Happy Recap: Mets 6 Phillies 3

Carlos Delgado is officially off the hook with me. That home run was absolutely huge. It wouldn't be straining credulity at all to suggest that his home run saved the season. If he doesn't hit a home run the Mets don't score in the 8th, and I doubt they'd score in the 9th off Lidge in a save situation. And if they lose that game and fall 1.5 games back, I don't think they'd be able to come back, becaues of the previous game's circumstance. But with one swing (to the opposite field), Delgado put the Mets back on top of the Phillies and maybe gave them a taste of their own medicine.

With three games left in the season series the Mets are 10-5 against the Phillies this year. But it sure doesn't feel that way.

If this two-game series were a basketball game it would have started with a 7-0 run by the Mets. Then the Phillies went on an 11-1 run and the Mets answered with 5 straight runs.

Daniel Murphy also was very impressive because it can be hard for a young player to shake off a slump (he was 0 for his last 16) before hitting that HUGE double to give the Mets the lead.

Brian Schneider got lucky with his bloop double but it still counts, and those two insurance runs were huge.

Carlos Beltran also got lucky a couple times, but his third hit led to the go-ahead run.

If Delgado doesn't bail him out, Johan Santana gets blamed for once again pitching well enough to lose in a huge spot. And while he obviously didn't have a good game (beyond the runs allowed, he put a lot of men on base) he did keep the Mets in the game which allowed them to come back and win it.

Excellent bullpen work from Pedro Feliciano, Joe Smith (ok, so it was only one pitch) and then Luis Ayala nailed the game down.

An absolutely huge victory for the Mets, to avoid feeling like last year is repeating itself.