Mets blow two leads before J.D. Martinez’s go-ahead RBI single leads to win over Phillies in 11 innings

PHILADELPHIA — It’s been a dismal week for the Mets that featured blown leads and empty at-bats. Facing the Philadelphia Phillies for the fourth and final time this week, the Mets blew two leads before scoring twice in the 11th inning to finally stop the skid and snap a streak of three straight losses to their divisional rivals with a 6-5 win Thursday at Citizens Bank Park.

The Mets blew a 2-0 lead only to come back and take a 4-3 lead. Then, Edwin Diaz blew his third save in his last four tries and gave up the tying run in the ninth inning to send the game into extras. But in the 11th inning, the Mets prevailed. J.D. Martinez lined one to right off left-hander Jose Alvarado (1-2) to score Francisco Lindor, the automatic runner.

Martinez reached third on a double by Harrison Bader and scored on a wild pitch by Alvarado, giving the Mets an important insurance run. Left-hander Jake Diekman loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning and gave up a run on a force out before striking out Kyle Schwarber to convert the save (one).

Jorge Lopez got the win in relief (1-0).

In the ninth, walks again proved problematic for the Mets. Diaz walked Brandon Marsh to lead off the inning and a wild pitch advanced him to second, putting him in place to score on Bryson Stott’s one-out single.

Bader supplied the key hit in the eighth inning, lining a single off right-hander Jeff Hoffman into center field, scoring Tyrone Taylor from second to tie the game at 3-3. Bader’s single was literally off Hoffman — the ball hit the reliever in the side on its way to center field.

Pete Alonso later scored on a wild pitch and Adam Ottavino shut the Phillies down in the bottom of the eighth, setting up a save opportunity for Diaz.

Trying to change their fate after losing the last three to the Phillies and five of their last six (all against NL East opponents), the Mets took a 2-0 lead off right-hander Taijuan Walker, with Alonso hitting his 10th home run of the season in the first and Brett Baty scoring Starling Marte on a double in the second inning.

The lead wouldn’t last.

Left-hander Jose Quintana worked quickly and efficiently through five innings before he gave up back-to-back singles with one out in the sixth. He didn’t give up a walk, which was huge for a staff that has walked more hitters than any other team in the league, displaying much better command than his last time out.

Still, the Mets went to right-hander Reed Garrett in the sixth after Quintana gave up hits to J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper, despite his relatively low pitch count (81). Garrett promptly gave up a single to Alec Bohm to cut the lead in half and the Phillies tied it when Nick Castellanos hit a fly ball to left field deep enough for Harper to score.

Garrett gave up another run in the seventh after getting the first two outs. Stott, the pinch hitter, walked and the Mets opted to let Garrett finish the inning instead of going to a left-hander to get Schwarber, a left-handed hitter, out. It turned out to be the wrong decision, as Schwarber doubled to right field to score Stott and give the home team a 3-2 lead.

Quintana would not get the decision in his two-run, four-hit performance. He struck out four over 5 1/3 innings.

The veteran lefty has struggled at times this season, but this wasn’t one of those times.

Walker lasted only 3 1/3 innings, leaving with a foot contusion after getting hit with a comebacker. He allowed two earned runs on four hits, walking two and striking out one before left-hander Matt Strahm took over.

The Mets continue their eight-game road trip Friday in Miami when they open a three-game series against the Marlins with an opportunity to pick up some important divisional wins.