Mets steal Game 1 with makeshift pitching plan: “It went perfectly”

PHILADELPHIA – After the Mets MacGyry their way through 27 outs against one of the best offenses in baseball on Saturday, they committed more late-game steals – at The Bank, of course – in a 6-2 Game 1 win over the Phillies , pitching coach Jeremy Hefner could breathe a sigh of relief and smile.

“That,” Hefner said, “was Plan A.”

When the Mets face the Phillies, an objective observer would come to one conclusion quicker than anyone else: Philadelphia has the edge from the mound.

The Phillies had five All-Star pitchers. The Mets haven't had that many in the last eight years combined. Through wins over substitutes, the three best starters and three best relievers in this series play for the team in red.

Perhaps nothing better highlights Philadelphia's advantage on the mound than a comparison of what constitutes “Plan A.” For the Phillies, it meant handing the ball to the Cy Young Award frontrunner Zack Wheeler and getting out of his way. For the Mets, it meant taking a guy off the 60-day injured list, starting him with a limit of 30 to 35 pitches, and stitching together 27 outs with superglue and tape.

David Peterson, who threw three shutout innings, could be the Mets' most valuable pitcher last week. (Heather Barry/Getty Images)

“We just did it,” Ryne Stanek said with a shrug.

“We were ready to go,” said Reed Garrett, who secured the win with six crucial outs in the middle inning. “No matter what the game requires, everyone will do their job.”

In fact, the Mets can't get any wins this week. They run a crime spree across multiple cities and their specialty is robberies. They lull you into a false sense of security by slumbering for seven innings, usually scoreless. Then they strike – for eight runs in two innings on Monday in Atlanta, for four runs in the ninth Thursday in Milwaukee and for six runs in the final two frames on Saturday.

And anyone who's studied heist – from “The Great Train Robbery” to “Ocean's Whatever” – can tell you that success depends less on unique leadership and more on the quality of the crew. Postseason baseball is really about the stars of a team. The Mets showed on Saturday that precise implementation of your depth can also be a recipe for success.

That's how New York's makeshift quintet of pitchers defeated the Philadelphia All-Stars on Saturday.

“It's not just the depth, but their willingness to do whatever it takes to win,” Hefner said.

“Everyone we needed was ready to go,” David Peterson said. “Everyone knew their job and the guys did everything they could to get it done.”

“Any situation, that’s the mantra,” Garrett said.

The decision to choose Senga triggered all this uncertainty. The Mets were hoping he could get them six outs within his mandatory pitching limit. If he couldn't, Garrett would be the one to pick him up, which is why the righty warmed up in the second inning – four frames and 70 minutes before he finally got into the game.

Once Senga got through the first two innings, the Mets faced their biggest decision of the game: They had to turn to Peterson and play a bullpen game from there, or hand the ball to Tylor Megill for five or six bulk innings. On one run they went with Peterson.

“He’s a gamer,” Hefner said. “He wants the Mets to win and he will do whatever is asked of him.”

Perhaps no one was as excited about the Mets this week as Peterson. He started Sunday with what was essentially a must-win win, shutting out the Brewers for seven innings. He finished Thursday with a decisive win to end Milwaukee's season and send the Mets to Philly. He pitched three scoreless innings on Saturday, bridging the gap between Senga and the usual bullpen hierarchy.

“Give the guy the ball,” Garrett said.

“It’s a group thing. “A guy goes out and hits really well, and that gives you the confidence to go out and attack and execute,” Peterson said. “We just keep passing the ball to the next player and putting it together.”

After Peterson pitched the fifth, play returned to normal for the bullpen.

“It gets to the point where you’re counting down the outs,” Stanek said.

From there, Garrett pitched two perfect innings, keeping the Mets in position to stage their now-standard late-inning rally. Phil Maton and Stanek took it from there. The Mets didn't even have to use Edwin Díaz, who had thrown 99 pitches over the last six days.

“Our whole bullpen gave us a chance,” Brandon Nimmo said. “We’re not even in this position if our bullpen doesn’t do what it does.”

Of the 27 outs New York recorded on Saturday, zero came from pitchers from the Opening Day roster – a testament to the club's season-long development, particularly in the bullpen.

“We take a lot of pride in getting those zeros, especially in a close game like this,” Peterson said. “We felt like we had to keep it close and do our part.”

As he pondered what Senga's performance could mean later in the series and how soon Peterson could play a role again, Hefner took in how it all unfolded Saturday.

“It went,” he said, “almost perfectly.”

(Top photo of Ryne Stanek and Luis Torrens: Hunter Martin / Getty Images)