Juan Soto homered twice, and Marcus Semien drove in a pair of insurance runs as the visiting New York Mets posted a 6-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.
In the first matchup of the season between the National League East rivals, the Mets also received big efforts from Carson Benge (3-for-5) and A.J. Ewing (2-for-3, RBI). Sean Manaea was effective over 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) and six hits.
Philadelphia counterpart Aaron Nola yielded three runs (two earned) and seven hits in five frames. Alec Bohm finished with two hits and two RBIs for the Phillies, while Trea Turner (right calf contusion) left after getting hit by a pitch in his first at-bat.
With the game tied at 3-3 in the seventh, Benge opened the inning with a single against Jose Alvarado (3-2), who rebounded to get the next two hitters. However, the left-hander issued a wild pitch and a walk before Eric Wagaman’s pinch-hit RBI single made it 4-3.
Semien followed with a triple to the deepest part of the park to plate two more runs.
Huascar Brazoban and A.J. Minter combined to get the Mets through the seventh inning before Luke Weaver struck out the side in the eighth.
Devin Williams allowed a two-out run in the ninth before slamming the door for his 11th save.
New York put together a two-out rally in the first inning, starting with Soto’s homer on a 1-2 pitch from Nola. The Philadelphia right-hander committed an error on the next play, setting up Ewing’s RBI double that made it 2-0.
The Phillies got a run back in the bottom half of the first on Bohm’s RBI single, although Bryce Harper was caught stealing third to end the inning.
After both teams squandered scoring opportunities in the second inning, Soto homered again to lead off the third. This time, it was a high-arching blast to right-center for Soto that marked his second multi-homer game this season.
Bohm once again chipped away at the deficit, this time with an RBI double in the third to get the Phillies within 3-2.
Philadelphia tied it in the fourth on Derek Hill’s RBI single.
