Nimmo homer lifts Mets to 2-1 win as New York takes 3 of 4 and delays Phillies' NL East clinch

NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Nimmo hit a tiebreaking, sixth-inning home run off Zack Wheeler that sailed just over the glove of leaping right fielder Nick Castellanos, and the New York Mets beat Philadelphia 2-1 on Sunday night to prevent the Phillies from clinching the NL East at Citi Field.

Edwin Díaz got his second career six-out save, his first since since Aug. 4, 2022. He stranded Trea Turner at third when Alec Bohm grounded out in the eighth and Bryson Stott at third in the ninth when Kody Clemens struck out.

“We’ve been protecting him the whole year and now it’s big boys time,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.

New York (87-69) took three of four from the Phillies and has won 18 of its last 23 games to move a season-high 18 games over .500. The Mets passed Arizona into the second of three NL wild card slots, ahead of the Diamondbacks because they won the season series 4-3, and stayed two games ahead of the Braves (85-71). New York finishes the regular season with three games each at Atlanta and Milwaukee.

Philadelphia (92-64) needs one win in its last six games to clinch its first NL East title since 2011. The Phillies host the Chicago Cubs in a three-game series starting Monday night.

“Hopefully we get it done because that'll be exciting,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.

Nimmo led off the sixth with his 22nd homer, breaking a 1-1 tie when he pulled a first-pitch fastball over the 8-foot fence.

“This is playoff atmosphere, playoff baseball and really you see how much more every pitch means in these games,” Nimmo said. “These guys are just rising to the challenge and it’s just a beautiful thing to see.”

Before a boisterous crowd of 43,139, the second straight Citi Field sellout but just the fifth this season, Tylor Megill allowed four hits over four innings, and Phil Maton (3-3), Joey Butto and Díaz combined for, and Díaz got his 20th save in 26 chances this season.

Francisco Alvarez’s throw on Stott’s steal hit third base put popped up by third baseman Mark Vientos, who grabbed the ball with his bare hand after a bounce, forcing Stott to hold.

“I'm not sure if I've ever seen that,” Thomson said.

Mets star Pete Alonso, eligible for free agency after the World Series, was given a standing ovation when he walked to the plate in the first inning. Alonso tipped his helmet and tapped it to his heart. He went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and was given another standing ovation in the eighth.

“It’s right out of a storybook for me,” Alonso said. “It’s truly, truly remarkable to be able to to see and feel that reaction and appreciation from a packed house like that.”

Wheeler (16-7), who had won his prior four starts, allowed two runs and seven hits in seven-plus innings.

Turner singled in the first, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Bohm’s two-out single.

Vientos doubled in the second, hustling into the base ahead of Johan Rojas’ throw from center, and came home when Tyrone Taylor singled past a diving Bohm at third.

J.D. Martinez was benched by the Mets for the second straight day and struck out as a pinch hitter in the eighth, extending his career-worst slide to 0 for 32.

New York drew 2,285,147 for 78 dates this season, down from 2,573,555 last year.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: OF Austin Hayes (kidney infection), out since Sept. 1, was 0 for 4 with a walk and two strikeouts, playing left field for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He could be activated Tuesday. ... RHP Spencer Turnbull, sidelined since June 26 by a right lat strain, pitched two innings for the IronPigs and allowed Tyler McDonough’s two-run homer. He likely will throw batting practice on Thursday at the Phillies’ complex in Clearwater, Florida.

Mets: RHP Kodai Senga won’t pitch again during the regular season after feeling felt tightness in his right triceps during a minor league rehab outing Saturday. ... SS Francisco Lindor (back) missed his seventh straight game but participated in more intense pregame workouts. The Mets hope he can return Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Phillies: RHP Aaron Nola (12-8, 3.54 ERA) starts Monday’s homestand opener against the Chicago Cubs.

Mets: RHP Luis Severino (11-6, 3.79) opens a three-game series at Atlanta on Tuesday. The Braves start RHP Spencer Schwellenbach.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

New York Mets relief pitcher Edwin Diaz (39) reacts after striking out Kody Clemens for the final out of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler, right, throws to first to retire New York Mets batter Luisangel Acuna, left, during a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas dives but cannot catch a single by New York Mets' Tyrone Taylor in the fifth inning during a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

Philadelphia Phillies' Trea Turner returns to the dugout after scoring in the first inning during a baseball game against the New York Mets, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

New York Mets relief pitcher Jose Butto reacts after striking out Philadelphia Phillies' Kody Clemens for the third out in the top of the seventh during a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

New York Mets' Brandon Nimmo follows through on his solo home run in the sixth inning during a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

New York Mets' Brandon Nimmo, right, watches his solo home run in the sixth inning during a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

New York Mets' Pete Alonso, left, and Brandon Nimmo, right, celebrate after Nimmo's home run in the sixth inning during a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

New York Mets' Jesse Winker, left, and Brandon Nimmo celebrate Nimmo's home run in the sixth inning during a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka's president on Monday after an election that saw voters reject an old guard accused of leading the country into economic crisis.

Dissanayake, 55, who ran as head of the Marxist-leaning National People's Power coalition, defeated opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and 36 other candidates in Saturday's election.

Dissanayake received 5,740,179 votes, followed by Premadasa with 4,530,902.

The election came as the country seeks to recover from its worst economic crisis and resulting political upheaval.

He's the ninth person to hold Sri Lanka's powerful executive presidency, created in 1978 when a new constitution expanded the office's powers.

Dissanayake's coalition is led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, or People’s Liberation Front, a Marxist party that waged two unsuccessful armed insurrections in the 1970s and 1980s to capture power through socialist revolution. After its defeat, the JVP entered democratic politics in 1994 and has been mostly in opposition since then. However, they have supported several previous presidents and been part of governments briefly.

The NPP also includes groups representing academics, civil society movements, artists, lawyers and students.

Dissanayake was first elected to arliament in 2000 and briefly held the portfolio of agriculture and irrigation minister under then-President Chandrika Kumaratunga. He ran for president for the first time in 2019 and lost to Rajapaksa, who was ousted over the economic crisis two years later.

That economic crisis resulted from excessive borrowing to fund projects that did not generate revenue, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government’s insistence on using scarce foreign reserves to prop up its currency, the rupee.

Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake waves as he departs the election commission office after winning the presidential election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)