Sep 9, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Ranger Su‡rez (55) in the dugout after pitching the sixth inning against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline
Ranger Suárez dominated, Kyle Schwarber hit his 50th home run of the season and the Phillies defeated the New York Mets 9-3 Tuesday evening, moving closer to winning the NL East title.
A night after driving in the lone run in a 1-0 victory, Nick Castellanos again got the scoring started with a two-run double off of Sean Manaea that scored both Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto in the bottom of the first:
Nick Castellanos gets the Phillies on the board with a two-run double! 💥
(Via @aokstott)
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The Phillies added two more runs as Otto Kemp and Harrison Bader hit back-to-back home runs in the home half of the second:
Otto Kemp and Harrison Bader go back-to-back! 📞🤙
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Kemp's home run was probably a bit more special than normal because he was celebrating his 26th birthday Tuesday. As On Pattison's Anthony SanFilippo pointed out, Kemp was born on Sept. 9, 1999 (9/9/99) and hit this birthday home run out of the No. 9 spot in the order.
Bader, meanwhile, was hitting out of the leadoff spot as Rob Thomson and the Phillies search for what the top of their order will look like during Trea Turner's absence. Bader has been a sparkplug wherever he's hit for the Phillies since being acquired from the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline.
Manaea was one of the best pitchers in baseball during the second half of last season, with the Mets ultimately re-signing him in free agency to the tune of three years and $75 million. However, the first year of that lucrative pact has been a disaster. A right oblique strain and a loose body in his elbow prevented Manaea from making his season debut until mid-July. After allowing five hits and runs over five innings Tuesday, Manaea now has a 5.76 ERA in 50 innings pitched this season.
Meanwhile, Suárez, who will be looking to top Manaea's deal in free agency this winter, helped his case with a dominant start Tuesday evening. While Suárez walked three, he set a new career-high with 12 strikeouts while limiting the Mets to just one hit over six shutout innings. Over his last four outings, Suárez has pitched 24 innings and allowed just one run (0.38 ERA).
Phillie-killer Mark Vientos did hit a solo home run off of David Robertson in the bottom of the seventh, while Juan Soto drove in Jose Siri with an RBI single off of Tanner Banks the following inning. In between the two runs that the Mets scored, though, Kyle Schwarber finally hit his 50th home run of the season, a 437-foot blast that made him just the second player in franchise history to homer that many times in a year:
Kyle Schwarber’s 50th home run of the season was a tank! 💣
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Bryson Stott and Bader each drove in insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Max Lazar did give up a run in the ninth, but ultimately finished out a victory.
With the win, the Phillies improve to 85-60, while the Mets fall to 76-69. The Phillies now have a nine-game lead in the NL East over the Mets with 17 games left to play. The magic number for the Phillies to clinch their second consecutive NL East title is now down to nine.
Cristopher Sánchez (12-5, 2.60 ERA, 2.59 FIP) will take the ball Wednesday evening as the Phillies look to earn a series victory over Clay Holmes (11-7, 3.61 ERA, 4.04 FIP) and the Mets.
