MLB

Mets top Phillies, end August on winning note

Outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis took a gander at the Mets’ lineup Sunday and a few aspects hit him immediately.

There were guys, like himself, who normally don’t play. And overall, most of the lineup members such as Dilson Herrera and Wilmer Flores would be asked for proof of age at a juice bar.

“I was warming up, looking at the lineup and thought ‘It’s a pretty young lineup with Dilson in there and Flo.’ But it was a lot of fun,” said Nieuwenhuis who was called on to give the slumping Curtis Granderson a break.

And so fun and contributions came from everywhere. From new guys, from veterans, from the usual suspects, from guys you might not expect. The Mets pieced together enough pitching, hitting and defense and came away with a 6-5 victory over the Phillies at Citi Field.

“That’s how you win games, period,” manager Terry Collins said of the everybody pitch in approach. “If you can get that more consistently where … guys you stick in there have a big game, it just makes a huge difference. It takes a lot of heat off guys who [play] every day, get worn down. That fresh blood can lift you up.”

The Mets needed it all. From the guys forecast as the future: there was Dilson Herrera collecting his first MLB RBI with an eighth-inning single against a drawn-in infield and there was Wilmer Flores collecting three hits. Plus, Flores and Herrera turned a ninth-inning thing-of-beauty double play.

Jenrry Mejia turned his 21st save into a stressful situation with two on and no out. Before he allowed a run, though, he induced Ryan Howard, who already had homered, to rap into the shift-aided double play, Herrera to Flores to Lucas Duda. Flores made a terrific turn at second.

“I had to be quick. I was surprised I was able to turn it because [Chase] Utley was there and he goes hard. I just got rid of it quick and made a good throw,” Flores said.

And Herrera, who got his first major league hit Saturday, closed out his third MLB game and initial weekend with that RBI hit. Herrera drove in what proved to be the decisive run after Nieuwenhuis drove a one-out double in the eighth and then stole third.

“That’s been the toughest at-bat since I’ve been here. And in that situation, I was concentrating so I could take advantage and get the job done,” Herrera said through a translator.

The single biggest hit of the day was by Anthony Recker, Travis d’Arnaud’s catching understudy. He blasted a three-run homer, scoring Flores and Herrera in the sixth for a 5-2 lead.

“Any time you get a chance to play you just want to contribute and I was able to today offensively,” said Recker (two errors). “Defensively, I didn’t have my best game.”

But everybody picked up everybody else. And it wasn’t just the young ‘uns or the fill-ins. Matt den Dekker doubled in Juan Lagares in the fifth before David Wright singled for what then was a 2-1 lead. Dillon Gee (6-6) didn’t have his best stuff but he worked into the seventh for the win.

“Just tried to bear down and make good pitches when you have to,” said Gee who escape big time trouble with a Wil Nieves double play in the fourth and a strikeout of Jimmy Rollins in the fifth.

“It all starts with our pitching and Dillon gave us a pretty solid performance,” Wright said, noting how the Mets of all ages and stature rose to the situational hitting challenge. “That’s the kind of offense that we strive for, draw some walks, get on base and put ourselves in numerous opportunities with runners in scoring position. We did that and came through.

“The only way we’re going to get better and the only way these younger guys are going to feel comfortable is to go out there and play to make mistakes and to have that on-the-job training.”