Phillies can’t capitalize against Max Scherzer and the Mets in a 4-2 loss

Max Scherzer allowed back-to-back hits, including a game-tying single, in the fifth inning Saturday when Bryce Harper walked to the plate with the go-ahead run on third base.

Break out the popcorn.

As marquee matchups go, it doesn’t get much better than two former teammates — likely future Hall of Famers, to boot — mano a mano. But the anticipation proved to be more than the result, at least for the Phillies.

Harper struck out on five pitches, and while it didn’t decide the game, it was, in Scherzer’s words, “a pivotal point.” Because in the ensuing half-inning, the Phillies’ bullpen yielded two runs in a 4-2 loss to the Mets before a sellout crowd of 43,586 at Citizens Bank Park.

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“I just think his timing’s off, his rhythm’s off a little bit,” manager Rob Thomson said of Harper. “It’ll come.”

There’s little doubt about that. But Harper is the front man for an offense that isn’t slugging as it was supposed to. And he has gone nine games without an extra-base hit and 24 games (109 plate appearances) without a home run, the longest power outage of his career.

“I think everybody [presses] when you’re struggling a little bit,” Thomson said. “His expectations on himself are so high because he wants to do well for his club and the fans and the organization. He puts a lot of weight on his shoulders.”

It wasn’t only Harper. Although Cristopher Sánchez cleared the low fifth-starter bar by allowing three runs in five innings, the Phillies went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base.

They also grounded into backbreaking double plays in the eighth and ninth innings against former teammate David Robertson, who earned a five-out save after receiving his 2022 National League championship ring before the game.

Talk about ungrateful.

“It’s like the greatest day of my life,” Robertson said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had two double plays in a game, not even in high school. I got lucky. They’ve got a great lineup.”

After Sánchez allowed a leadoff single in the sixth inning, Thomson turned to Yunior Marte to face the righty-heavy Mets lineup. Marte got three straight ground balls, but Starling Marte’s and Francisco Lindor’s got through for singles and the Phillies couldn’t turn Pete Alonso’s into a double play.

The result: The Mets scored the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice before Tommy Pham punched an RBI single for a two-run lead.

And it all turned on Harper vs. Scherzer.

“The game could really turn on that at-bat,” said Scherzer, who set up Harper with high heat, tried unsuccessfully to get him to chase a curveball, then fanned him on a diving cutter. “I was able to come away on top, keep it at a 2-2 game, and our offense goes and scores another run and kind of puts the game into our favor.”

Sánchez gave up hard contact, including four consecutive 100-plus-mph rockets in the third inning. But he pitched well enough to keep the Phillies close and merit another start next week, Thomson said.

“I try to take advantage of this opportunity as much as possible,” Sánchez said through a team interpreter. “Because I really want to be here until the end of the season.”

In two starts, Sánchez has allowed four runs in nine innings. But most important, he has issued only one walk after struggling with his command in triple A.

“If he can keep this going, it’d be great,” Thomson said. “If he’s throwing strikes, his stuff’s good enough to get people out. That fifth spot, if he can take five, six innings down every time out, that’d be huge.”

In the sixth inning, against righty-hitting Starling Marte, Thomson said, he wouldn’t have used lefty relievers Gregory Soto or José Alvarado, even if they hadn’t been unavailable after pitching in back-to-back games, including a 5-1 victory Friday night.

“Yeah, probably wouldn’t do that,” Thomson said. “Not at Marte.”

In that spot, Thomson may have used Seranthony Domínguez, who is on the injured list with a strained muscle in his left side. Yunior Marte has occupied Domínguez’s typical role.

At the risk of having to play favorites, Thomson was asked before the game to pick the Phillies player who most deserves a spot on the NL All-Star roster.

“I think [Nick] Castellanos has put up a fine year so far,” he said.

On cue, Castellanos picked up three hits, including a leadoff homer in the fourth inning that snapped the Phillies’ 39-inning power outage, and reached base four times. He also made a sliding catch to end the seventh inning and take a hit from Brandon Nimmo.

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Castellanos is batting .317/.360/.497 with nine home runs. He finished eighth among NL outfielders in fan voting but likely will be picked by players and/or coaches as an NL All-Star reserve.

“It’s not up for me to decide,” Castellanos said.