Christian Scott, bottom of lineup power Mets to win over Phillies in smoky conditions

PHILADELPHIA — Maybe it’s a sign of the apocalypse. No, not the smoke-filled swath covering much of the country Thursday; that was expected.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.Instead, it was the Mets opening the second half of their season with a 4-1 win over the Phillies. Powered by solo homers from Francisco Alvarez — who had two — and Brett Baty, as well as a strong start by Christian Scott, the reeling Mets avoided falling 18 games under .500 for the first time this year. After the start of the game was moved up by an hour due to air quality concerns caused by Canadian wildfires — which caused both teams to shorten their pregame routines after their truncated All-Star break — the Mets played an unusually solid game. And they got some help from the bottom of the lineup. There’s little chance the Mets can make anything of the rest of their season — especially as they’re expected to sell at the Aug.

3 trade deadline. They also have the toughest schedule the rest of the season and start the second half visiting second-place division rival Philadelphia and NL Central leader Milwaukee before hosting the NL West-leading Dodgers and NL East-topping Braves. As the Philadelphia skyline slowly disappeared in the distance due to the worsening conditions, the Mets took the lead in the top of the third on Alvarez’s first homer of the night: a one-out shot to dead center.The 416-foot home run was Alvarez’s 10th of the season. Baty added his fifth of the year, leading off against Aaron Nola in the seventh.  Sign up for Inside the Mets by Mike Puma, exclusively on Sports+ Please provide a valid email.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! Alvarez followed with his second of the game to end Nola’s night. On the ...