7-Line Army infiltrates the Philadelphia Phillies crowd
Mets pitcher Trevor Williams throws during the first inning in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday in Philadelphia. Credit: AP/Chris Szagola
PHILADELPHIA — There was a guy in a Mets jersey on the mound in Philly.
That’s not a strange sight in itself — the Mets came into Saturday’s doubleheader at Citizens Bank Ballpark having already played here six times this season. But generally speaking, the national anthem plays before any of that happens.
No, this time, the Phillies, in a move that would probably make old manager Larry Bowa blanch in rage, had a member of the Mets' 7-Line Army throw the first pitch. You know, the fans who travel en masse to opposing ballparks to cheer Pete Alonso and boo … basically anyone in another jersey.
Now, a kinder, gentler person might view this as a nice gesture: Apparently, they bought 1,500 tickets, and it was a way for the Phillies organization to say thank you. But last we checked, this was a game against a division rival, not kumbaya sing-along, and having the 7-Line Army’s “General” throw the first pitch turned out to be a perfect representation of what we’re seeing this season.
The Mets have owned this team in ways large and small, and with the help of their fans Saturday, they owned the ballpark, too. And maybe that won’t mean all that much after this weekend, which is the last time they’ll face the Phillies in the regular season. But it might just mean something in the playoffs, as the Phillies very much remain in contention for a wild card spot.
“Hopefully, we have a chance to play them again,” Buck Showalter said Friday.
He wasn’t denigrating the team, merely saying he hopes the Mets keep their sights on the postseason. But you could hardly blame him if he really did want to see the Phillies come October: After Game 1, the Mets were 13-4 against them this season, with a plus-39 run differential, and those wins have come in a host of ways. And it's not that the Phillies do all that bad against good teams, either. If you don't count the Mets, they're 24-20 against over-.500 teams.
Saturday, the Mets won Game 1, 8-2, behind spot starter Trevor Williams, who extended his scoreless-innings streak to 24, a career high, along with RBIs from six different players. The lineup didn’t so much dominate as it pestered. Four of their six RBI hits had exit velocities well below the major-league average, which hovers around 88-mph, according to Baseball Savant. Against starter Zack Wheeler, balls tipped off their bats at a modest average of 74.4-mph, their contact-heavy approach continuing to prove exhausting.
Fundamentally, they were sound, something that was highlighted in the fourth inning of that first game, when the Phillies attempted to steal home on the tail end of an attempted double steal, Francisco Lindor instead making a heads-up play to gun down Bryson Stott at home. Sure, it was a good play, but it also underlined some key differences in these two teams. Friday, in the Mets 7-2 victory, Starling Marte and Lindor executed the same play — except on the other side. The Phillies, though, botched it, and Marte scored.
“Good plays like that make your team look crisp and sound,” Showalter said. “It’s something [Lindor] embraces.”
The rest of the team, too. The result was an announced crowd of 36,809 that sounded like it had collectively hailed the Amtrak from Penn Station on Saturday morning. When Williams exited, he got an ovation. After a manager’s challenge upheld that out at home plate, there were loud cheers. And when the Mets tacked on four ninth-inning runs, there were more sounds of approval. Who knew Philadelphia was so intent on saving Edwin Diaz for Game 2 of a doubleheader?
It has to be at least a little demoralizing if you're in the home dugout.
“It always seems like we’re playing a home game with Mets fans in the crowd, so for them to make this trip — I thought I heard the 7-Line today, so for them to make this trip out here, it’s special for us,” Williams said. “It doesn’t go unnoticed in our clubhouse.”
And for the Mets, Citi Field West might just become an even bigger home-field advantage when it counts the most.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
