Phils have last word in bench-clearing opener

The Mets and Phillies turned the eighth inning into a bench-emptying, trashtalking, finger-pointing commotion that spiced up a routine game — and could ignite more sparks this weekend — in the Phillies’ 2-1 win on Friday night.

The benches cleared in the eighth inning when Phillies reliever José Alvarado jawed at Dominic Smith after he struck him out to end a rally. Alvarado — who riled up the Mets with gestures earlier this month — mixed it up with New York but nothing came of the heated words. Mets reliever Miguel Castro then chased Rhys Hoskins down the line in the bottom of the inning and the benches again emptied.

The fireworks fizzled faster than a Mets’ rally: New York has scored an MLB-low 58 runs, including two or fewer in nine of 20 games this season.

Sam Coonrod worked the ninth for his first save.

Chase Anderson swung and missed at a passed ball on a third strike that let two runs score, and he tossed five solid innings to lead the Phillies.

Odúbel Herrera received a smattering of boos in his first game in Philadelphia since his arrest on domestic violence charges two years ago. The former All-Star center fielder was recalled this week against St. Louis and played in his first major league game since May 26, 2019.

Herrera, who had last played on May 26, 2019, was suspended for the remainder of that season under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. The charges against Herrera were dismissed, and he was assigned outright to Triple-A Lehigh

Valley on Jan. 16 last year and wasn’t part of the 60-player pool for the shortened season.

He hit eighth and was booed — not heavily among a crowd much lighter than the 10,914 fans announced on a chilly, blustery night — and walked to load the bases. Anderson swung on a pitch from Marcus Stroman (3-2) that darted away from catcher James McCann and sent two runners home. The Phillies had a second straight game decided by bad pitch: David Hale’s game-ending wild pitch in the 10th inning cost them Thursday in a 4-3 loss against the Cardinals.

LAURENCE KESTERSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Phillies relief pitcher Jose Alvarado, right, has an altercation with the Mets’ Dominic Smith (2) as catcher Andrew Knapp tries to intervene after Smith struck out swinging in the eighth inning.