Mets deliver big first punch to hated rival Phillies

PHILADELPHIA — The crowd, all 45,751 strong, was all in place a good 20 minutes before the first pitch, and they were loud.Phillies fans have earned a reputation these past two Octobers for being the team’s 10th man.

They were showing off.So there was that.Zack Wheeler was brilliant.

He allowed one run in seven innings and 111 brilliant pitches, looking like he was picturing Brodie Van Wagenen’s car window with every 98-mph heater he unleashed.The Mets couldn’t touch him.

So there was that, too.And for the longest time Saturday afternoon, it looked like the third pitch that Kodai Senga threw, the one Kyle Schwarber clobbered 425 feet over the Toyota sign in right field, was going to stand up.There were a few umpire calls the Mets didn’t like after that, too.So there was that.And yet, somehow, the Mets didn’t seem terribly bothered by any of it.

You looked in their dugout and it was the same loose bunch who’ve seemed to enjoy every bit of this Atlanta-to-Milwaukee-to-Atlanta-to-Milwaukee-to-Philadelphia road trip the past 12 days.Turns out they were lying in wait.Because suddenly, that is what they do.That is who they are.

Wheeler came out of the game for the top of the eighth, and you could almost hear the Mets singing in the dugout.Then they came out and planted a five-spot on the Phillies, stunning them and all but silencing Citizens Bank Park.By the time they scored the last of their runs an inning later, to further put away this 6-2 win in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, the locals had gone from restless to enraged, booing the home team with the same fervor they’d booed the Mets a few hours earlier.The Mets wanted a split here, and they’ve guaranteed themselves at least that.

When they return to CBP on Sunday afternoon, they should come with greed in their hearts.Every ounce of pressure will be on the Phillies.

Maybe we’ve determined that the Mets play best with their backs against the wall, but it probably wouldn’t be...