Walker’s difficult performance means the Phillies’ celebration will be postponed for at least another day. Originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
NEW YORK — 2024 will most likely be a season where Taijuan Walker will flush when it ends.
Fortunately, the player in the fifth spot in the rotation is only allowed to start once more in the regular season.
For the second straight night, the Phillies had one goal: win the game and secure a spot in the postseason. Neither happened Thursday, as the club lost its series opener 10-6 to the Mets at Citi Field.
The magic number for a place in the play-offs remains one.
The magic number for winning the NL East remains four.
And fortunately for the Phillies, while the Dodgers won (and by won I mean absolutely crushed the Marlins, 20-4) and tied for first place in the National League, the Phillies hold the tiebreaker after winning the season series. So, there’s a sigh of relief.
But as far as relief goes, that’s about where it begins and ends.
Unfortunately, the scene played out early on, a feeling we know all too well as Walker takes the hill.
Walker allowed back-to-back home runs to Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso to give the Mets an early lead. Vientos’ solo shot came on a first-pitch 85.3 mph sweeper with an exit velocity of 113.2.
The Phillies and Mets traded a pair of two-run shots in the third inning, with Trea Turner hitting his 19th of the season against Luis Severino to briefly tie the game before Brandon Nimmo returned the favor.
Down two runs again, the Phillies went to work and found some contributions from the bottom of the lineup. Nick Castellanos singled, JT Realmuto drew a walk and Brandon Marsh singled down the leftfield line to drive in a run.
The Phillies were only one run behind, and it seemed more than feasible to extend the Mets’ lead and possibly turn things around.
Walker had yet to record a single out in the final inning before that hope was dashed.
Francisco Alvarez hit the Mets’ fourth home run in as many innings, but this time it was a brutal three-run blast that left the Phillies with their biggest deficit of the night.
In Walker’s eight appearances since being activated from the injured list on Aug. 13, he has allowed 12 home runs. In the 15 games he has started this season, he has allowed 22.
Walker’s night ended after 3.1 innings. He allowed six hits, eight runs, three walks, hit J.D. Martinez with a pitch … and allowed four home runs.
Four home runs is the most he has allowed in a single game in his career.
Jose Ruiz couldn’t stop the bleeding when he came in for Walker either. Two more runs came across the plate and the once small one-run deficit grew to six.
Besides Turner’s home run, Brandon Marsh was one of the few bright spots, with two singles and an RBI.
Bryce Harper had a two-out double that produced the Phillies’ fifth and sixth runs on a night when many things weren’t going right — five of their six runs came on two outs.
There’s always tomorrow, right?
It will be a rematch between last week’s lefties, Cristopher Sanchez (10-9, 3.24 ERA) and David Peterson (9-2, 2.85). Sanchez allowed one run in seven innings in the Phillies’ narrow 2-1 victory.
Finish it.
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