Phillies vs. Mets in London score, takeaways: Whit Merrifield hits 3-run blast as Philly rallies past New York

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the New York Mets 7-2 in the final on Saturday afternoon (score) to start the 2024 London Series. The two teams will meet again at London Stadium, home of Premier League side West Ham United English, on Sunday morning, before returning home.

The Phillies trailed the Mets early, but rallied for a six-run fourth inning that ended up being the difference. Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos and Whit Merrifield provided the game’s three home runs. Merrifield’s three-run blast served as the biggest hit of the game.

Below, we here at CBS Sports cover five other things you should know about the Phillies’ win, as well as the 2024 London Series in general.

1. Phillies win in battle of winning streaks

Although the Mets entered Saturday trailing the Phillies by 16 1/2 games in the National League East, both teams have generated some recent momentum by winning their last three games in a row.

For the Phillies, this three-game stretch was a continuation of the victories they had enjoyed all season on their way to the best record in Major League Baseball. In fact, the Phillies are a National League-best 22-8 over their last 30 Saturday games. On the other hand, the Mets’ three-game winning streak has helped improve their 11-19 mark over their last 30 games, tied for the third-worst streak in the majors over that span. (You can read more about the Mets’ horrible May here.)

Of course, only one of the two teams managed to improve their winning streak to four games on Saturday. Now the Phillies will try to stretch it to five on Sunday.

2. Lowest scoring London Series game to date

This series marks the third time MLB has already hosted games in London: the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox played there in 2019, and the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals did the same in 2023. Believe it or not, Saturday’s game now has the distinction of being the lowest. scoring game in London Series history, as well as the first time the teams combined for single-digit runs.

Previously, the lowest scoring game belonged to the Cubs and Cardinals, who scored 10 runs on June 24th. At the risk of stating the obvious, London Series games are generally high-scoring in nature. Namely, at least 12 runs were scored in each of the other three competitions.

3. Suárez reaches 10 wins, shows few ill effects from hand injury

You can credit the above rumor to Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez, who was shy about recording a quality start. Suárez held the Mets to two runs on eight hits and one walk. He struck out six of the 27 batters he faced on the afternoon while showing roughly his usual speed, according to Statcast, and picked up his 10th win of the year.

While it wasn’t Suárez’s best performance of the year — to be fair, he entered the game with a 1.70 ERA on the season — it was reassuring nonetheless. That’s because Suárez left his last game as a starter, against the St. Louis Cardinals a week ago, after getting hit in the hand. The Phillies should be pleased that he was able to weather the swelling in that hand without missing the start.

4. Harper started the football celebration in the middle of the big day

We mentioned in the intro that Bryce Harper hit a home run. He also scored and doubled as part of a three-hit effort that saw him launch into a football goal-style celebration he claimed he had been planning for years.

You can read more about the afternoon and Harper’s exploits here.

5. The London Series ends on Sunday

The Phillies and Mets will wrap up the 2024 London Series on Sunday morning before returning to the United States to resume their normal schedule. Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker is scheduled to oppose Mets left-hander Jose Quintana. The first launch is scheduled for just after 10am ET.