Mets force extras again but can't find the magic in 2-1 loss to Phillies

Bryce Harper blew kisses at a booing crowd to punctuate his home run, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 2-1 in eight innings Friday night for a doubleheader split after Aaron Nola matched a long-standing major league record with 10 straight strikeouts in the opener.

Odúbel Herrera drove in the tiebreaking run with a groundout against reliever Sean Reid-Foley (2-1) in the eighth as both games took an extra inning to determine a winner.

Nola tied Tom Seaver's mark for consecutive strikeouts set 51 years ago, but the Mets rallied to win the first game 2-1 in eight innings on big hits by Francisco Lindor and Dominic Smith.

"Pretty cool being in a category with Tom," Nola said. "It's a cool accomplishment, but winning's cooler in my opinion."

Following a costly error by third baseman Alec Bohmin the bottom of the seventh, Archie Bradley(3-1) limited the damage and allowed only pinch-hitter James McCann's tying sacrifice fly in the nightcap.

Struggling closer Héctor Neris retired Lindor, Pete Alonso and Smith with the automatic runner in scoring position for his 11th save in 16 chances. Neris struck out Smith to end it as Philadelphia's beleaguered bullpen finally closed one out to snap a four-game slide.

Phillies left fielder Andrew McCutchen robbed Albert Almora Jr. of an early two-run homer.

Harper hit his 11th homer on an 0-2 pitch from starter David Peterson in the sixth to put the Phillies in front 1-0. When he reached the dugout, Harper donned the team's oversized straw home run hat and feigned kisses to agitated Mets fans, even popping back out for a few more.

Phillies starter Matt Moore allowed three hits over five scoreless innings in an encouraging return from the injured list.

In the opener, Nola was one strike from standing alone in pitching history. He settled for a tie with Seaver before Philadelphia's bullpen blew another lead.

New York took advantage of an embarrassing two-base error by reliever José Alvarado, who overthrew first base on a comebacker while clinging to a 1-0 lead in the seventh.

First baseman Rhys Hoskins, with sunglasses perched uselessly atop the bill of his cap, appeared to have trouble seeing the ball in the evening glare and ducked a bit as the throw sailed just over his mitt.

That led to Lindor's tying single with two outs, and Smith — after squaring to bunt on a previous pitch — won it with an RBI single off Ranger Suárez (3-2) in the eighth.

Seaver fanned his final 10 hitters for the Mets in a 2-1 victory over the San Diego Padres at Shea Stadium on April 22, 1970.

The Hall of Famer's mark for consecutive strikeouts remained unmatched for more than five decades until Nola whiffed Michael Conforto with a changeup leading off the fourth at Citi Field, which replaced Shea Stadium as the Mets' home in 2009 on an adjacent site in Queens.

"I guess I wasn't really thinking about anything except getting him out," Nola said, adding he'll probably get the souvenir ball authenticated and put it in a little box at home.

Nola also singled off the left-field wall and doubled home Philadelphia's run against starter Taijuan Walker during a sensational all-around performance that resembled a Little League star.

"I got no pop," a grinning Nola said with a chuckle. "I thought I got my first one."

The right-hander equaled a career high with 12 strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings of two-hit ball, but the Phillies were unable to hang on.

Seth Lugo (1-0) struck out three in the top of the eighth and stranded two runners for the NL East leaders, playing their third doubleheader in seven days.

Featuring a nasty knuckle curve, Nola started and ended his streak with punchouts of Conforto. With the crowd chanting his name, Alonso halted the astounding run of Ks when he reached across the plate to poke a 1-2 slider inside the right-field line for a line-drive double.

Nola actually got off to an inauspicious start. He hit leadoff batter Jeff McNeil with a curveball in the first inning and then gave up a double to Lindor that left runners at second and third.

The right-hander struck out Conforto, Alonso and Smith in succession to keep New York off the scoreboard, and didn't stop. James McCann, Kevin Pillar and Luis Guillorme went down in the second, then Walker, McNeil and Lindor in the third — all wearing a patch with Seaver's retired uniform No. 41 on their sleeves.

"They knew there was a string of strikeouts going on, and they knew how good he was because they kept talking about it," Mets manager Luis Rojas said.

Seven strikeouts during Nola's run were swinging. He caught Smith, McCann and Walker looking.

The streak alone gave Nola his 19th double-digit strikeout game and third this season.

Under pandemic rules, both games were scheduled for seven innings in a doubleheader created to make up an April 15 rainout.

Mets ace Jacob deGrom (7-2, 0.50) is scheduled to pitch Saturday against Zach Eflin (2-6, 4.39).