PHILADELPHIA -- Jay Bruce and Robert Gsellman made scoreboard-watching irrelevant for the New York Mets.Bruce homered for the third straight game and drove in three runs, Gsellman threw six sharp innings and the Mets moved closer to securing a wild-card berth with a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.The defending NL champions reduced their magic number to one with two games remaining. The Mets began the night atop the wild-card race, with San Francisco one game back and St. Louis two behind.Manager Terry Collins and players in the clubhouse didnt pay any attention to televisions airing the Pirates-Cardinals game. Collins said the team had no plans to celebrate regardless of the outcome in St. Louis.We had to take care of our own business and weve done that and we have to keep doing that, Collins said.Gsellman (4-2) scattered seven hits and struck out seven in another strong performance. The rookie right-hander has allowed only three earned runs in his last four starts.I think Ive done a good job blocking it out, Gsellman said of pitching in a playoff race. Im focusing on having fun and doing what I do.More Mets fans were inside a half-empty ballpark on a wet, chilly night when Ryan Howard began his final series in front of the home crowd. The blue-and-orange faithful screamed Lets Go Mets and their Bruuuuuce chants drowned out boos from Phillies fans.Stuck in a slump for nearly two months since being acquired from Cincinnati, Bruce extended his hitting streak to six games. He finished 3 for 4.I have confidence in myself and I have confidence in my team, Bruce said. I want to contribute and help the team get to the World Series. Its come at the right time.Philadelphia starter Alec Asher (2-1) retired the first 11 batters before he ran into trouble with two outs in the fourth when Yoenis Cespedes and Curtis Granderson hit consecutive singles.Bruce and T.J. Rivera followed with back-to-back RBI singles for a 2-1 lead.Ive pitched like I know I should, Asher said. I just want to carry on next year.Bruce connected in the seventh, sending his 33rd homer the opposite-way to left field. The Mets added two runs, including another RBI single by Bruce.He changes our whole lineup, Collins said. Its nice to have him swinging the bat well. Hopefully he stays hot.Earlier in the inning, Howard let Cespedes infield pop fall untouched near the first-base bag, allowing a runner to score from third.Howard hit a double to deep center his first time up and was 1 for 4. Cameron Rupps sacrifice fly followed Howards double and put the Phillies ahead 1-0.Howard, the 2006 NL MVP, is the last player remaining from the 2008 World Series championship team. The Phillies plan to pay him a $10 million buyout rather than exercise a $25 million option for 2017.STATSBruce is 10 for 20 with four homers and eight RBIS in his last six games. ... Mets are 15-2 after an off day. ... Mets tied a franchise record with 106 homers on the road. They already have a franchise-best 217 homers.TOSSEDPhillies manager Pete Mackanin was ejected for the first time this season in the eighth inning by first baseman umpire Will Little. Mackanin perhaps thought Cespedes swung at an inside pitch from Michael Mariot and was tossed once he walked onto the field.TRAINERS ROOMPhillies: SS Freddy Galvis left the game because of tightness in his right hamstring.LOOKING AHEADMackanin emerged from a long meeting with coaches and front-office executives hopeful the team will add a veteran hitter in the offseason. I would like to get a good solid proven hitter somewhere on the field, he said. Where that is right now will be determined by who is available and what kind of a deal, if any, they could make.UP NEXTRHP Bartolo Colon (14-8, 3.42 ERA) starts for the Mets against RHP Phil Klein (0-1, 8.22) for the Phillies. Colon is 10-5 vs. Philadelphia. 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Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide Saturdays Game 2, and then vote for which team will win at the bottom of the page.What we learned in Game 1Terry Francona couldnt have ordered up a more perfect script as Corey Kluber, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen combined to strike out 12 Blue Jays. Miller did throw 31 pitches in 1.2 innings, so he may have more limited availability in Game 2, but Allen threw only 11 in an efficient ninth inning.?-- David SchoenfieldInside the pitching matchupWhen J.A. Happ is on the mound: Happ signed a three-year, $36 million contract that turned into the bargain of the offseason as he went 20-4 with a 3.18 ERA, showing the mechanical changes he made late last season with the Pirates (he raised his arm slot a bit and started taking a more direct stride to home plate) did, indeed, make him a better pitcher.Happ was more of a soft-tosser when he first came up but now throws 92-93. He has developed better command of his fastball, working the outer half of the plate but moving the ball up and down, while mixing in four-seamers and two-seamers. His swing-and-miss rate with the pitch has improved from 15.9 percent in 2014 to 20.5 this year. He throws the fastball a lot: Among qualified starters, only Bartolo Colon and Aaron Sanchez threw a higher percentage of fastballs.His secondary pitches are a slider, curveball and changeup. Happ had one of his best starts of the season back in July against the Indians, allowing one run in seven innings while matching his season high with 11 strikeouts. Happ was especially tough from the stretch, allowing a .201 average with runners in scoring position. Like a lot of pitchers, the OPS against him increases the third time through the order:First: .618Second: .615Third: .750When Josh Tomlin is on the mound: Tomlins season is divided into three parts. He had a 3.43 ERA through July, then fell apart in August when he allowed 46 hits and 35 runs in 26.2 innings. He found himself again September, posting a 1.69 ERA and allowing just one home run. He then had a good start against the Red Sox in the division series, allowing two runs in five-plus innings and no home runs. As a finesse right-hander, keeping the ball in the park often determines his bottom line. He allowed 36 home runs, so this recent stretch is either a good sign or a lot of good luck.Hes not going to beat himself -- with 20 walks in 174 innings, he had the lowest walk rate among qualified starters -- but he needs all his pitches to work. The key pitch may be his cutter: It was a bad pitch for him most of the season and then really bad in August, when batters hit .407 and slugged .847 off it. In September, batters hit .188 without an extra-base hit in 34 plate appearances.Tomlin had a notable reverse platoon as lefties hit .229/.247/.438 off him while righties hit .299/.323/.522. Torontos lineup, of couurse, skews right-handed.dddddddddddd The weird thing about that split is righties hit just .191 off his fastball. Every other pitch (slider, curveball, changeup) seems to work better against lefties. In other words, it will be interesting to see how Tomlin attacks the meat of the Toronto lineup.Player in the spotlightFrancisco Lindor. This series could be end up being his showcase event for a national audience that hasnt seen him play much and he got off to a good start with a two-run homer in Game 1. Hell likely win the Gold Glove Award but hes also the teams No. 3 hitter, a switch-hitter who hit .301/.358/.435. Lindor is one of many Indians with a large home/road split, hitting .344 at home and .258 on the road, with 23 of his 30 doubles at home.?-- SchoenfieldWhat will decide Saturdays gameThe Indians have a .946 OPS in the first three innings of games this postseason, jumping out to early leads, as they have not trailed at any point after the third inning so far in the playoffs. The best OPS in the first three innings of any playoff team since 2010 (minimum 2 games) was .940 by the 2011 Arizona Diamondbacks. --Daniel McCarthy, ESPN Stats & InfoDid You Know?The Blue Jays have had six pitchers reach the 20-win plateau, but only J.A. Happ and Jack Morris reached the postseason. When Jack Morris won 20 games in 1992, the Blue Jays won the World Series. --Daniel McCarthy, ESPN Stats & InfoChoosing sides: Who will win?? The Indians have every reason to feel they have something special going on, but Fridays series opener might have ended differently if Toronto had been able to summon even one clutch early hit against Corey Kluber. The Jays went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position against Kluber and wasted several opportunities in the early innings. Josh Tomlin isnt Kluber, and the Blue Jays have what it takes to send the series back to Toronto tied 1-1 if they can focus on hitting and spend less time carping about the umpiring. The guess here is that Toronto wins a more offensive contest and ties it up heading back to Rogers Centre.-- Jerry Crasnick?The Blue Jays are going to take Game 2. Indians starter Josh Tomlin is far more attractive opponent than Corey Kluber. The Jays hitters actually got to Kluber in Game 1, but they just couldnt deliver the crucial big hit to put a run on the board. That will change against Tomlin.-- Andrew MarchandWhere the series standsTomlin replaces Trevor Bauer, who cut his finger fixing a drone and was pushed back to Game 3. (This never happened to Sandy Koufax or Bob Gibson.) Its not necessarily a bad thing for Cleveland, as Tomlin has been pitching better. The Jays will have to adjust to Tomlins finesse after seeing all that power pitching in Game 1.?--?Schoenfield China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '