It’s been a while since the Phillies were atop the division in September. They’re used to being the underdogs, but now, with 15 games left, they’re the overpowered force. That brings a different kind of pressure, and no regular-season game will be as pressure-packed as this week’s — and next — against the Mets.

They didn’t get off to the best start on Friday night, losing 11-3. New York starter Jose Quintana held the Phillies to three hits in seven innings. All of the balls they hit hard were caught except for one – Bryce Harper’s line drive double in the first inning – but bad luck aside, they could have had more hard contact.

Quintana forced seven groundball outs and allowed no walks. He was efficient with his pitches, throwing 94 total. He missed barrels well. The only hit that reached the outfield was Harper’s double.

“He just did a good job of mixing up the speeds,” catcher JT Realmuto said. “I thought we hit some balls hard early in the game but didn’t get anything out of it. Once he got ahead, he did a great job of attacking the strike zone and getting us to put the ball in play.”

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The Mets initially had no answer against Aaron Nola either. The right-handed starter allowed two walks in a row in the first inning, but recovered by taking out the next ten batters. But in the fifth inning he began to falter and was unstoppable.

Nola allowed a leadoff single by José Iglesias (his first hit of the night), a single by Tyrone Taylor, a three-run home run by Francisco Alvarez, two more singles and another three-run home run by Brandon Nimmo in the same inning.

He left the mound with one out in the fifth inning after putting his team behind 6-0. He threw 90 pitches in 4⅓ innings.

“I had a lot of throws early on, I had a lot of three-counts and I got behind,” Nola said. “Luckily, I fought through those counts and threw most of the guys out, but in the fifth inning, I left some balls over the plate. The curveballs I threw just bounced out of my hand. Too much over the plate.”

Nola has now allowed 12 earned runs in three starts in September. It’s especially important that he gets back into form, as Ranger Suárez hasn’t looked like himself lately. The last thing the Phillies need is two starters who aren’t in top form.

For Nola, the solution is obvious.

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“I just have to rule out the big inning,” Nola said. “The fifth inning was obviously a big inning and it got too shaky. It was OK before that inning. But the fifth really got away from me. I’m just going to keep going like I always do and try to finish as well as I can. I’m going to leave this one out and focus on my next appearance in Milwaukee and have a good week at work.”

The only bright spot from Friday’s game was that manager Rob Thomson didn’t have to use his bullpen. He used just three relievers – Jose Ruiz, Max Lazar and Tyler Gilbert – and had Kody Clemens pitch the ninth inning.

Lazar threw 2⅔ innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits and one strikeout. Gilbert came in as Lazar’s replacement in the eighth inning with runners on first and second base and two outs and allowed a three-run home run by Harrison Bader that gave the Mets a 10-0 lead.

Clemens allowed a solo home run by Pete Alonso in the ninth inning, extending the Mets’ lead to 11-0.

Some of the Phillies’ best at-bats of the night came in the bottom of the ninth inning. Kyle Schwarber walked one out, Harper walked two out, and Brandon Marsh brought them home with a three-run hit to right field.

Aramis Garcia struck out with a swing and got to first base on a passed ball, and Weston Wilson walked with two outs to get runners on first and second base, but Bryson Stott hit a line drive to right field to end the game.

“This is obviously a very important series for us,” Realmuto said. “That’s actually every series the rest of the year. Every game seems a little more important right now. It’s just the way we lost, to go out there and get our butts kicked, basically … that’s never fun. And in a game of this magnitude, it’s definitely frustrating.”

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The Phillies had a chance to lower their magic number from nine to seven on Friday, but for now, it will remain at nine. They have six more chances to increase the gap on the Mets – two more in Philadelphia and four next week in New York.

Update on Saturday’s starter, tasks for Bohm and Sosa

Thomson announced after the game that left-handed pitcher Kolby Allard will start Saturday. There is no action yet to make room on the active roster for Allard… Alec Bohm (left hand strain) and Edmundo Sosa (back spasms) will begin rehab Saturday in Lehigh Valley. Bohm will play third base and Sosa will play second base on Saturday. Bohm will be the DH on Sunday and Sosa will play second base or shortstop. It is possible that Bohm will be activated for the Phillies-Brewers series in Milwaukee.