NEED A RE-PHIL

Mets look empty as Matz wavers in 5th

PHILADELPHIA — While off the field the Mets front office continued to go full speed ahead into their rebuild for 2018 with a deal during the game to send Neil Walker to Milwaukee, on the field Steven Matz showed there are still a lot of questions about the core of that foundation. The lefty was good early and then hit a wall, a pattern the Mets have worried about before. He gave up a lead in the sixth and took the loss as the Mets fell to the Phillies 3-1 at Citizens Bank park.

That snapped a two-game winning streak for the Mets (52-62), who lost for the first time in Philadelphia this season.

Matz, who has been struggling with his mechanics, looked good early on.

The lefthander, who spent a significant amount of time working on his delivery with pitching coach Dan Warthen Friday, again hit a rough spot and left after 5.2 innings having allowed two runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out one.

“He was much, much better. Much, much better,” Terry Collins said. “His secondary stuff was much better, spin on his breaking ball was better. He’s worked hard on it and I thought he pitched well.”

Matz took a no-hitter into the fifth and that was where it all unraveled.

He gave up back-to-back singles to Nick Williams and Maikel Franco. With one out, Aaron Nola advanced them on a sacrifice bunt and Cesar Hernandez and Freddy Galvis each had RBI-singles to take the 2-1 lead.

Matz started the sixth and got two quick outs, but after hitting Williams with a pitch, Collins hustled out to get him.

Yoenis Cespedes added his 151st homer to his resume Saturday, homering in his second at-bat, a solo, fourth-inning shot that briefly gave the Mets the lead.