By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Final: Phillies 9, Mets 6 ❖ Attendance: 33,049
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — After the embarrassment of a 24-4 blowout loss in Game 1, the Phillies brought some of the offense they found on Wednesday night to Game 2 on Thursday night.
A pair of home run in the first two innings helped start a strong night at the plate, as the Phillies bounced back with a 9-6 win over the Mets in Game 2 at Citizens Bank Park.
WP: Zach Eflin (9-4, 3.70 ERA) ❖ LP: Steven Matz (5-10, 4.60 ERA) ❖ SV: Seranthony Dominguez (14)
Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| NYM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 1 |
| PHI | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | X | 9 | 14 | 1 |
The Mets picked up where they left off in Game 1, opening Game 2 with three straight doubles. The third, by Michael Conforto, scored two runs to make it 2-0 Mets in the first. Zach Eflin escaped the first stranding two runners.
The Phillies got two baserunners with one out for Rhys Hoskins. Just like in Game 1, his first at-bat produced some early offense. Hoskins connected for a three-run home run off the foul pole in left to put the Phillies in front. It was his 25th homer of the season.
Scott Kingery opened the second inning with a solo home run, his sixth of the season, to extend the Phillies lead to two. With two on and one out, Wilson Ramos picked up where he left off on Wednesday, hitting an RBI single to right to make it 5-2 Phillies.
Cesar Hernandez came home with two outs in the inning to score another run. Nick Williams got caught between first and second trying to steal, but delayed long enough to allow Hernandez to break for home. The throw was a little high and Hernandez slid home safely, getting his hand across the plate before the tag. The three-run second inning made it 6-2 Phillies.
The Phillies added two more runs in the sixth on an RBI double by Cesar Hernandez and an RBI single by Nick Williams that required a review, making it 8-2 Phillies.
The Mets cut into the lead in the seventh. Amed Rosario hit an RBI double and Conforto added an RBI single to bring home two runs and cut the lead to four.
The Phillies answered back with an RBI double by Maikel Franco in the seventh to take a 9-4 lead.
The Mets made things interesting in the ninth, getting two runs on back-to-back RBI singles by Conforto and Wilmer Flores. Seranthony Dominguez finished off the game with a pair of strikeouts.
Despite losing Game 1 by a score of 24-4, the Phillies Game 2 win coupled with a Braves loss to Colorado helped draw them closer in the NL East race to within 1.5 games of Atlanta for first place.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zach Eflin | 6.2 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3.70 |
| Steven Matz | 2.0 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4.60 |
Phillies
- Rhys Hoskins: 2-3, R, HR, 3 RBI, .256 AVG
- Scott Kingery: 2-4, R, HR, RBI, K, .226 AVG
- Cesar Hernandez: 2-4, 3 R, 2B, RBI, BB, .258 AVG
Mets
- Michael Conforto: 3-5, 2B, 4 RBI, .243 AVG
- Amed Rosario: 2-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB, K, .245 AVG
- Jose Bautista: 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K, .202 AVG
Phillies
- Luis Garcia (7th): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 3.55 ERA
- Victor Arano (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 1.96 ERA
- Yacksel Rios (9th): 0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 5.00 ERA
- Seranthony Dominguez (9th): 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 2.28 ERA
Mets
- Paul Sewald (3rd): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 4.81 ERA
- Drew Smith (4th-5th): 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 1.64 ERA
- Bobby Wahl (6th): 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 10.13 ERA
- Tyler Bashlor (7th-8th): 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 4.26 ERA
- Friday, August 17, 2018: vs. New York Mets, 6:05 p.m.
- Philadelphia – Citizens Bank Park
- RHP Noah Syndergaard (8-2, 3.22 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (13-3, 2.28 ERA)
- TV: NBC 10; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
