NEW YORK – If they want to salvage their season, if they want to avoid wasting another year in the top class of Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler, Trea Turner and at least a handful of others, the Phillies must win two in a row over the Mets.

Sounds relatively simple, but it’s anything but right now. The Phils have their backs against the wall and are in danger of taking another step backwards in the postseason after losing 7-2 in Game 3 of the NLDS on Tuesday night the Mets lost.

Once again, there was complete silence in the Phillies’ lineup for most of the game as the Mets built a lead on solo home runs from Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker in the second and fourth innings and extended it against the Phillies’ bullpen.

But this time there was no magic in the sixth inning. The Phils tied Game 2 in the sixth with back-to-back home runs from Harper and Nick Castellanos, and the top of the sixth in Game 3 looked like there was going to be another rally when Sean Manaea broke the game open by hitting Kyle Schwarber and Turner went on foot.

Harper has played hero on these pitches so many times over the past three years, but failed to do so on Tuesday night when he struck out against lefty Manaea in the sixth as part of an 0-for-3 night. The next batter, Castellanos, hit a double play, thwarting the potential comeback.

The Phils sank Manaea four balls in the first four innings but had nothing to show for it as all four left the bat at over 106 mph, but that resulted in outs. However, that is little consolation and essentially meaningless at this time of year when there is not enough time for good or bad luck to normalize.

They also had their fair share of poor shooting, especially at the bottom of the order, with Austin Hays hitting weakly and striking out twice, Edmundo Sosa flailing on shots that weren’t even close, and Johan Rojas doing the same.

Their two runs scored when they were already six down.

Aaron Nola started and had an outing like so many others in his career – he was bogged down for most of his first two drives through the order and was marred by a few longballs. Alonso came up with a first-pitch high heater on the outside corner. He hit the ball where it was thrown and sent it over the right-field wall for his third opposite-field home run of the playoffs.

Winker took Nola deep to center with a 93 mph fastball. Frustrated at missing a pitch amid so many successful attacks, Nola slammed his glove into the dugout after the fourth inning, a rarity given his trademark stoicism.

Nola singled in the bottom of the sixth, allowing a leadoff single to Mark Vientos and walking Brandon Nimmo and Alonso to load the bases. Orion Kerkering came on in relief and escaped the jam almost unscathed, but gave up a two-run single to Starling Marte after two quick outs that served as the deciding factor.

The Phillies are one loss away from being upset by a division rival and sent home in the NLDS, just as they did against the Braves the last two Octobers. The Phils have won back-to-back games 32 times during the regular season, but this will be the toughest series of all. The Mets are as confident as a squad can be after a month of pushing into the playoffs and beating the teams ahead of them in the standings.

Rob Thomson and the Phillies constantly talk about the team’s ability to take hits and respond. If they don’t do it again on Wednesday, the group that tries in 2025 won’t look the same.