Phillies answer Mets' magic in the ninth inning with Nick Castellano's walk-off

PHILADELPHIA – Another almost improbable Mets victory turned into a slap in the face on Sunday night.

All it took was a miracle that the Mets couldn't survive the bottom of the ninth after Mark Vientos' second home run of the game half an inning earlier had his team dreaming of traveling to Queens and reaching the NLCS with just one win.

But Tylor Megill gave up a walk-off RBI single to Nick Castellanos in the bottom of the inning, sending the Mets to a 7-6 loss to the Phillies in Game 2 of the NLDS at Citizens Bank Park.

Megill, who accompanied Trea Turner and Bryce Harper, came into the game after an Edwin Diaz implosion in the eighth.

The big wild card in this Mets rise to the postseason and early success has been which version of Diaz will show up on any given day or inning.

There was the Diaz who imploded in the eighth inning in Atlanta last Monday before begging for the ball in the ninth inning and slamming the door to catapult the Mets into the playoffs. There was the Diaz who stifled the Brewers three nights later and allowed the Mets to rally for a win in the NL Wild Card Series.

And then there was Sunday evening, when things came full circle for the right-hander. After getting the final out in the seventh inning and leading one in the eighth inning, Diaz cracked again.

Bryson Stott's two-run triple against Diaz was the highlight.

The Phillies' kickoff began with Harper drawing a one-out walk against Diaz in the eighth before Castellanos hit a 98 mph fastball that put runners on the corners. Stott hit a slider into the right field corner in the sixth pitch of his at-bat for a two-run triple that put the Mets in a 5-4 hole. Diaz switched to Megill and JT Realmuto's RBI fielder's choice provided the insurance run.

But after Francisco Lindor's single in the ninth, Vientos went wide against Matt Strahm and tied the score at 6-6.

After Luis Severino gave the Mets a 3-0 lead by allowing Harper and Castellanos to tie the game in the sixth, Brandon Nimmo regained the lead for the Mets with a solo strike in the seventh.

Severino's final line over six innings (91 pitches) included three earned runs on six hits and seven strikeouts. It was the second straight start this postseason in which the right-hander gave up three earned runs in six innings (also in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series on Tuesday in Milwaukee).

Vientos hit a two-run home run off Cristopher Sanchez in the third to score the game's first runs. Francisco Lindor singled in the inning before Vientos walked to the opposite field and cleared the fence just in right for his first career postseason home run.

Starling Marte's throwing error in the third allowed Johan Rojas to advance to second on Kyle Schwarber's fly out. Rojas took third place but fell by the wayside. Turner stole second and third from the Phillies in the first inning before Severino struck out Harper and retired Castellanos.

Stott hit a two-out single in the fourth and was thrown out by Francisco Alvarez, who was trying to steal second.

Pete Alonso opened the sixth inning with a home run off Jose Ruiz that extended the Mets' lead to 3-0. The blast was his second in three games — his home run in the ninth inning Thursday in Milwaukee saved the Mets' season.

The lefty Sanchez lasted five innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts.

Severino found himself in trouble in the sixth when he threw a 99 mph fastball that Harper smashed for a two-run home run, pulling the Phillies to within 3-2. The next batter, Castellanos, jumped into the strike zone with a sweeper and hit a 425-foot home run to left-center that tied the game.

Nimmo's home run came with two outs in the seventh after Orion Kerkering struck out Lindor and Vientos early in the frame.

Jose Butto struck out Realmuto in the seventh and allowed a two-out single to Rojas before Diaz came in and struck out Schwarber.