PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies knew the National League East wasn't going to be won or lost in one June series against the Mets.
They do, after all, still have more than half of the season left to play.
But that doesn't mean the Phils didn't enjoy their series-clinching 7-1 victory on Sunday night at Citizens Bank Park just a little bit more.
Jesús Luzardo slapped his glove and let out a yell after striking out Pete Alonso to end the first inning of what turned into a stellar outing of 6 2/3 scoreless frames. A few innings later, Edmundo Sosa got a little extra height on his skip out of the batter's box after demolishing a three-run home run -- one of his three hits on the night -- into the upper bullpen in right-center field.
“It’s obviously a special day, playing for the [division] lead, playing against a rival,” Sosa said via a team interpreter. “It makes it exciting. I had a feeling this morning -- I woke up really optimistic.”
In between Luzardo’s slap and Sosa’s skip, Kyle Schwarber sent the Philadelphia faithful into a frenzy when he crushed his team-leading 24th home run to spark a five-run fourth inning.
“Obviously, two top teams tied for the top of the division [coming in],” Luzardo said. “So it’ll be fun going into the second half and seeing them again. But we put up a good fight this time. So it was fun.”
Following a disastrous 2-10 stretch that included a sweep at the hands of the last-place Pirates, the Phils (47-31) have responded with a 9-2 run to move one game ahead of the Mets (46-32) atop the division.
"I’ve always said to win the division, you’ve got to win at home and you’ve got to win within your division," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
When it comes to the Mets, the Phils hadn't done a whole lot of that recently. Not only were the Phillies eliminated by the Mets in last year's NLDS, but they were also swept in a three-game set from April 21-23 at Citi Field.
So this was a much-needed series victory for Thomson's club -- though, unlike last year by this time, the NL East race is obviously far from over.
While the Phillies' division lead in 2024 never went below five games any time after May 19, that hasn't been the case in '25.
Entering play on May 25, the Phillies were three games ahead of the Mets. By the time games ended on June 11, the Mets had a five-game lead -- an eight-game swing in 18 days. But the Phils have now gone from five back to one up in just 11 days.
“We expect to win a series, and we expect to win a game when we walk out of the locker room,” Schwarber said. “We didn’t play our best baseball there over that week-and-a-half span, but I feel like we’re kind of clicking, we’re getting back on track. We wanted to have a really good series against a really good team over there.”
The Mets still lead the season series, 4-2, but the Phils' two wins this weekend were crucial for keeping the head-to-head tiebreaker within reach. The two clubs won't meet again until Aug. 25-27 at Citi Field. They'll wrap up their season series two weeks later with a four-game set in Philadelphia.
But it's anyone's guess as to what the standings will look like at that point.
So, for now, the Phillies are focused on the things that can help them stay atop the NL East -- such as Luzardo returning to his early season form.
The left-hander's historically bad two-start stretch recently appears to be nothing more than a blip. After a 10-strikeout gem against the first-place Cubs two starts ago, Luzardo was every bit as sharp against the Mets.
He allowed only three hits, all of which were singles -- and none of which were hard-hit. Luzardo struck out seven and walked only one batter (Juan Soto).
“He was really good tonight,” Thomson said. “ … Everyone’s going to have a couple starts like that, but he’s got really good stuff. He’s a competitor, and he’s going to get after it.”
Sosa, meanwhile, provided a major spark. Entering the night in a 3-for-39 (.077) slump after a hot start, Sosa matched that hit total with a 3-for-4 performance that included his first extra-base hit since May 19 and his first homer of the season at home.
“That’s what he can do; he’s an electric guy,” Thomson said. “There are nights when he looks like an All-Star.”
Added Sosa: “It just makes it that much more special to be in a game that gives us the division lead.”