Happy Recap: Mets 6 Phillies 3

Carlos Delgado is absolutely ridiculous right now. I can't believe what's going on with him. If he can keep this up for 3 more weeks he could very well be the first MVP in Mets history.

The two home runs were nice and showy, but the big hit was the single that scored 2 runs and put the Mets right back in the lead after the Phillies had scored in the top of the 1st.

This is excatly the reason they got Johan Santana. They needed him for these big games down the stretch and he's been stepping up big time. The Mets have won his last 7 starts.

The Mets did get a couple of lucky breaks starting with the catcher's interference that put Wright on first and set up Delgado's big hit in the first.

Then there was the neighborhood play by Chase Utley, when he was clearly off the bag before he caught the ball.

Unfortunately they didn't convert on that opportunity because of David Wright. He has been absolutely horrible lately, striking out almost every time he's had a man on third and fewer than 2 outs.

As hot as Delgado is I don't know how much longer he can carry this team if Wright doesn't start hitting.

This was a game the Mets absolutely had to have, and they got it. It wasn't the best result for this 3-game series but at least they still have a lead on the Phillies and they don't have to play them anymore this season.

Unhappy Recap: Phillies 6 Mets 2

The Mets picked the wrong time to play one of their worst games of the year.

The offense was non-existent as the Mets didn't get a hit to the outfield until the 8th inning, when they got 2 runs.

But it was too little too late because Pedro got bombed.

There isn't too much else to analyze from this game because the Mets never really had a chance. There were no strategic turning points. The Mets couldn't hit Moyer and Pedro got bombed, that's the recap in its simplest form.

Greg Dobbs has 3 of his 8 home runs this season against the Mets.

Unhappy Recap: Phillies 3 Mets 0

This was a tough game to lose, but not really a bad loss, Brett Myers was just too good. His curveball was incredible. They just couldn't hit him.

They did get a couple of good chances, but just couldn't get that key hit. Their best chance came in the ninth inning against Brad Lidge but Church's ball couldn't find the gap.

Mike Pelfrey was great again, but that homer by Dobbs really hurt. If Church had jumped a little higher, or a little straighter he might have been able to catch it.

I love the way Daniel Murphy plays. Two more doubles plus a great at bat against Lidge in the 9th, which unfortunately didn't end in a walk or a hit.

David Wright continues to struggle, especially with men on base.

I liked what I saw out of Ricardo Rincon against two very tough lefties.

The Mets need to get at least one of the next two games to avoid complete disaster.

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.

Unhappy Recap: Phillies 8 Mets 7

Another absolute disaster against the Phillies. This loss was so awful it threatens to torpedo the whole season the way the series of bad losses to them did last year. I just can't fathom how this continues to happen.

Once again the bullpen failed, but it was the least of the team's problems. Pedro Feliciano is not getting anyone out right now. In his last four appearances, totaling 2 innings, he's allowed 6 hits and a walk. So he's more likely to put a man on, then to get him out.

Luis Ayala landed with a thud, blowing his first save as a Met. But Brian Schneider really should have fielded that ball, and Werth would have been out. Amazing how thin a line it is between incredible victory and crushing defeat.

Aaron Heilman actually pitched three scoreless innings, despite his best efforts to blow the game by constantly getting behind hitters and putting men on.

I think Schoeneweis got a little unlucky to lose this game, Victorino just ripped one down the line, putting it in the right spot.

The biggest reason they lost was Pedro Martinez. He was getting a lot of strikeouts but he put so many batters on, eventually it was going to catch up to him and it did in the 5th inning.

But even more inexlpicable is the consistent inability of the offense to score any runs late in games. Even more shocking in contrast to the constant instant offense nearly every first inning.

As bad as this loss was, the Mets have Santana going and can regain first place if he turns in another masterpiece. But he's probably going to need to pitch a complete game to earn the victory.

Happy Recap: Mets 3 Phillies 1

Now would be a good time for me to praise Carlos Delgado. For most of the last year I've killed Delgado and said he was washed up. But somehow, some way, Delgado has turned it around and is absolutely killing the ball. And he rescued the Mets from another heartbreaking potential loss to the Phillies. With a double...to left field.



One guy I was right about the whole time though, is Oliver Perez. People were talking about demoting him to the bullpen and I always advocated that he wasn't as bad as he seemed and that his problems were mental, and therefore, potentially fixable. I'm not sure what Dan Warthen did, but it worked. In his last 5 starts, his ERA is 1.04. And he is only 1-1 over that span because of a lack of run support. In the last 4 starts, the Mets have scored only 6 runs while he was in the game.



And one more player who has caught a lot of shit in the papers and from the fans is Billy Wagner. For the second day in a row he mowed down the Phillies for a key save, this one put the Mets in first place.

Now the Mets just need to avoid a letdown against the lesser lights like the Cardinals, but especially the Astros, Padres, Marlins, Nationals and Pirates.

The Mets have won all four series against the Phillies this year for a record of 9-4 against them so far.

Happy Recap: Mets 6 Phillies 3

Nice to see the Mets bounce back after a horrible loss. But they've taken so many losses like that this year and last I guess they are used to it.

Good performance by John Maine, throwing strikes, keeping his pitch count down and going deep into the game.

And Mets fans have never been so happy to see Billy Wagner. With all the talk about how he does in big games this was a crucial one, and he nailed it down, 1-2-3.

Huge home run by Jose Reyes, reminds me of back in 2006 when he was in the middle of every big rally, often getting a big hit. His stats this season are remarkably similar to back in 2006, except for RBI.



Two hits from Brian Schneider, maybe a couple days off did him some good. Or maybe a couple home runs by Ramon Castro scared him.

Unhappy Recap: Phillies 8 Mets 6

Another heartbreaking loss in a long line of devastating defeats that came at the hands of the Phillies.

That winning streak means nothing now, the team still cannot win the big game, and when the chips are down, they always make the key mistake to blow it.

As much as Mets fans are afraid of Billy Wagner but the bullpen doesn't look very good without him. An absolutely horrible implosion, mostly by Duaner Sanchez and Pedro Feliciano.

Jose Reyes made a bad play (as he often does by trying to be too aggressive) and I know he needed to make the smart play and get the sure out, but it wouldn't have mattered. The tying run was on second anyway, and I don't think an out there would have changed all that much.

What could have changed this game would have been to leave in Johan Santana. He was finally pitched like we needed him to, and against a big opponent, and without Billy Wagner it should have been a no-brainer to at least give him a chance in the 9th. Manuel has to start realizing that the bullpen is terrible and he has to push the starters further than he'd like.

But it wasn't Santana's fault, he pitched great.

And it wasn't even Endy Chavez's fault. I have no problem with him getting thrown out in the third inning, that was a good, aggressive play. But he should not have tried to score in the 7th because he had to hold up to see if Utley would make the play. And with no one out he should have stayed on third, but he got waved home by Luis Aguayo. I think Chavez also got some bad coaching as he was playing too shallow on So Taguchi's ball and might have been able to catch it if he had been playing deeper.

Also not to blame is Carlos Delgado who has been absolutely perfect lately. He is batting .403 with 5 homers and 14 RBI in July. His 1.213 OPS for the month pushed his season's OPS up to a respectable .818.

And Ramon Castro blasting another home run was also overshadowed by another disastrous meltdown in a crucial game.

Happy Recap: Mets 10 Phillies 9

"They win the damn thing by a score of 10 to 9."

In a blog that pays daily tribute to the memory of Bob Murphy you knew I had to break that one out for this game. This meltdown was actually more subtle than the one in 1990 when Murphy made that comment.

As bad as this game seemed, I really think we should focus on the positive.

The Mets won, they took 3 of 4 from the Phillies, in Philadelphia, after losing the opener, a game in which Johan Santana pitched against J.A. Happ.

The offense is really pounding the ball, they have 48 hits in the last 3 games.

Endy Chavez had 3 more hits. The reaction to him is so funny. When he's playing everyday and doing poorly everyone says "he's exposed," but when he's playing everyday and doing well everyone says "he's in the groove because he's playing everyday." The truth is, he's a decent player who would probably be a weak outfielder if he were an everyday starter. But when he starts only in short spurts he has hot streaks and slumps, just like any other player. But the fact is, he's a near perfect number 2 hitter for this team (he lacks a little patience at the plate) and a Gold Glove caliber outfielder. He's started 8 of the last 9 games and is 16 for 37 (.432) over that span.

Damion Easley is also filling in remarkably well for Castillo, but I expect him to slow down because he is old. With his 3 hits in this one, he is now 14 out of 30 (.467) in 7 starts in July.

David Wright had another good game, bringing him to 70 RBI and Jose Reyes reached base and got things started.

And Pedro Martinez gave his second best effort of the season, looking a lot better in doing so. And dropped his ERA below 7.



But when he started to peter out in the 6th, that's when the trouble started.

Tony Armas allowed 3 runs, the last 2 on a disputed home run by Ryan Howard. It should have been called a double. The obnoxious Phillies fan had his arms so far over the wall it was at least possible the ball wouldn't have gone out. In which case it has to be called a ground rule double. At the time it seemed meaningless, but it loomed large later.

Heilman got out of that inning but allowed 2 more runs of his own.

Then came Billy Wagner. All you can judge a closer on is saves and blown saves. And he got the job done here. So while I am still very worried about him down the stretch in crucial games, he got the save here, and for a closer that's all that matters.



And for a team too. If they had held on to the 10-1 lead or if they eked out a 10-9 victory, it counts the same in the standings.

And right now the standings are looking pretty good for the Mets. They're over .500 for the first time in more than a month. They're only 2 losses behind the Phillies and they've possibly exorcised some of last season's demons by beating the Phillies 7 of 10 times so far this season.

A win is a win and the Mets needed one, and got one.

Happy Recap: Mets 4 Phillies 2

There is no such thing as a coincidence.

It's not an accident that Billy Wagner keeps blowing saves in crucial situations.

Nor is it a surprise that Fernando Tatis keeps coming through in those big spots.

I can't say enough about how much I love Tatis and his knack for getting that game-winning hit.

Nor can I say how much I despise Billy Wagner for his inability to nail down a game when the Mets need it most. This is now his 6th blown save of the season. I don't care about his 2.31 ERA, that's way too many blown games.

The Mets are now 9-9 in Oliver Perez's starts, the exact same record as they have when Johan Santana starts. That doesn't mean Perez is as good as Santana, but it does show that the Mets are a .500 team, and has bad as Perez has been, he's not killing them. It also demonstrates that when he's on, he's awesome. They just need to figure out how to get him to be on in 75% of his starts, instead of 50%.

In fact Perez seems to only get up for the big games. This year in 3 starts over 18 1/3 innings against the Phillies he has yet to allow an earned run. Against the Yankees over the last 2 years, Perez is 4-0 with a 1.52 ERA and only 7 walks compared to 23 strikeouts. If only he could pitch like that against the bad teams too.

In addition to Perez, perhaps the other most maligned Met was key to yesterday's victory. Carlos Beltran's homer was the only run in the first 8 innings, and his 2 out single in the 9th drove home Reyes with a key insurance run, after David Wright struck out.

Excellent job by Joe Smith in 2 roles he is unfamiliar with, long reliever and closer.

Endy Chavez made another incredible catch. He really could be a gold glover if he hit well enough to play everyday.



An absolutely huge victory but if form holds, this is a .500 team so they will lose the next game, making it their third straight split of a 4-game series. Pedro Martinez has been awful but the Mets need him to come up big to help give them a leg up on the Phillies.

Happy Recap: Mets 9 Phillies 4

This was an important win for two reasons. Obviously it was crucial because of the heart-breaking defeat in the first game of the series. But also because of the way this one unfolded. Ever since last year the Phillies have dominated the Mets in terms of bullpen performance. During any game that was close late the Phillies bullpen would shut down the Mets offense, until the Mets bullpen gave it up. The opposite happened here.

Maine actually pitched better than his 3 runs in 5 2/3 innings line would indicate. The only hit he allowed was a homer to Ryan Howard, but it happened to come after a hit by pitch and a walk.

I love Ryan Church batting second, but I think unfortunately they need him to bat 5th.

I also like the fact that Manuel isn't afraid to use his backup catcher as a pinch hitter. Sure it's a risk, but a remote one, and his gamble already paid off as Schneider delivered a big hit. I hope he continues this because Castro is one of his best righthanded bats off the bench.

Damion Easley has been doing a great job during Castillo's absence. He's 10 for 21 with 6 RBI in 5 games during July.

Two injuries put somewhat of a damper on this one, but Maine's problem was in his left arm and shouldn't force him to miss a start, and Church says his migraines are something he's had since his youth (it runs in his family) and not related to that pesky brain injury.

Unhappy Recap: Phillies 3 Mets 2

The devastating losses keep coming for Johan Santana.

The Mets are now 9-9 when he starts, and they haven't won a game he started since June 1. Even though he has a 2.48 ERA over 6 winless starts since then. The Mets scored a total of 12 runs in those 6 games.

But even though this stretch is not Santana's fault, he's not quite blameless in all of this.

He had a 2 run lead, with 2 out and 2 on in the 6th, and he allowed 2 straight hits, to Howard and Burrell to tie the game.

But of course there are others much more culpable in this loss than Santana.

Starting with David Wright who popped out with Reyes on third and 1 out in the first inning.

Then there's Carlos Beltran who struck out after Wright in the first, then struck out again with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the 6th. He is batting .133 (6 for 45) with runners in scoring position and 2 outs.

And of course there's Duaner Sanchez who in this game filled the familiar role of "reliever who blows the game" by allowing 2 out hits to Feliz and Victorino to lose the game.

Unhappy Recap: Phillies 5 Mets 4

You have to be happy with taking 2 out of 3 from the Phillies on the road (and at home), but this game is kind of disappointing because the Mets had chances to win it.

A pretty bad start for Pelfrey but if this is the worst he is I can live with that. Plus it was interesting that he allowed only 2 walks but 10 hits. That's not usually what happens when he gets in trouble.

I loved the way the Mets answered the Phillies 3-run 5th with a a 4-run 6th, but that made it even more disappointing to lose this one. It was also encouraging that Carlos Beltran got a big hit in the inning. But of course Carlos Delgado didn't.

I still love Pedro Feliciano and would take him against any left-handed hitter at any time, but giving up a homer to Pedro Feliz is terrible. Feliz is such a free swinger you can normally try to get him to chase something. I think Felciano wanted to go after him with Utley and Howard coming up next.

Utley is becoming the new Pat Burrell. In fact the Phillies team is full of Met killers, except for Ryan Howard.

That top of the 9th inning was all set up for the Mets to tie the game off Lidge, but once again the Mets couldn't get that big hit. I'm almost always against the sacrifice bunt but this was the perfect situation for it. Two on, none out, bad hitter up, great hitter on deck. But Luis Castillo, his one job, couldn't get the bunt down. I think they should have left the bunt on with 2 strikes. You can say it wouldn't have mattered because Wright ended up hitting a weak foul pop, but that might not have happened had it been 2nd and 3rd instead. And of course Beltran couldn't come through either and the Mets failed to get the sweep.

It's amazing because he's been so hot recently but Wright has missed a lot of chances over this stretch, in addition to the ones he's converted. He could have 30 RBI.

Happy Recap: Mets 4 Phillies 2

Another interesting start from Oliver Perez. No runs which is good, but 5 walks and 108 pitches, meaning he could only go 5 2/3 innings, with this bullpen usually not good.

But Sanchez bailed him out of a jam and the offense gave him 2 insurance runs, or more appropriately, gave the bullpen 2 insurance runs and the Mets held on.

But generally the Mets are going to have a very bad record (any team would) in games in which the starter pitches fewer than 6 innings.

Wright and Reyes are basically all the Mets offense right now. Wright a 2 run double in the first, and Reyes a 2 run homer in the 7th and nothing else.

Great job out of Heilman striking out two batters with the bases loaded in the 8th.

And great job out of Wagner pitching a 1-2-3 inning in his 4th straight appearance.

Happy Recap: Mets 6 Phillies 4

A vintange Johan Santana performance. He gave up a lot of fly balls which can be dangerous, especially against the Phillies in that ballpark but that should benefit him in Shea Stadium. I was also very pleased that he at least tried to go to the 8th inning. I wouldn't have minded giving him one more batter with a 4-run lead (as it turned out he couldn't have done any worse). His final stats don't look as good because of Heilman allowing the two inherited runners to score, but the key is winning the games.

Pedro Feliciano is such a valuable guy against Utley and Howard. If they can put him in situations where he can come in and face them, and only them, I think he can get them out.

A nice easy inning from Billy Wagner is a welcome sight.

David Wright is really locked in right now. He is killing the ball.

Carlos Delgado sucks and he can't get a hit with men on base but he did drive in 2 runs with outs which is encouraging because strikeouts in those situations kill you. I was also pleased that in the 9th he got that insurance run by hitting a fly ball the other way. He has no chance of turning on a Brad Lidge fastball, so he has to go to left field more often.

Happy Recap: Mets 4 Phillies 3

This was a key game for the Mets because they were just a couple plays away from another one of their patented meltdowns against the Phillies.

Right now there isn't another hitter in the lineup whom I'd rather have up in a key spot than Angel Pagan. And I said that right before he got up, and I didn't even jinx him. I'd love to see him stay in the #2 hole when Castillo comes back, but a 7-8-9 of Schneider, Castillo and the pitcher is too weak. Also, to maximize run production its best to try to hide your weakest hitters in between strong hitters, instead of bunching them together. But needless to say, Angel has been heaven sent.

I do think Reyes was safe on that play, I think he got his hand in there just before the tag, because he was leaning forward, Coste had further to go with the swipe to reach Reyes. But Coste was clearly blocking the plate without the ball, so Reyes really had to run him over so that he couldn't catch the ball. I wouldn't want him to risk injury but that's really the most effective way to score on a play like that.

It's inexcusable for Carlos Beltran to strike out twice with the game on the line, especially because the first time any contact pretty much would have given the Mets the lead (and probably won the game).

Also inexcusable thus far is the performance of Aaron Heilman. Every time he comes in he allows 2 runs. This cannot be tolerated. He's going to have to be demoted to a mop-up role.

Everyone else in the bullpen was awesome though. Pedro Feliciano struck out the side, and Scott Schoeneweis saved the day by getting Utley to hit into a double play. And he stuck around for the next inning. He can be effective if Willie uses him situationally.

Joe Smith, Billy Wagner and Jorge Sosa also contributed.

But the Mets bullpen has pitched 13 and 1/3 innings in the past 3 games. That's way too much. And it's not the fault of Willie Randolph (though he could have left Pelfrey in a little longer). The blame goes to Oliver Perez and John Maine both of whom lost their control and had to be taken out too early. And Maine was cruising with 64 pitches through 5 innings before he allowed 3 walks in the 6th.

Hopefully the Mets will get a big emotional lift from this game because they overcame bad relief (Heilman), bad situational hitting (Beltran) and bad fielding (Wright and Schneider fucking up a bunt) to come back and win the game and take 2 of 3 from the Phillies.

Happy Recap: Mets 8 Phillies 2

After 2 innings of this one I thought for sure this was going to be another disaster.

The Mets had 6 walks, 1 run and 0 hits.

And an easy ground ball that should have been an inning ending double play became what I thought was the start of another meltdown. But after giving up a hit to tie the game Pelfrey settled down.

And then came the bottom of the third. Two huge errors by Eric Bruntlett and finally some timely hitting led to the Mets' third 5+ run inning of the season.

Angel Pagan has been awesome this season. He seems to get a hit every time he gets up with men on base. It's really only half the time. If he can keep this up we won't miss Alou.

I think Willie did the right thing by taking Pelfrey out after 5 innings, even though he had a 6 run lead. He had thrown 100 pitches and it was his first start of the season. Plus Pelfrey is still struggling with his confidence and taking him out there rather than risking sending him out for another inning when he could have given up a run or two, was probably the right decision.

Thanks to the excellent pitching of Jorge Sosa, the bullpen should still be well rested enough for tomorrow's game.

The Mets really need to John Maine to pitch like he did in spring training so they can take this series from the Phillies.

Unhappy Recap: Phillies 5 Mets 2

This was a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad game.

The Mets can't beat the Braves, they can't beat the Phillies, they can't score runs and the bullpen is absolutely terrible.

Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

At least the Mets have gotten good starting pitching in four of the six games but that's going to change when people other than Perez and Santana have to start.

As usual it's easy to question Willie's handling of the bullpen.
I don't blame him for taking Perez out when he did. He was clearly fading and given his tendency to implode it's unlikely that he would have been able to work out of that jam in the 6th.
But he should have left Smith in to start the 7th. Without Feliciano he should have saved Schoeneweis to face only Utley and Howard. He's a situational reliever, not a one inning guy.
I know this would never happen but this game is a perfect example of why it's foolish to save your closer for the 9th inning. They could have used Wagner in the 7th against Utley and Howard.
Aaron Heilman sucks too, but Willie really had no choice.

And I'm going to go easy on Delgado here, that play at second base wasn't really his fault. He had to try for the double play but Utley made it tough by running in his way and not sliding, and Reyes made it tough by not presenting a wider target.

Delgado also accounted for almost all the offense. He owns Moyer, 30 for 68 lifetime against him with 8 homers. Surprising numbers against a lefty.

The Mets also displayed warning track power in this game. At least 5 balls were tracked down by Shane Victorino. The big dimensions at Shea help the pitchers but the Mets batters can't seem to jack one out.

Governor Paterson was at the game and Kevin Burkhardt interviewed him. He seemed like a really nice guy and a longtime Mets fan. He told a story about the night before Shea Stadium opened in 1964 his father took him to the Stadium and asked the grounds crew to let him walk on the field, and they did. He also shared some memories of the 60s and said he watched Jim Bunning's perfect game against the Mets in 1964. When Kevin Burkhardt asked him the biggest surprise since becoming governor, he said "the biggest surprise is that I am governor."

Keith Hernandez confused So Taguchi and Tad Iguchi. When Taguchi came up Hernandez explained that the Phillies acquired him last year when Utley got hurt. After a couple minutes of no one else correcting him, Hernandez corrected himself (maybe a producer told him) and called himself a "dunderhead."

The Mets have now lost 9 in a row to the Phillies and in 7 of the 13 losses over the past 2 years, the Mets blew leads of 2 runs or more

Unhappy Recap: Phillies 10 Mets 6

And the disastrous weekend series with Philadelphia met the absolute worst case scenario the Mets could have envisioned. The Mets have played against the Phillies in these last two series the way they used to play against the Braves. They did absolutely everything wrong. They have lost 8 in a row to Philadelphia now, after starting the season 6-2 against them.

This was by far the worst game the Mets played all season.

The Mets made 6 errors.
LoDuca throwing error in the first inning.
Reyes makes two errors on the same play in the second inning lead to two Philadelphia runs.
Moises Alou drops a fly ball by Rollins leading to another run in the 4th inning.



The normally sure handed Luis Castillo made two errors on the same play in the apocalyptic 6th inning, although by rule he could only be charged with one. But more on that later.
The last error was a meaningless one by Conine in the 9th inning.

But it wasn't just the errors that killed the Mets in this one. It was the walks. 11 of them in all. 6 of them by Perez who ended up allowing 3 unearned runs. Perez had to be removed in the 5th inning after a double by Rollins made the score 5-2.

Then the Mets got back in the game on one swing of the bat by the mighty Carlos Beltran. David Wright is getting all the MVP chants, but with 2 on and a 3 run deficit, Wright flied out, and Beltran tied the game.

But it didn't last long. Mota walked Burrell to lead off the 6th. But he got Howard to hit a sure double play ball at Castillo who dropped it, then rushed the throw to second, and it was wide and they couldn't even get one out. Then Mota walked Rowand to load the bases, and that was his afternoon. Jorge Sosa came in, walked the first batter he faced, then gave up a grand slam to Greg Dobbs to put this one on ice.

David Wright entered the 30/30 club with a home run in the 7th inning.

The Phillies had the leadoff man on in the first 7 innings of this game.

The Mets used 8 pitchers, a team record.

The Mets are 19-6 in their last 25 games against teams not from Philadelphia.

The Mets finish with 13 games against the Marlins and Nations. If they win 7, the Phillies have go to 10-4 to tie them with 90 wins. Then the Mets would have to make up a rained out game against the Cardinals.

Unhappy Recap: Phillies 5 Mets 3

Another horrible loss against the Phillies in which the Mets were done in the by their bullpen, their defense and their lack of timely hitting.

Pedro pitched well again, allowing only one run in the first inning and nothing else through 6. He did allow 7 hits but he struck out 9 and walked none, but with a pitch count of 98 Willie decided to take him out there.

The Mets gave him three runs of support, but it should have been a lot more.

In the second the Mets loaded the bases with nobody out. LoDuca hit into a fielder's choice, and after the Mets scored when Milledge got hit by a pitch, Pedro made out (to be expected) and so did the slumping Jose Reyes.

Beltran and LoDuca contributed RBI singles in the third to give the Mets the 3-1 lead.

The bottom of the 6th against Kane Davis was really the beginning of the end for the Mets. With one out he walked Gotay but Gotay was caught stealing. Then he walked Reyes and Castillo, but for some reason Reyes tried to steal third with Wright up, and got thrown out. Three walks and no runs.

And in the top of the 7th, things started to crumble. Iguchi led off with a double against Feliciano and then Green botched a hard ground ball to put Rollins on base with a run in and no outs and Utley, Burrell and Howard coming up. And Feliciano struck out all three of them.

But then Willie fucked up again, leaving Feliciano in for the 8th inning (I guess he has no one else) and that resulted in the Mets' ruin. Aaron Rowand led off the inning with a game tying home run. Jorge Sosa came in and walked 2 batters but got two outs. The third out should have been an easy fly ball to Beltran, but he came in on it first, and it went over his head for a triple for Jimmy Rollins and a 5-3 lead.



Even though the game was over at this point Marlon Anderson went nuts in the bottom of the 9th when he was called out on a pitch that was 6 inches (or more) outside. And like LoDuca the night before Anderson was ejected by an umpire with a very short fuse.