Not the most exciting Phillies-Mets tilt through seven innings on Friday night. The Phils grabbed an early lead, but soon lost it in a quote-unquote pitchers' duel between starters Joe Blanton and Jonathon Niese. Niese gave way to his bullpen to start the eighth, taking a seat with a 2-1 lead. Things were looking decent for the jorts-wearering pilgrims at Citizens Bank Park at that point. It wouldn't be long before their fate changed.
After Chad Durbin pitched a perfect top of the eighth, Bobby Parnell came out to face the home side in front of a still-packed house. And thus began a six-run frame for the Phils in which 11 batters came to the plate. And yet, it almost wasn't enough.
Mike "Lou Gehrig" Sweeney opened the bottom of the eighth with his first hit as a Phillie. After Jayson Werth singled him over to third, Ben Francisco knocked Sweeney in and set Werth up for one of the hottest hitters in baseball, Carlos Ruiz. Chooch singled in Werth, ending Parnell's night after Niese's lead was blown. What I wouldn't give to hear the conversation between tonight's Mets starter and his relievers after the game. Pedro Feliciano would fare no better, nor would Manny Acosta, both of whom were unable to stop the bleeding before the serious damage was done.
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The Phils took the field in the top of the ninth with a 7-2 lead. Unfortunately, it almost wasn't enough.
Danys Baez, among the least reliable arms in Charlie Manuel's stable this season, managed two outs while allowing two baserunners before getting the hook. One of the hits was a dribbler that just died on its way up the third baseline, but that was the end of Baez's night. JC Romero came in looking to redeem himself for last night's effort, but uhhh... things didn't go so well for JC. He faced one batter, super minorleaguer Mike Hessman, who proceeded to jack one to right, creating a save situation for Brad Lidge.
Fortunately, Brad was a stopper on a night the Phils really needed one. As demoralizing as the bullpen bed soiling was for the Mets, it would've been worse to have the Phillies' pen cough it back up after all that. Lidge worked ahead in the count early, then struck out Jesus Feliciano looking. I think we all needed that one.
Great signs out of a few Phils tonight. First, Joe Blanton had a solid night, lowering his ERA by another .20... Mike Sweeney notched two key eighth inning hits, then gave a glowing post-game interview, throwing props to the Philadelphia fans and going out of his way to credit Ryan Howard while keeping his place warm. This guy couldn't be happier to be with a contender... Carlos Ruiz continued his recent tear, pushing him over the .300 mark on the season... Placido Polanco, now up to .321, had two ribbies as well... Finally, Brad Lidge earned his third save in four August appearances, a stretch that includes pitching in each of the last three games.
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The Phils have won 13 of their last 15 games, and if that trend continues this weekend, the Mets could find themselves 10 games back of first. Meanwhile, depending on how the Braves fare in their series, the Phillies may reclaim first.