To kick off this crucial weekend series, the Mets defeated the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park with an 11-3 loss.

You’d never know it by looking at the final score, but the Mets didn’t get their first hit of the game until the fifth inning. Early in the first inning, Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso drew back-to-back two-out walks to keep Aaron Nola busy, but nothing came of it and Nola managed to get through the next three innings with ease. José Quintana tied Nola with zeroes, helped by strong work from the Mets in the field behind him.

The Mets broke through in the fifth inning, surprising the Phillies with a six-run inning against Nola that changed the course of the game in an instant. José Iglesias and Tyrone Taylor hit back-to-back singles to open the inning, and then Francisco Alvarez hit a ball off the left field foul post for a three-run home run that put the Mets on the scoreboard. The Mets then repeated this pattern; Francisco Lindor and Mark Vientos hit back-to-back singles, and Brandon Nimmo hit another three-run home run to suddenly double the Mets’ lead and put Nola out of the game.

José Ruiz stopped the bleeding (temporarily), but six runs were more than enough for José Quintana, who pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed just three hits. He struck out four batters – two of them the last two batters he faced – and did not allow a walk. Meanwhile, the Mets got another run in the sixth inning off Max Lazar thanks to two doubles by Harrison Bader and Francisco Lindor, but Lindor unfortunately overran second base and was picked off by Trea Turner. Far more concerning than the baserunning chaos was Lindor’s health, as he was taken out of the game in the following inning due to lower back pain he may have sustained during the unfortunate baserunning play. Mets fans collectively held their breath, but this was likely a precautionary measure due to the lopsided score.

From there, the score only got more lopsided. After Jesse Winker singled to open the eighth and Francisco Alvarez singled with two outs, Phillies manager Rob Thomson brought in left-hander Tyler Gilbert to face Harrison Bader. Bader hit a home run for the Mets that scored their third three-run hit of the night and completely turned the game on its head. Phil Maton threw a 1-2-3 pitch in the bottom of the eighth to replace Quintana. Pete Alonso added another home run to the Mets’ total with a solo home run hit against outfielder Kody Clemens in the top of the ninth, making it 11-0.

A small consolation for the fans at Citizen’s Bank Park: The Phillies were not eliminated. They scored three runs against Alex Young in the ninth inning with two walks and a three-run homer by Brandon Marsh. But Young finally managed to get three outs and give the Mets a clear victory in Philadelphia.

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What is WPA?

Big Mets winner: José Quintana, +24.9% WPA
Big Mets loser: Jesse Winker, -5.8% WPA
Mets pitcher: +25.0% WPA
Mets bats: +25.0% WPA
This is the best game: Francisco Alvarez’s three-run homer against Aaron Nola in the fifth, +21.9% WPA
The sux0rest game: Johan Rojas’ single with one out in the third, -2.8% WPA