NEW YORK — The Phillies left Citi Field hitless and humbled on Friday night. They arrived on Saturday afternoon with a different energy. J.T. Realmuto jokingly practiced throwing his fastball to Rhys Hoskins while the team took batting practice. Seranthony Domínguez and Jeurys Familia played dominoes in the clubhouse before the game, while Mickey Moniak and Matt Vierling played cards a few feet away.
Their energy did not feel like that of a team that had been no-hit less than 24 hours earlier. But as Nick Castellanos said on Friday night, in a clubhouse that was as quiet as it had been all season, the Phillies needed to wash themselves of that loss. And they did just that on Saturday night, scrapping out a 4-1 win over the New York Mets.
The Phillies offense did not come out bats-a-swinging right away. Initially, it seemed like it’d be another night where the hits just weren’t going to fall. In the top of the fourth inning, Bryce Harper took one of Taijuan Walker’s splitters, and launched it 409 feet to deep center field, only to have it caught at the wall by Brandon Nimmo. Harper’s flyout would have been a home run in 18 of MLB’s 30 ballparks.
