, and J. T. Realmuto singled. Roman Quinn ran for Hoskins and Bruce, traded by the Mets twice in the last two years, sent a long drive over center fielder Juan Lagares' head to give Philadelphia its third straight win over New York after a seven-game losing streak.Vargas baffled hitters with his assortment of off-speed pitches, allowing two runs and three hits in 6 1/3 innings. But he exited after Realmuto doubled to start the seventh and Bruce flied out to deep center. Cesar Hernandez greeted Seth Lugo with a ground-rule double into Philadelphia's bullpen, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Pinch-hitter Brad Miller walked with two outs and Scott Kingery reached on a wild pitch after striking out swinging.Jean Segura then hit a tying, two-run single to right-center.''The last three out of four batters squared it up, so let's get our best reliever in there,'' Mets manager Mickey Callaway said, explaining his decision to remove Vargas.The Phillies were happy to see him depart.''We weren't able to solve that puzzle and we did a better job when the relievers came in the game,'' manager Gabe Kapler said.Edgar Garcia (2-0) tossed a perfect 10th for the win and the rookie pitcher ended up dumping a water cooler on Bruce's head to celebrate the victory.Dominic Smith and Jeff McNeil each hit a solo homer for the Mets, who have lost four in a row.Vargas had to be restrained from going after a Newsday beat writer in the team's clubhouse following a loss at Wrigley Field on Sunday. He called it ''an unfortunate distraction'' on Monday and answered questions for the first time since the altercation following the loss to Philadelphia.''I don't think all the information is really out there,'' Vargas said. ''I don't think this is a time to get into that. But I think that anybody that knows me, anybody that has played with me, there's never been a situation like that. So to think it happened out of the blue, it's foolish.'' Vargas declined to explain what he meant.''It's over,'' he said. ''Our organization made a statement. We put an end to it. But I think it's pretty obvious all the info isn't out there.'' Segura hit a solo homer off Vargas in the sixth after he retired 11 straight batters.Philadelphia's Nick Pivetta gave up four runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. He has a 4.30 ERA in six starts since a brief demotion to Triple-A.Smith gave the Mets a 1-0 lead in the fourth on his seventh homer and third in three games. He drove a 1-1 pitch the opposite way into the left field seats. McNeil led off the fifth with an opposite-field shot to left-center to make it 2-0.The Mets chased Pivetta with two runs in the sixth. Tomas Nido lined an RBI single and McNeil drove in a run with a double.ROSTER MOVEThe Mets selected right-hander Chris Mazza's contract from Triple-A Syracuse. He was 3-5 with a 3.59 ERA over 12 starts in the minors. RHP Walker Lockett was optioned to Syracuse and left-hander LHP Ryan O'Rourke was designated for assignment.TRAINER'S ROOMMets: RHP Noah Syndergaard is expected to return from the injured list and start Sunday night against Atlanta after striking out nine in a rehab start for Class A Brooklyn on Tuesday. He has been out with a strained right hamstring.Phillies: RHP Tommy Hunter could join the bullpen in Miami this weekend after one more rehab appearance. He has been sidelined all season with an elbow injury.UP NEXTRHP Zack Wheeler (6-5, 4.69 ERA) starts for the Mets on Thursday afternoon and ace Aaron Nola (6-2, 4.55) goes for the Phillies.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Rising Phillies try to keep Mets in slumpFLMThe Philadelphia Phillies will be looking for their third straight victory when they host the New York Mets on Wednesday.The Phillies won the first two games of the four-game series by hitting four home runs in each contest. It was the first time Philadelphia accomplished that feat in consecutive games since May 21-22, 2009. The Phillies wound up advancing to the World Series that year."Sometimes you're going to get the job done and sometimes you're not," Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper said. "We know what kind of lineup we can be. And if we do that and score some runs and stay positive, we can finish this half off strong." Maikel Franco homered for the second straight game and was joined Tuesday by Rhys Hoskins, Brad Miller and Scott Kingery."When you're losing games, it's no fun," Philadelphia shortstop Jean Segura said. "When you're winning, it's fun." The Phillies will hand the ball Wednesday to right-hander Nick Pivetta (4-2, 5.54 ERA). In Pivetta's last start on Thursday, he gave up six runs and two home runs in 5 1/3 innings in a loss against the Washington Nationals.Pivetta is 2-1 with a 3.94 ERA in five starts since rejoining the rotation. He is 3-2 against the Mets in his career, with a 6.23 ERA in six starts spanning 30 1/3 innings.If the Phillies are able to continue this offensive surge, Pivetta likely would gain extra confidence. On Monday, the Phillies pounded out a season-best 19 hits to go along with 13 runs. Eight home runs in two games have also helped immensely."Sometimes the swagger pregame leads to a swagger in game," Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said.The Mets will attempt to snap a three-game skid. To do so, second baseman Robinson Cano must continue to build on his 2-for-4 effort on Tuesday. He is just 6-for-34 (.176) since coming off the injured list on June 16 following his recovery from a quad strain.Cano is only hitting .228."We have to get him going," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. "We're going to continue trying everything we can to get him comfortably to the point where he's going to have more success." Jeff McNeil remained hot with four hits in the Tuesday loss. McNeil is hitting .348, the second-highest average in the majors.However, the Mets' bullpen needs to improve, as the relievers have posted a 7.44 ERA in the month of June.The Mets will turn to Jason Vargas (3-3, 3.75 ERA) on Wednesday. In Vargas' last start, Friday against the Chicago Cubs, he left with a calf cramp, lasting only 4 2/3 innings. Vargas gave up four runs, two earned, on four hits with two walks. He's 2-1 against Philadelphia in his career, with a 3.51 ERA in six appearances, four of them starts.Over the past few days, Vargas has seen his name in the public eye because he was fined a reported $10,000 for a verbal altercation with a reporter from Newsday."It's unfortunate for all parties," Vargas said in a statement to the media. "An unfortunate distraction." --Field Level Media
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