PHILADELPHIA -- As the summer ages, three National League Cy Young Award contenders have poked their necks above the rest. There is Jacob deGrom, New York's local favorite, who needs no introduction for those within a baseball's throw of Queens. There is Washington's Max Scherzer, whose gaudy strikeout total could be his ticket to the Cy. And there is Philadelphia's Aaron Nola, whom the Mets faced Friday with a chance to do deGrom a favor.
Instead, the Mets became Nola's latest victim, mustering just one run in the first seven innings of a 4-2 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
Not typically as prolific of a strikeout artist as deGrom, Nola fanned the side in the first inning and did not allow a hit until the fourth. That knock turned into a run when Todd Frazier plated Jeff McNeil with a sacrifice fly, but the Mets could do no further damage against Nola, who lowered his ERA from 2.28 to 2.24 -- third in the NL.

"He does all the things that a top-tier starter needs to do to have success," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said.
Two hours south on I-95, Scherzer fired six shutout innings against the Marlins to pull closer to deGrom for the ERA lead. Scheduled to start Saturday against the Phillies, deGrom continues to pace the NL with a 1.81 mark, with Scherzer lurking at 2.11.
"We're seeing the cream of the crop," Callaway said. "The best pitchers in probably all of baseball are in our division."

Before the season started, Noah Syndergaard seemed just as likely as deGrom to rate among that bunch, though injuries and ineffectiveness have eliminated him from contention for the league's most prestigious pitching award. That trend continued Friday, when Syndergaard allowed the first four Phillies to reach base, falling into a three-run hole from which the Mets never emerged. Despite throwing a season-high 115 pitches, Syndergaard lasted just 5 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, two walks and five stolen bases.
"I thought I did a pretty good job of settling in," Syndergaard said, "and trying to go as long as I could."
The Mets fought back on a McNeil double and an Austin Jackson RBI single in the eighth, but could not complete the comeback against Philadelphia's bullpen.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Rally cut short: The Mets' best chance to post a crooked number against Nola came in the fourth inning, when McNeil and Jackson both singled with no outs. But Michael Conforto followed with the first of his three strikeouts and, after Frazier hit a sacrifice fly, Nola picked Jackson off first base to end the inning.
The Mets again put their first two batters on base in the fifth inning, but did not score.

YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Neither Maikel Franco nor Jorge Alfaro had attempted a stolen base all season before Friday. Against Syndergaard, they combined for three. All told, Syndergaard and catcher Kevin Plawecki allowed five stolen bases over the first six innings, though none of the five baserunners came around to score.
"It's definitely an Achilles' heel of mine, something that's been disappointing over the last three years, and somewhat embarrassing tonight," said Syndergaard, whose 90 steals allowed since 2015 rank second only to Chicago's Jonathan Lester. "But it's something that I'm going to continue to work on."

ZAMORA DEBUTS
A few hours after arriving in a big league clubhouse for the first time, rookie Daniel Zamora took the mound in relief of Syndergaard. Striking out two of the four Phillies he faced, Zamora also walked a batter and induced a double play.
"I liked the little bit of deception," Callaway said of Zamora's left-handed delivery. "He can mix up three different looks with the breaking ball -- a slower one, a quicker one. He looked impressive. He didn't show any signs of anxiety, and that's what you want to see from a young kid." More >

HE SAID IT
"The bottom line is he needs to get better. And I think he will." -- Callaway, on Syndergaard's stolen base issue
UP NEXT
A day after Nola and Scherzer made their Cy Young statements, deGrom will try to outdo them when he takes the mound in a 4:05 p.m. ET game Saturday against the Phillies. The owner of a 1.74 ERA in August, deGrom will oppose right-hander Jacob Arrieta in the last of four games at Citizens Bank Park, before the series shifts to Williamsport, Pa., for Sunday's finale.