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**Phillies Sweep Mets, Duran’s Curveball Key to Ninth-Inning Dominance**

**PHILADELPHIA** – The Philadelphia Phillies completed a four-game sweep of the New York Mets Thursday night with a 6-4 victory at Citizens Bank Park, extending their lead in the National League East to 11 games. A crucial element in the Phillies’ success was the resurgence of closer Jhoan Duran, who erased recent struggles with a dominant ninth-inning performance, striking out the side.

Just two weeks prior, Duran faced the Mets and melted down, allowing four consecutive hits and not recording an out in a Phillies loss. This time around, Duran showcased a key adjustment: incorporating his curveball more frequently.

“He used his curveball, and I think that’s kind of an equalizer for him,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson, whose team acquired Duran at the trade deadline to bolster the bullpen.

Duran threw his curveball for 45.5% of his pitches on Thursday, a significant increase from his average usage since joining the Phillies. Catcher J.T. Realmuto explained that the Mets were aggressively attacking Duran’s fastball/splitter combination in their previous encounter. The Phillies countered by mixing in more curveballs and four-seam fastballs, disrupting the Mets’ timing.

The result was clear as Duran mowed down the heart of the Mets lineup, including striking out Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, and Mark Vientos. The Phillies now possess a dominant closer heading into the final stretch of the season, and the addition of the curveball makes Duran an even more dangerous weapon for any potential postseason run. Realmuto went on to say, “It’s a really good team over there, so it wouldn’t be surprising at all if we ran into them down the road somewhere in the playoffs,” adding, “So having a guy back there like that, where you have so much confidence in the ninth inning to just shut the door and know that he’s going to come in and throw strikes and attack hitters and be able to mix like he does, it’s like we have a little ace up our sleeve. Not a lot of teams have that ninth inning like we have.”

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