The Phillies did what good teams do Friday night: They outplayed the Mets without huge contributions from one or two players, they tacked on insurance runs late, they defended and ran the bases well, and they did just enough to win.
This win wasn't the first of its kind, and it's the type of victory that has eluded the Phillies for so much of the past decade. The Phillies have won 10 of 11 games for the first time since 2011 thanks in part to meat-and-potatoes efforts like this one.
It's been the constant theme the last two weeks with the 2020 Phils, who have received production from everyone — the stars, the role players, the bench players, the starting pitchers and the bullpen.
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In Friday's 5-3 win over the Mets, no Phillie had multiple hits. No one homered. The only extra-base hit was Phil Gosselin's double, which preceded Roman Quinn's game-winning single.
"We won this game but you don't really think of anyone who had a big game," manager Joe Girardi said. "It was single here, stolen base, another single. Contributions from up and down the lineup. ...
"It's good because you're not gonna win games always by hitting the ball out of the ballpark. You've got to find ways to scratch runs and we were able to do that tonight."
MLB
Jake Arrieta gave up two runs in seven innings in his longest start since last May 25. On Sunday, the day before the trade deadline, he said he thought the Phillies had enough to make a run without making another move. They went out and acquired David Phelps on deadline day to further bolster a revamped bullpen.
After Friday's win, Arrieta cited a similarity between his 2016 World Series Cubs team and this one.
"This is absolutely a team that can contend deep into the playoffs. There's no question about it," he said. "We have that group. That team I was a part of in Chicago several years ago, we had all these young guys come to the big leagues and outperform their expectations at such a young change. (Alec) Bohm is doing that. He's gotten better and better each and every game. Our defense is very crisp. And when certain guys have been hot and then it flips, other guys pick each other up."
Bohm has converted all 27 defensive chances since committing two errors in an inning on August 21 in Atlanta. Bohm had the walk-off sacrifice fly and three hits Thursday and after the game, Bryce Harper referred to him as a potential future MVP. A night later, he received more lofty praise from another veteran in Arrieta.
"Our defense has been amazing," Arrieta said. "Can't say enough about these guys. The way Bohm has played third base and the way he looks at the plate, his progression has happened really quick. We have so many pieces in our lineup and our defense and our bullpen now. We're a really deep team."
That deep team looks for even more separation Saturday night from the third-place Marlins, who now trail the Phillies by 2½ games for the second-place playoff spot in the NL East. The Phils are only two back of the Braves, who have won seven of 10 themselves.