PHILADELPHIA (AP) — As the losses mounted and the Phillies tumbled far out of first place http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-johnny-cueto-jersey , it was clear many players were pressing.Philadelphia manager Gabe Kapler noticed something different about Jorge Alfaro on Tuesday, though, long before the rookie catcher delivered the biggest blow of the night.Alfaro hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the sixth inning and the Phillies rallied past the New York Mets 5-2 to improve their faint playoff hopes.“It was quite evident from the very beginning that he was standing a little looser in the batter’s box and swinging with a little less, I guess, ferociousness,” Kapler said of Alfaro, who finished 2 for 3. “And the bat was whistling through the zone.”Philadelphia overcame an uneven outing from ace Aaron Nola and a home run by starter Steven Matz that made him the third Mets pitcher to go deep in consecutive appearances.The Phillies’ third win in 10 games moved them within 5½ games of NL East-leading Atlanta, which lost 8-1 at St. Louis. And the Phillies insist they still have a shot with 12 games left.“We have a chance for sure,” Nola said. “We have seven games (coming up) against the Braves.”Wilson Ramos and Justin Bour delivered pinch-hit RBI hits in a five-run sixth before Alfaro drilled a curveball from Drew Smith (1-1) to left-center for his 10th homer.And with that, Matz’s eventful performance was wasted by the Mets.The left-hander had zero homers in his first 70 major league games before connecting last Thursday against Miami. He entered Tuesday hitting .093 (4 for 43) this season and .140 in his career, but lifted a curveball to left against Nola in the third that just cleared the wall and withstood a video review to put New York ahead 1-0.What’s gotten into Matz?“I don’t really know,” he said, smiling. “I have no explanation for you.”The other Mets pitchers to homer in back-to-back outings were Hall of Famer Tom Seaver (1972) and Ron Darling (1989).Matz worked around five walks and gave up two hits in five scoreless innings. He also snagged a line drive behind his legs to start a double play, before the bullpen faltered and the Mets’ bats went silent.“He’s a great athlete. Strong kid and he kind of put it on display tonight,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “He’s just a good baseball player.”Pat Neshek (3-1) relieved Nola and got the final out of the sixth. Seranthony Dominguez, Tommy Hunter and Hector Neris each pitched a scoreless inning as the Phillies improved to 7-11 against the Mets this season.Neris earned his 11th save.Nola allowed two runs and six hits with nine strikeouts and two walks in 5 2/3 innings as his ERA climbed to 2.44. He’s given up eight home runs in September after allowing seven over the first five months of the season.Connecting against Nola, one of Mets ace Jacob deGrom’s competitors for the NL Cy Young Award, was not lost on Matz.“I told him, that was for you, friend,” Matz said.TRAINER’S ROOMMets: Jay Bruce started in right field, the fourth straight game he has not played first base. But Callaway said Bruce’s troublesome back is fine and he’ll return to first soon.Phillies: Alfaro stayed in after Jacob Rhame drilled him on the arm with a fastball in the eighth, his first plate appearance after his home run. Alfaro was receiving treatment after the game and was unavailable to speak with reporters. . Ex-Mets INF Asdrubal Cabrera, who exited Monday’s game early with a left calf strain, and 3B Maikel Franco (right shoulder) were out. Kapler put Scott Kingery at shortstop and J.P. Crawford at third.WHEELER DECISIONThe Mets were still mulling whether to shut down RHP Zack Wheeler, who has pitched nearly 100 more innings than last season. “The main things we want is him going into the offseason feeling good about the season and being totally healthy,” Callaway said.CROWDED CLUBHOUSELHP Aaron Loup was activated off the disabled list, giving Philadelphia the September limit of 40 players. Kapler used 18 in the game.HIJINKSMets RHP Noah Syndergaard swiped the Phillie Phanatic’s four-wheeler before the game and drove around the outfield as the mascot chased him on foot. . After dealing with real rats in the dugout in Boston last weekend, a long-tailed plastic rat was spotted in the Mets clubhouse before the game.UP NEXTSyndergarrd (12-3, 3.26 ERA), who has won three straight starts and four consecutive decisions, goes for the Mets in the season series finale Wednesday night against RHP Zach Eflin (10-7, 4.26). Now that the dust has settled after the trade deadline, here’s some quick trivia:Which team does Zach Duke pitch for?How about Darren O’Day? Or Seunghwan Oh?It seemed like every contender wanted to add another arm or two in the bullpen, making the hours and days leading up to last week’s non-waiver trade deadline feel like a giant game of musical chairs for relievers. The importance of relief pitching in the postseason has been obvious for a while now. Last year, the Yankees got just one out from their starting pitcher in the American League wild-card game against Minnesota, but four relievers went the rest of the way, and New York was able to advance.With so many off days built into the schedule in the playoffs, teams can push their top relievers more. Here are a few bullpens to watch down the stretch.(But first Mark Melancon Jersey , the trivia answers: Duke was traded to Seattle, O’Day was dealt to Atlanta, and Oh is with Colorado now.)Chicago Cubs: If you made a list of the absolute top relievers in baseball, you probably wouldn’t include any of the Cubs, but manager Joe Maddon has a fair number of good options. Steve Cishek (1.93 ERA) is having a fine year, while Pedro Strop and Justin Wilson have been pretty reliable. Carl Edwards Jr. has 53 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings.Closer Brandon Morrow has dealt with injury problems, but the Cubs have the NL’s best record anyway, and the bullpen is part of the reason.Cleveland Indians: The bullpen carried the Indians to the World Series two years ago, but it was a weak link earlier this season. With a sizable lead in the AL Central, Cleveland now has plenty of time to get its relief pitching in order. The Indians bolstered their depth by acquiring Brad Hand and Adam Cimber from San Diego, and now Andrew Miller is back from the disabled list. If Miller returns to form, Cleveland’s bullpen could become an asset again, but closer Cody Allen is a concern, with his 4.27 ERA.Houston Astros: Houston has the best bullpen ERA in baseball despite the struggles of Ken Giles, who was eventually sent down to the minors and then traded to Toronto. That deal was a controversial one, bringing Roberto Osuna to the Astros. Osuna was still serving a suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.The Astros obviously think Osuna can help them, but they’re in good shape regardless. Hector Rondon has shown he can close, and there are plenty of other solid arms contributing for the defending World Series champions. Will Harris has been better than his 4.24 ERA suggests, and Collin McHugh leads the team in relief innings while holding opponents to a .144 average. Left-hander Tony Sipp is having quite a season at age 35, posting a 1.63 ERA.Milwaukee Brewers: Milwaukee is one of the teams that apparently believes you can never have too many good relievers. With the trio of Corey Knebel, Josh Hader and Jeremy Jeffress already having a huge season, the Brewers added Joakim Soria before the deadline. Jeffress is 6-1 with a 1.34 ERA, and Hader has 101 strikeouts, only 10 off starter Junior Guerra’s team-leading total.New York Yankees: The Yankees blew a three-run ninth-inning lead at Boston on Sunday night, proving that no bullpen is completely foolproof. Still, with Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances and David Robertson in the fold, the Yankees have a major league-best 504 strikeouts from relievers this year. (For context, Kansas City’s incredible 2015 bullpen had 502 strikeouts for the entire season.) New York recently acquired former Baltimore star Zach Britton, who isn’t that far removed from a 47-save season in 2016. Since the start of last season, Chad Green has 165 strikeouts in 121 innings and a 2.23 ERA. He’s practically an afterthought in this remarkable bullpen the Yankees have assembled.Other developments from around the majors:NO SUPPORTWhen Seattle’s Felix Hernandez won the Cy Young Award in 2010 with a 13-12 record, it was a sign that voters wouldn’t hold a mediocre record against an otherwise worthy pitcher. Jacob deGrom of the Mets can be thankful for that precedent. DeGrom (5-7) leads the major leagues with a 1.85 ERA. In his last seven starts, he’s 0-5 with a 2.82 ERA.HIGHLIGHTFranmil Reyes of the Padres hit a 477-foot home run in Sunday’s 10-6 win over the Cubs. It was the fifth-longest homer of the season, according to Statcast, and it was a particularly impressive one visually, bouncing off the green batter’s eye at Wrigley Field.LINES OF THE WEEKBoston won four straight over the Yankees to take a 9 1/2-game lead in the AL East. The sweep began with a 15-7 win Thursday, in which Steve Pearce of the Red Sox had three home runs and six RBIs . The next night, Rick Porcello pitched a one-hitter in a 4-1 victory.