Recap: NY Mets vs. Philadelphia
Sports Network | September 07, 2008
Flushing, NY (Sports Network) - Carlos Delgado stroked a pair of solo home runs and finished with four RBI as the New York Mets took a 6-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies to split a doubleheader at Shea Stadium. Ryan Church and Damion Easley each went 2-for-4 with a run scored while Brian Schneider and Carlos Beltran each drove in a run for the Mets, who avoided the sweep and won for the fifth time in their last seven games. Johan Santana (13-7), who hasn't lost a game since June 28, got the win for giving up just two runs on five hits in 7 1/3 innings of work. He hasn't lost the past 13 games he's started, but is just 6-0 during that run. The Mets hold a two-game lead over Philadelphia for first place in the NL East. This was the last meeting between these teams for the regular season and New York won 11 of the 18 contests. Ryan Howard finished 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two RBI while Andy Tracy drove in the other run for the Phillies, who have won five of their last eight games. Cole Hamels (12-9) was tagged with the loss for giving up five runs -- four earned -- on nine hits in five innings of work. In addition to trailing New York for the division, the Phillies trail Milwaukee by four games for the NL Wild Card spot. In the earlier game on Sunday, which was a makeup of Saturday's rainout due to Tropical Storm Hanna, Greg Dobbs clubbed a three-run homer and Jamie Moyer tossed seven shutout innings to help Philadelphia to a 6-2 win. The Phillies took the early lead in the game with a run in the first inning. With one out, Chase Utley singled and Jayson Werth followed with a free pass. Howard then hit an opposite field single to bring home Utley. Philly missed the chance to plate more runners, though, as Pat Burrell struck out and Shane Victorino flied out to end the frame. The Mets, though, answered with three runs in the bottom of the first. Church hit a one-out single and David Wright was then awarded first base on a catcher interference call that saw Phillies manager Charlie Manuel ejected by home plate umpire Jerry Meals after arguing the call. Beltran then got the Mets on the board with a single to left that saw Wright beating the tag at third and Beltran taking second. Delgado then hit a two-run single to center to give the Mets a 3-1 lead. In the second, New York loaded the bases with one out, but Hamels blew a fastball past Wright for the strikeout and then induced a foul out from Beltran to silence the threat. Howard made it a one-run game in the third inning as he smoked the first pitch he saw over the left field fence. Delgado, though, stroked his first home run of the game to lead off the third as he knocked a 0-2 curveball over the right-center wall. In the fifth with one out, Delgado blasted the first pitch he saw out of the stadium in right-center for a 5-2 advantage. In the seventh, Pedro Feliz led off the frame with a single, but the Phillies were unable to string together any more hits and Santana got out of the inning with the three-run lead intact. The Mets then added some insurance in the eighth as Easley led off with a triple and came home when Schneider lofted a sacrifice fly to right for a 6-2 lead. The Phillies got a run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly from Tracy to make it a 6-3 game, but that was the second out and Luis Ayala struck out Rollins to seal the win. Game Notes It was the fourth time this season that Manuel was ejected...New York hosts Washington for a two-game set starting on Tuesday...Philadelphia returns home to face Florida for three games starting on Monday...Howard leads the majors with 40 home runs. It is the third straight year the slugger has reached the 40 HR plateau, the first Phillie to ever accomplish that feat...Each team left seven men on base. Game Notes It was the fourth time this season that Manuel was ejected...New York hosts Washington for a two-game set starting on Tuesday...Philadelphia returns home to face Florida for three games starting on Monday...Howard leads the majors with 40 home runs. It is the third straight year the slugger has reached the 40 HR plateau, the first Phillie to ever accomplish that feat...Each team left seven men on base.
