Mets, Phillies will meet in MLB playoffs for the 1st time

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Take a look at the great moments in the Mets-Phillies rivalry — from Jim Bunning's Father's Day perfect game to New York's epic collapse in the 2007 NL East race, to each team scoring 20-plus runs against the other and all the way to a London series this season — and one thing is missing.

The Mets and Phillies have never faced each other in the playoffs

The 1,081 all-time meetings between the Mets and Phillies since New York's inception into the National League in 1962 have yielded all kinds of moments for the highlight reel.

None bigger than the start of the best-of-five NL Division Series on Saturday in Philadelphia.

"It's a tricky lineup and they're hot right now," Philadelphia Game 1 starter Zack Wheeler said. "They're playing good baseball."

Pete Alonso used a dose of pumpkin power to hit a three-run homer off Milwaukee closer Devin Williams in the ninth inning to put the Mets up for good in a 4-2 victory over the Brewers on Thursday in the decisive third game of their NL Wild Card Series.

The ninth-inning rally continued New York's — well, since the Mets are talking pumpkins — Cinderella season. The Mets were 22-33 in late May, but had the best record in baseball the rest of the regular season.

New York is the first team to clinch a postseason spot and a playoff series by winning both games after trailing in the ninth inning or later.

The NL East champion Phillies went 7-6 against the Mets this season, with one notable asterisk. The Phillies lost three of those games when Taijuan Walker started. The beleaguered starter has largely pitched himself out of postseason role, if the former Met even makes the roster.

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Unlike Walker, Wheeler has aced his transition from New York to Philadelphia. Wheeler went 44-38 with a 3.77 ERA in 126 starts with the Mets, but missed the 2015 and 2016 seasons following Tommy John surgery. He's blossomed into a Cy Young Award candidate with the Phillies, winning 55 games over the last four seasons. He went 16-7 with a 2.57 ERA this season.

"I've been over here for a while now and there's no hard feelings, everything has kind of changed over there personnel-wise," Wheeler said Friday. "There's no hard feelings, it's just baseball at this point. But at the end of the day I want to win. "

Wheeler is 5-5 with a 3.56 ERA in 15 starts against the Mets.