Phillies Recap: Phillies-7, Mets-5

Game Recap:
Down 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Phillies scored six runs, and then hung on in the top of the ninth to beat the Mets and win their fifth game in a row.

What went right?

Jimmy Rollins was 1-4 with an RBI and a walk.

Placido Polanco went 1-4 with two RBI.

Mike Sweeney made his Phillies debut and went 2-5 with an RBI and a run scored.

Jayson Werth was 2-4 with a run scored and a walk.

Ben Francisco went 1-2 with with two walks, a run scored and an RBI.

Carlos Ruiz continued his hot streak, picking up two more hits and an RBI.

Joe Blanton pitched seven strong innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out four.

Chad Durbin pitched a perfect eighth inning and ended up with the win.

What went wrong?

Danys Baez started the ninth inning and picked up two outs, but was charged with two runs on two hits.

J.C. Romero couldn't record an out for the second straight game. Tonight, he allowed a three run home run, but only was charged with one of the runs. It was the only batter that he faced during the game.

The Phillies left ten men on base, including six in the first three innings.

Game Analysis:

The Phillies couldn't get anything going off of rookie Jonathon Niese through seven innings. Even though the Phils managed to get men on base with some frequency during the first three innings, they could only manage one run, and then Niese settled down. Luckily for the Phillies, those first three innings forced Niese to throw a lot of pitches, and the Mets had to go to their bullpen in the eighth inning. By the time the eighth was over, three Mets pitchers had come out of the bullpen, the Phillies had sent 11 men to the plate and six runs had scored. After a bit of a scare in the ninth inning, Brad Lidge shut the door and the Phillies had won their fifth game in a row and their 13th out of 15 overall.

Aside from the eighth inning heroics tonight, the biggest news was the fact that Joe Blanton pitched maybe his best game of the year. At a time where every Phillies pitcher has to be at their best, Blanton picked up his game and joined in on the fun. His two runs allowed tonight were tied for the fewest he's allowed this year, and he was able to avoid the big inning once again. Throughout his career as a member of the Phillies, the big inning is the thing that has kept Blanton from being anything more than a fourth starter. Tonight, he gave up two runs, but was able to get out of each inning without giving up anything else. Blanton retired the side in order three times, and actually did it a fourth if you count a double play that he induced in the first inning. It was just a solid start from Blanton, and considering that the Phils have gotten good outings from the other four pitchers in their rotation, it was about time that he joined in on the fun.

Let's face it, Joe Blanton hasn't had a good season. He's been unable to get into much of a groove this year, but over his last three starts, he's at least showing signs of turning things around. Even over his last five starts, the most runs he's given up has been five to the Cardinals, but other than that, it's been four or less in six or seven innings each time out. They're not great numbers, no one's arguing that, but considering how he was pitching for most of the season, they look a hell of a lot better now. Besides, the Phillies only need him to be a fourth or fifth pitcher. If they make it to the playoffs again, it's likely going to be Halladay, Hamels and Oswalt as the starting rotation, with Kendrick making a start if needed. Blanton's going to come out of the bullpen regardless. That's just how his season has been this year. As long as he can avoid the big inning for the rest of the season, or Charlie takes him out before the big inning happens, everything should be fine.

Before the eighth inning tonight, the offense was simply dreadful tonight. There's no clearer way to say it. Jonathon Niese shouldn't have made it through five innings, and instead he pitched seven innings of one run baseball. The Phillies made him throw pitches through the first three innings, but could only get a single run out of Niese, and then he settled down. After the third inning, the Phillies managed just a single base hit and a walk against Niese until he left the game. That was the best thing that could have happened for the Phillies, because they torched the Mets' bullpen in the eighth inning. Eleven batters came to the plate, and Mike Sweeney picked up two base hits and an RBI in his two at bats.

Sweeney also had the play of the inning, when he read a single by Jayson Werth perfectly off the bat and went first to third on the hit. That only put more pressure on Bobby Parnell, who couldn't even record a single out in the inning. Pedro Feliciano didn't do much better, and Manny Acosta gave a hit and a sacrifice fly before finally being able to get out of the inning. The eighth inning tonight helps take the sting away from the poor play against Niese, but the fact remains that the Phils couldn't figure him out for seven innings. Regardless, a win is a win, even if the Phillies had to do it by putting up a crooked number in one inning.

It's a good thing that they did score as many runs as they did in the eighth, because Danys Baez and J.C. Romero tried their hardest to give them back in the ninth. To be fair, it wasn't all Baez's fault. He got Jeff Francour to hit a soft grounder down the third base line that just managed to stay fair, and it kept the inning alive. Had that ball gone foul, the Phillies could have very well won 7-2 instead of 7-5. The blame for those three runs lies with J.C. Romero. Over the last two games, Romero hasn't recorded an out and has allowed four inherited runners to score, as well as giving up three earned runs of his own. At a time when almost every other pitcher has managed to pick up their game, Romero is slowing down. He hasn't been able to find the strike zone the entire season, and it's been a huge problem. For the year, Romero has 17 strikeouts compared to 22 walks in just 24.1 innings of work. When a relief pitcher that's supposed to be one of your top setup men has almost as many walks as he does innings pitched, it's a big problem. Romero needs to get his act together, and now. The Phillies can't afford any weak links at the moment, not if they want to catch the Braves or Giants to get into the playoffs.

Tomorrow night, the Phils face the Mets in game two of their series. Cole Hamels (7-7, 3.56 ERA) tries for his eighth win of the season for the fifth time. He's had four no decisions since winning his seventh game. Johan Santana (8-6, 3.20 ERA) pitches for the Mets.

Phillies Recap: Phillies-11, Mets-5

Game Recap:
The Phillies got nine runs in the fourth inning off of Johan Santana and then cruised to their second straight win over the Mets, putting themselves back in first place in the National League East.

What went right?

Shane Victorino went 2-5 with a grand slam.

Placido Polanco went 3-5 with two runs scored and a home run.

Chase Utley was 2-5 with a two run home run and two runs scored.

Ryan Howard went 3-4 with a solo home run. He also scored twice.

Jayson Werth was 2-4 with an RBI.

Raul Ibanez went 1-4 with an RBI.

Jamie Moyer didn't have his best stuff, but it was good enough. He allowed five runs on six hits in six innings. He didn't walk a batter, struck out two, and drew a bases loaded walk in the fourth inning that drove in a run and allowed Victorino to hit a grand slam.

What went wrong?

Rod Barajas hit another home run for the Mets. That's about it.

Game Analysis:

Anyone else remember Game 2 of the 2008 NLDS? Remember when Brett Myers worked a walk from C.C. Sabathia? Did you ever think something like that would happen again? Well, last night, it did, and it changed the way that the Phillies were playing against the Mets. Facing Johan Santana, the Phils loaded the bases after the New York ace "unintentionally-intentionally" walked Carlos Ruiz to get to the 47 year old Jamie Moyer. Now, Moyer hadn't been pitching that well through the first four innings, having allowed a three run home run to David Wright and a two run shot to Rod Barajas in the fourth inning that gave the Mets a 5-2 lead. The Phillies had gotten one of the runs back on a Raul Ibanez single, but with two outs, all it was going to take was three straight fastballs, and Moyer would be back on the mound, facing a two run hole.

Only, it didn't happen that way. Moyer worked the count, got a close call on a 2-2 pitch, and then earned a walk when Santana's 3-2 pitch went too far inside. Ibanez scored, and Shane Victorino got a chance to extend the inning. He didn't disappoint, sending a 1-0 pitch into the left field stands for a grand slam home run, and the Phillies never looked back. Chase Utley finished Santana with a two run shot of his own later in the inning, and then Jayson Werth doubled home Ryan Howard to cap the nine run outburst. After the dust settled, Santana had allowed four home runs in the game to go along with ten runs and eight hits. His ERA jumped up to 4.50 after the worst start of his career. The Mets would get just one more baserunner for the entire game, and just like that, the Phillies had sent a message to New York.

These last two games were exactly what the Phillies needed to get back on track. The end of April was not good for the Phils, who suffered from a lack of offense and were unable to back up their starting pitching, which for the most part had done very well. Now that the calender has turned to May, the Phillies look just like the team that started this season, scoring 21 runs in their last two games against the two best pitchers the Mets have. Mike Pelfrey couldn't make it through five innings against the Phillies on Saturday, and Johan Santana only made it through 3.2 innings Sunday night. These are the kind of games that set tones for the rest of the season, especially when they come against the hottest team in baseball at the moment.

After scuffling for a while, Shane Victorino has looked much better in the last few games, going 4-10 with two home runs and seven RBI in the month of May. With Jimmy Rollins still out for the foreseeable future, that is the kind of play and effort from Victorino that the Phillies are going to need. He was called out for not running out a dropped strike three on Friday night, and since then, he's been playing on a different level. Maybe that was the spark that he needed to get going again. I sure hope so.

Regardless, this team looks much improved again. After Roy Halladay shutout the Mets on Saturday, most people thought Johan Santana would return the favor on Sunday night. It didn't help matters that David Wright gave the Mets a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but home runs by Placido Polanco and Ryan Howard cut the lead to one before the fourth inning that did Santana in. The Mets were riding a wave of momentum coming into Philadelphia, but the Phillies went and ended that ride real quick. The Phils bounced back from a 9-1 loss on Friday night to take the last two games of the series by a combined 21-5 score. That's what this team needed to do against the Mets. They came out and hit them in the mouth. Now, the Phillies are back in first place, and hopefully they'll be there for a while, but the road doesn't get any easier from here.

Tonight, Joe Blanton makes his first start of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals. He'll be facing off against Jamie Garcia (2-1, 1.04 ERA).

In case you needed another reason to make fun of the Mets...

It's this week's sign of the Apocalypse, and it comes from David Wright of the New York Mets. It's bad enough that he made a commercial with "The Situation" from that God awful Jersey Shore show, but to take the Rocky music and put it in there, too?

You've gone too far, David Wright. I can't wait to see you fist pumping to a fourth place finish in the NL East this year.