 during the streak. He drove in one and is hitting .299 for the season.''I'm not trying to do too much,'' Ramos said. ''Use all the field. It's helping me to be more relaxed.'' The streak is far from his mind in the batter's box.''I don't want to think about that,'' he said. ''I want to think about getting a pitch to hit, go out have fun and enjoy day by day.'' Todd Frazier had three hits, two RBIs and made a stellar, run-saving catch in the sixth inning for the Mets, who pulled within four games of the Cubs for the second NL wild card.''Guys just picked each other up,'' Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. ''Big team win.'' The Mets will go for the series sweep Sunday night.Bryce Harper homered and drove in two for Philadelphia, which remained 3 1/2 games behind the Cubs.''Super frustrating,'' Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. ''It's a game we have to win.'' Steven Matz (9-8) continued his strong second half, allowing two earned runs over five-plus innings. Matz didn't retire a batter in the sixth, but the lefty got a big lift from New York's bullpen and defense.After a leadoff homer to deep left-center by Harper, an error and a pair of singles loaded the bases and ended the 28-year-old's day, Cesar Hernandez lined Luis Avilan's pitch toward left field. Frazier made a leaping grab at third base for the first out to save at least one run.''What a great play,'' Callaway said. ''I've never seen him jump that high.'' Frazier joked that he used his ''go-go gadget arm,'' referencing the ''Inspector Gadget'' cartoon show he watched as a kid.''I take a lot of pride in my defense,'' he said. ''Glad I could help on the defensive end.'' After walking home a run to make it 5-3, Avilan got Adam Haseley to ground into an inning-ending double play.Matz is 4-2 with a 2.73 ERA in nine starts since the All-Star break. He earned his first career win in his seventh start in Philadelphia, where he had been 0-4 with an 8.18 ERA - including a 27.00 ERA this season - prior to Saturday.Seth Lugo pitched the last two innings, striking out four for his fourth save in nine chances.Former Mets lefty Jason Vargas (6-7) gave up five runs and nine hits in four-plus innings. Vargas was making his first start against the Mets since April 7, 2006 - a span of 257 starts between outings against them.Ramos extended his hitting streak with an RBI single in the first. After the Phillies tied it in the bottom half on Harper's RBI groundout, New York went up 2-1 in the third on Michael Conforto's RBI double. Vargas escaped a bases-loaded, no-out situation without further damage. But the 36-year-old lefty couldn't retire any of the four batters he faced in the fifth, and the Mets went ahead 5-1 thanks to an RBI double by Frazier and a two-run double by Joe Panik.HOSKINS EJECTEDPhillies' Rhys Hoskins, who entered leading the NL in walks, was ejected for the first time in his career in the third inning by home-plate umpire Will Little for arguing after being called out on strikes.ANOTHER METS STREAKNew York's Pete Alonso extended his on-base streak to 26 games with a walk in the first inning.METS MOVENew York recalled right-hander Walter Lockett and optioned right-hander Chris Mazza to Triple-A Syracuse. Lockett is 1-1 with a 7.79 ERA in four starts this season.TRAINER'S ROOMMets: INF Robinson Cano, who tore his left hamstring on Aug. 5, had two hits, including a double and an RBI, while playing second base for Class A Brooklyn on Saturday in his first rehab game.Phillies: RHP Seranthony Dominguez (elbow) will be re-examined next week to determine whether he will be able to return to the mound this season. Dominguez last pitched on June 5.UP NEXTRHP Marcus Stroman (7-12, 3.29), making his sixth start for the Mets since being acquired from Toronto, opposes Philadelphia RHP Zach Eflin (8-11, 4.50) on Sunday night.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Phillies' Vargas aims to thwart ex-mates MetsFLMJason Vargas was around only for the beginning of the red-hot run that lifted the New York Mets back into playoff contention.On Saturday, Vargas will try to do his part for the Phillies to ensure his former teammates can't mount another surge when Philadelphia hosts the Mets in the middle game of a three-game series.Vargas (6-6, 4.09 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound against the Mets' Steven Matz (8-8, 4.06 ERA) in a battle of left-handers.The Mets snapped a six-game losing streak Friday night, when Todd Frazier hit three-run homers in the eighth and ninth innings of an 11-5 win. With the victory, New York remained five games behind the Chicago Cubs in the race for the second National League wild card while dropping the Phillies 3 1/2 games back.The Mets, who scored just 17 runs during their skid, scored all 11 runs Friday after the sixth inning. Wilson Ramos extended his hitting streak to a career-high 23 games with a pinch-hit RBI single to tie the game at 1-1 in the seventh before Amed Rosario laced the go-ahead, two-run single in the eighth."Rosie's (hit), Ramos' (hit), those are the ones that we've been missing," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. "And then you kind of get rolling and then you see the byproduct of that, we put up (almost) 10 more. Great job. They kept on grinding." Vargas was with the Mets for the first four games of their 15-1 surge from July 25 through Aug. 10 that allowed them to move from tied for 13th in the NL to within a half-game of the second wild-card spot. The 36-year-old, who is in the final guaranteed season of his contract, was dealt to the Phillies for minor league catcher Austin Bossart on July 29, a day after New York acquired Marcus Stroman from the Toronto Blue Jays.Vargas is 0-1 with a 4.34 ERA in five starts for the Phillies, who are his sixth big league team. But the trade to Philadelphia marked the first time he's been dealt in the middle of a season, which will make Saturday a bit of an unusual experience for someone who's seen just about everything."It's not the first time I had to pitch against an old team, but the first time I had to do it so soon," Vargas told reporters Friday. "They are a division rival, and we need to beat them. That is the only difference now." Vargas didn't factor into the decision in his most recent start, when he gave up four runs over six-plus innings Monday as the Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 in 11 innings.Matz took a hard-luck loss last Sunday when he gave up one run over six innings as the Mets were edged 2-1 by the Atlanta Braves.Vargas is 0-2 with an 8.31 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against the Mets, who are one of just two teams, along with the Milwaukee Brewers, he's never beaten. Matz is 1-4 with a 6.15 ERA in nine appearances (eight starts) against the Phillies.--Field Level Media
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