Phillies Recap: Phillies-10, Mets-7

Game Recap:
The Phillies blew a 7-0 lead against the Mets tonight, only to score three times in the fifth and sixth innings to earn their first win of the year against New York.

What went right?

Shane Victorino was 2-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Placido Polanco went 3-5, scored once and drove in three.

Ryan Howard had another great game, going 4-4 at the plate with his second home run of the season and two RBI.

Raul Ibanez was 2-5 with an RBI.

Ben Francisco only had one hit in four at bats, but it was a solo home run that gave the Phils a 10-7 lead. He also scored twice.

Pete Orr started the game at second base and went 2-3 with two runs scored.

The bullpen was excellent tonight. Antonio Bastardo, J.C. Romero, Ryan Madson and Jose Contreras pitched a combined four and two-thirds innings, allowing no runs on just two hits and a walk. Contreras picked up his first save of the season.

What went wrong?

Jimmy Rollins was 0-4.

Joe Blanton pitched well through the first three innings, but got into trouble in the fourth and fifth. He lasted just four and a third innings, allowing seven runs on ten hits. He walked two and struck out six.

Game Analysis:

One night after their first loss of the season, the Phillies needed a good bounce back win, and for four innings, it looked like they would have an easy run tonight. Joe Blanton had held the Mets to two runs, while the Phils had driven Mike Pelfrey from the game after just two innings of work and put up seven runs of their own. Then, the top of the fifth happened. Eleven Mets came to the plate in the inning, and by the time the dust had settled, the game was tied at 7-7. Fortunately for the Phillies, they scored twice in their part of the fifth and once more in the sixth before the bullpen shut down the Mets in a 10-7 win.

It wasn't the prettiest game in the world from a pitching standpoint, but you have to tip your hat to the bullpen tonight. After the innings that they had to put in last night following Cole Hamels' poor outing, the bullpen came in again tonight and did even better. Antonio Bastardo picked up his first win of the season, while J.C. Romero, Ryan Madson and Jose Contreras shut the door in the last three innings. When the starting pitching can't get the job done, it's up to the bullpen to at least keep the game close. Tonight, they did even more than that. They shut down a New York offense that has scored 13 runs against Cole Hamels and Joe Blanton. That's excellent, but not exactly what this team is going to want to have happen every night.

For three innings, Joe Blanton looked like the fourth ace of the rotation instead of Cole Hamels. He had the Mets guessing at his pitches, had excellent location with his fastball, and even drove in two runs in the bottom of the third inning with a single down the left field line. He ran into a little trouble in the fourth, giving up a two run home run to Angel Pagan, but then the wheels came off in the fifth inning. Five runs scored, all of them charged to Blanton, who only recorded a single out in the frame. That's two nights in a row that the Phillies have had their starting pitcher get shelled by the Mets. Now, the Mets have a better offense than most people think, but to not have either starting pitcher even get through the fifth inning? That's a problem right there.

Luckily the Phils had an answer for their poor starting pitching tonight, and that was their offense. After taking a game off, the Phils had their bats ready to go early and often. While Joe Blanton didn't make it out of the fifth inning, Mike Pelfrey couldn't even get through the third inning, having allowed seven runs in just two innings of work. Ryan Howard led the way again with his second home run of the season, but it was his single in the bottom of the fifth inning that had an even bigger impact.

You have to love the way that Placido Polanco plays the game of baseball, and it was clear on that Howard single in the fifth inning. Howard's infield single bounced away from pitcher Blaine Boyer. While Howard was safe at first, Polanco just kept running from second base. By the time the Mets realized what was going on and got the ball to home, Polanco had slid in safely. With that play, the Phillies had a 9-7 lead, and all the momentum that the Mets had gotten from their big top of the fifth inning was gone. Sometimes, that's all it takes.

This was a good bounce back win for the Phils tonight. They got the offense going again, and even if the starting pitching performance wasn't great, the bullpen certainly was. Tomorrow, the Phillies go for the series win against the Mets. Roy Halladay (0-0, 1.50 ERA) goes for the Phils, and Jon Niese (0-0, 2.57 ERA) will pitch for New York.