Mets’ homers support Jose Quintana in key win over Phillies

PHILADELPHIA — Jose Quintana turned the Citizens Bank bandbox into his personal sandbox Friday night with maybe the defining performance of his two-year Mets career. 

Fortunate early that several hard-hit balls were in just the right spots, the left-hander survived and pitched to weaker contact as the game progressed.

He exited after seven shutout innings in the Mets’ 11-3 demolition of the Phillies. 

The three-run homer was the key to the Mets’ offensive attack: Francisco Alvarez, Brandon Nimmo and Harrison Bader each hit one, but the party was tempered by Francisco Lindor leaving the game in the seventh inning with lower back soreness, according to the team. 

The Mets, who began the day one game ahead of the Braves for the NL’s third wild card, won for the 12th time in 14 games. 

Quintana pitched seven shutout innings in which he allowed three hits and struck out four without walking a batter. It was a third start in his last four that the left-hander worked at least into the seventh inning without surrendering an earned run.

Along the way, his ERA has dropped from 4.57 to 3.91. 

On this night, he retired 13 of the last 14 batters he faced — Kyle Schwarber was the only Phillies batter to reach base during that stretch with an infield single in the sixth. 

Alvarez and Nimmo each blasted a three-run homer during a fifth inning in which the Mets went from hitless against Aaron Nola to ahead 6-0. 

Nola surrendered successive singles to Jose Iglesias and Tyrone Taylor leading off the inning before Alvarez launched a towering drive that struck the left-field foul pole.

The homer was the second in as many games for Alvarez, whose three-run shot in the ninth inning Wednesday in Toronto gave the Mets a cushion after Lindor had ended Bowden Francis’ no-hit bid with a homer and two additional runs had scored. 

But the Mets were just getting warmed up.

After Bader struck out, Lindor and Mark Vientos each singled before Nimmo hit a shot into the right-field seats for his 19th homer of the season.

It was the last pitch thrown by Nola, who was removed with only one out in the inning. 

The Mets added to their lead in the sixth, with Lindor’s RBI double burying the Phillies in a 7-0 hole. Bader’s two-out double started the rally. 

Bader launched a three-run homer in the eighth that turned the game into a complete runaway. 

It got ugly enough that the Phillies inserted infielder Kody Clemens (son of Roger) to pitch the ninth. For the Mets’ final run, Pete Alonso — in the great tradition of Mike Piazza — took Clemens deep. 

Alex Young surrendered a three-homer to Brandon Marsh in the ninth that prevented the shutout.