NEW YORK (Interstat) — Jesús Luzardo pitched five strong innings and Kyle Schwarber hit a game-breaking two-run homer in the seventh inning, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-4 victory over the New York Mets on a Sunday afternoon at Citi Field before a crowd of 38,770.

The Phillies improved to 47-37 on the season, taking the rubber match of a three-game series after splitting the first two contests. The Mets fell to 35-48, dropping their fourth consecutive game at home.

Luzardo delivered a quality start for Philadelphia, allowing one earned run on four hits over five innings while striking out six. The left-hander improved to 7-4 after receiving a no-decision in his previous outing. The outing was the second straight solid performance for Luzardo, who had allowed five earned runs in a victory against Washington on June 23 before bouncing back with this effort.

Kodai Senga started for the Mets and took the loss, falling to 0-7. He pitched five innings, surrendering two earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts. The loss continued a difficult season for Senga, who remained winless despite showing flashes of effectiveness.

The game began with both starters in control, as the first two innings passed without a run. Philadelphia broke through in the top of the third inning with a three-run outburst. Trea Turner led off the inning with a single to right field, and Schwarber followed with a sharp single to right to put runners at first and second. Bryce Harper then delivered a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Turner to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Alec Bohm extended the rally with a ground-ball double to left field that brought home Schwarber, and Brandon Marsh followed with a sharp line-drive single to right field that scored Bohm, making it 3-0.

The score remained 3-0 until the bottom of the fifth inning. The Mets put together a threat as Tyrone Taylor singled and Brett Baty walked. After a groundout advanced both runners, Carson Benge singled to left field, scoring Taylor and putting the Mets on the board. The rally stalled there as Luzardo struck out Bo Bichette and induced a lineout from Eric Wagaman to end the inning with Philadelphia leading 3-1.

The Mets seized momentum in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring three times to tie the game. Francisco Alvarez led off with a double to right field. One batter later, A.J. Ewing stepped to the plate as a pinch hitter and crushed a two-run home run to right-center field, his fourth homer of the season, scoring Alvarez and tying the game 3-3. Brett Baty walked and Luis Torrens singled, putting runners at the corners. Carson Benge then grounded into a force out, with Brett Baty scoring from third to give the Mets a 4-3 lead. Philadelphia brought in reliever Kyle Backhus, who recorded the final out of the inning to limit further damage.

The Phillies wasted little time reclaiming the lead in the top of the seventh. Justin Crawford singled to left field to start the inning. After Trea Turner popped out, Schwarber stepped to the plate and deposited a fly ball over the center-field wall for his 30th home run of the season, scoring Crawford and giving Philadelphia a 5-4 lead.

Backhus earned the victory, his first of the season, after pitching two-thirds of an inning of relief, allowing one hit and no earned runs. His record improved to 1-0.

Philadelphia’s bullpen then took over and held the Mets scoreless over the final three innings. Orion Kerkering struck out one in a perfect seventh inning. José Alvarado worked a scoreless eighth, allowing one hit while striking out two. Jhoan Duran closed the door in the ninth, pitching a perfect inning with no hits and no walks to earn his 21st save of the season.

Alec Bohm finished 2 for 3 with a double, a walk and an RBI for the Phillies. Schwarber was 2 for 5 with two RBIs and his milestone home run. Turner had two hits and scored a run. Justin Crawford also had two hits and scored a run.

For the Mets, A.J. Ewing went 2 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs. Tyrone Taylor had two hits and scored a run. Francisco Alvarez doubled and scored. The Mets outhit the Phillies 9-8 over the final six innings but could not overcome the early deficit.

The game featured a combined 19 hits, with the Phillies collecting 10 and the Mets nine. The time of game was 3 hours, 11 minutes.

The series result gave Philadelphia its third win in five meetings between the teams this season. The two teams had split the previous two games at Citi Field this weekend, with the Mets winning 6-2 on Saturday and the Phillies taking a 2-1 decision on Friday.

Philadelphia now heads home for a four-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates beginning Monday. The Mets travel to Toronto for a three-game series against the Blue Jays starting Monday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Philadelphia Phillies 7, New York Mets 3. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Philadelphia with a 57.60 percent probability to win. Philadelphia had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 9 went under the over/under line of 8.