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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets starting pitcher Zack Wheeler delivers a pitch during the top of the first inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Nick Williams jogs to first base after being hit by a pitch during the top of the second inning of a Major League Baseball game against the New York Mets at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets starting pitcher Zack Wheeler throws to first base to retire Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Ty Kelly (not pictured) during the top of the second inning of a Major League Baseball game at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes throws to first base to retire Philadelphia Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp (not pictured) to end the top of the second inning of a Major League Baseball game at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets first base coach Tom Goodwin (left) congratulates first baseman Lucas Duda after Duda hit a double during the bottom of the second inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets third baseman T.J. Rivera makes contact on a pitch during the bottom of the second inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco (left) catches a pop up in foul territory off the bat of the New York Mets' T.J. Rivera (not pictured) during the bottom of the second inning of a Major League Baseball game at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes runs to first base after hitting an RBI double during the bottom of the second inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes reacts after being picked off of second base to end the bottom of the second inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jeremy Hellickson delivers a pitch during the bottom of the fourth inning of a Major League Baseball game against the New York Mets at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes tries to advance to third base on a ground ball during the bottom of the fifth inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets pinch hitter Brandon Nimmo makes contact with a pitch during the bottom of the fifth inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud runs towards second base during the bottom of the fifth inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets pinch hitter Brandon Nimmo points to the sky after hitting a double during the bottom of the fifth inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera connects on a two-run home run during the bottom of the seventh inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera swings at a pitch during the bottom of the seventh inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. Cabrera hit a two-run home run on the swing. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
The Big Apple appears in centerfield after the New York Mets' Asdrubal Cabrera hit a home run during the seventh inning of a Major League Baseball game between the Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera gets set to round third base after his two-run home run during the bottom of the seventh inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets left fielder Yoenis Cespedes looks out from the dugout during the bottom of the seventh inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Hoby Milner (right) and catcher Cameron Rupp have a conversation on the mound during the bottom of the eighth inning of a Major League Baseball game against the New York Mets at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Hoby Milner delivers a pitch during the bottom of the eighth inning of a Major League Baseball game against the New York Mets at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco throws to first base to retire New York Mets third baseman T.J. Rivera (not pictured) to end the bottom of the eighth inning of a Major League Baseball game at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud makes a warm-up throw to second base before the start of the ninth inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets closer Addison Reed delivers a pitch during the top of the ninth inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets third baseman T.J. Rivera is in his defensive stance during the top of the ninth inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets right fielder Jay Bruce catches a fly ball in the ninth inning from Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco (not pictured) to end the game at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets centerfielder Curtis Granderson jogs towards the dugout after the Mets' 7-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole) -
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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (07.01.17)
New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes (far left) and centerfielder Curtis Granderson (center) celebrate with a high five while right fielder Jay Bruce (far right) walks towards the infield after the Mets' 7-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. on July 1, 2017. (Photo by Robert Cole)
– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
NEW YORK — New York baseball legend and one-time New York Mets manager Yogi Berra was known for his many Yogi-isms, with one of his more memorable ones being, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” Mets infielder Asdrubal Cabrera can certainly relate to that after his heroics at Citi Field this evening.
On a day in which a bobblehead doll of his likeness was distributed at the ball park as the promotion, Cabrera hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Mets came back from three runs down – along with waiting out a 57-minute rain delay – to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-6 and earn their fourth consecutive victory. Coincidentally, the bobblehead design was inspired by Cabrera’s raised-arms celebration after hitting a walk-off three-run home run last Sept. 22 against the Phillies during the Mets’ late run to secure a Wild Card spot. Though the celebration was much more muted this time around, it is possible Cabrera’s clout tonight could continue to propel a run in which New York could find themselves in Wild Card contention before too long.
The win is the Mets’ seventh victory in their last eight games, with the streak starting with a three-game sweep in San Francisco last weekend.
New York’s rally came after the Phillies had taken the lead in the previous half-inning, as first baseman Tommy Joseph hit a tie-breaking three-run homer off of reliever Fernando Salas to give Philadelphia a 6-3 advantage. The Mets’ response was immediate and, as was the theme throughout the day and into the evening, New York’s big hits were of the extra-base variety.
T.J. Rivera started the seventh with a solo home run off Phillies starter Jeremy Hellickson to cut Philadelphia’s lead to 6-4 and, two batters later, catcher Travis d’Arnaud doubled off of reliever Pat Neshek. Wilmer Flores continued the rally with a single to right to score d’Arnaud to bring the Mets within one. Neshek then struck out Curtis Granderson for the second out, but Cabrera followed that by sending a 1-1 slider over the right-center field wall to give the Mets the lead.
Cabrera’s home run was the 10th and final hit of the game for the Mets, with nine of those hits being for extra bases. On the other side, the usually reliable Neshek came into the game with an 0.57 ERA out of the Phillies bullpen this season, and had only allowed a run in one of his 34 appearances before tonight.
Mets starter Zack Wheeler made his first start in 12 days after coming off of the disabled list earlier in the day, and was close to dominant in the first three innings before lapses in the Mets defense – including from Wheeler – proved to be his undoing in the fourth.
The Mets were up 1-0 but the Phillies had the bases leaded with one out on two walks and an error from Rivera at third base. Ty Kelly then hit into what should have been an inning-ending double play, but Jose Reyes’s relay throw from second was dropped by Wheeler, who was covering first base and had beaten Kelly to the bag. The missed catch allowed both Joseph and Nick Williams to score to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead. Wheeler’s day ended after allowing a single to Cameron Rupp one batter later, being pulled after 3.2 innings and allowing two unearned runs on two hits and striking out four.
Hellickson pitched into the seventh inning for the Phillies, allowing four runs on seven hits – all of the hits being for extra bases. New York hit six doubles and three homers tonight, with Lucas Duda hitting a two-run shot in the bottom of the fourth to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. Reyes had two of the team’s six doubles.
After the rain delay came with two outs in the top of the eighth inning, closer Addison Reed came on to record his third save in as many days for New York.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from tonight’s game, with all photos taken by our senior photographer, Robert Cole. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 28 pictures in total.