Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor largely carried the Mets in April.
They had cooled by June, when Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo took off.
Interspersed have been cold streaks and hot streaks from the likes of Brett Baty and Mark Vientos and overall solid work from Jeff McNeil.
What the Mets are witnessing now — for the first time all season — is the whole lineup working as one flowing and overpowering unit that is proving no deficit is insurmountable and life is always a rally away.
Against their division rival and the division leader, there might not be a better time to catch collective fire.
For a second straight night, the Mets spotted the Phillies a lead and for a second straight night an offensive explosion erased that deficit.
Ryan Helsley coughed up the advantage in the eighth only for the Mets offense again to awaken in the bottom of the ninth as Nimmo knocked a walk-off RBI single to clinch a stirring 6-5 win in front of 41,914 at Citi Field.
The Mets (71-61) entered this series seven games back of the Phillies (76-56) for the division lead with seven head-to-head matchups remaining.
Two games later, the Mets are within five games largely because of an offense that has awoken.
In the past two-plus weeks and 14 games, the Mets have led the majors with 99 runs.
The bottom of the order carried the club to a comeback victory Monday, and the top of the order was key in two big innings Tuesday.
After Edwin Díaz blew away the heart of the Phillies order in the top of the ninth in a tie game, the Mets attack went to work in the bottom half.
Against excellent closer Jhoan Duran, Starling Marte found a single and Alonso crushed a single. With two on against the righty, Carlos Mendoza pinch hit Baty for Vientos, and Baty blooped a single of his own.
Against a drawn-in infield, Nimmo found a hole for the last hit the Mets would need and celebrated around a mob of teammates around first base.
It was relief for the Mets, who had entered the eighth inning with a two-run edge and tried piecing together the game after Sean Manaea lasted just 4 ²/₃ innings.
With Gregory Soto, Huascar Brazobán and Tyler Rogers burned and a righty pocket of the Philadelphia lineup due, Mendoza opted for Helsley, who has largely been poor but threw a scoreless inning Monday.
After striking out Alec Bohm, Helsley quickly unraveled. He walked Nick Castellanos before former Met Harrison Bader clobbered a game-tying homer to deep left.
Helsley’s next pitch sailed over Luis Torrens’ head and to the backstop during a plate appearance that ended with a Bryson Stott walk. Mendoza pulled Helsley, who was booed off the mound and has allowed 14 runs (10 earned) in 11 games with the Mets.
He had allowed 12 runs in 36 games with the Cardinals before the trade.
After Manaea and Soto allowed two to score in the top of the fifth, the Mets explosion arrived in a 10-batter, four-hit, five-run bottom of the fifth.
The frame began innocently enough and left the Phillies increasingly frustrated.
Torrens was hit in the foot before Lindor blooped his way to first base. Juan Soto — a victim so often of tough luck — grounded a many-bouncer up the middle that just snuck through the infield.
An aggressive Mike Sarbaugh waved Torrens home, and center fielder Bader airmailed the throw to allow the Mets to score and both Lindor and Soto to advance a base.
After what might have been a soft run came a soft base runner: Marte reached on a walk in which Ball 3 appeared to catch the inside corner.
The Phillies pulled Jesús Luzardo with the bases loaded, and Luzardo screamed at plate umpire Willie Traynor, earning an ejection on his way to the dugout.
The uprising truly began against fireballing Orion Kerkering.
Alonso lined a gapper to left-center that fell for a two-run double that put the Mets ahead and became RBIs No. 104 and 105 for Alonso.
A sizzling Mark Vientos followed with a drilled single to right, his 14th RBI in his past nine games.
The excellent clutch work continued with Nimmo, who lofted a sacrifice fly to center for the fifth Mets run.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
