pitch count this season since he missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and luckily, they have a deep enough bullpen (and a rested enough bullpen on this particular night) to be able to limit him.

Left-hander Brooks Raley was brought in to face Bryce Harper, a left-handed hitter. Schwarber reached third base, making a break for it right as Alvarez tried to get him at second base. He was safe when shortstop Francisco Lindor’s throw to third bounced off Bo Bichette’s glove. Harper walked to put runners on the corners, but Raley got Brandon Marsh swinging to end the inning, keeping a 1-0 lead intact.

Right-hander Luke Weaver gave up a home run to Trea Turner in the bottom of the eighth to end his streak at 27 2/3 innings without an earned run. It was the first one the setup man had allowed since April 30. A.J. Ewing’s RBI double off right-hander Seth Johnson in the top of the ninth gave closer Devin Williams an insurance run to work with in the bottom of the inning.

The slate hasn’t quite been wiped clean. The Mets (41-57) failed to capitalize on their chances with runners on base, loading the bases twice in the fifth, only for Bichette to pop out to end the inning. The third baseman, who battled a sore knee before the break, went 0 for 4 and grounded into two double plays. Francisco Lindor also went 0 for 4, and the Mets went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.

Nola (3-7) pitched into the seventh, allowing three earned runs on six hits, walking four and striking out six. He gave the Mets chances, but a feast-or-famine offense still couldn’t do much other than hit home runs.

Still, the Mets will take the wins any way they come, especially against the Phillies (54-44), who are well ahead of the Mets in the NL East.