The New York Mets (12-16) defeated the Philadelphia Phillies (18-9) by the score of 2 to 1 in 14 innings tonight at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Pitchers:
- Chris Young (1-0, 1.88 ERA) started for the Mets tonight and was incredible. He threw seven innings of two-hit shutout baseball, striking out seven and walking three.
- Cliff Lee (2-2, 3.66 ERA) started for the Phillies by allowing the Mets to load the bases in the first inning. However, he got out of the jam and pitched seven innings of one-run ball. He let up eight hits and two walks, while striking out five hitters.
- Jason Isringhausen came in to relieve Chris Young and walked two hitters. Although no runs scored while he was in, Tim Byrdak came in to face the left-handed Ryan Howard. Byrdak allowed a single, scoring John Mayberry, Jr.
Francisco Rodriguez then came in with two outs in the eighth inning. Of course, being K-Rod, he worked himself out of a jam to lower his ERA to 1.64.- What’s to not like about Pedro Beato? His ERA is 0.00 and he pitched three scoreless innings today. He has been a pleasant surprise this season, as it is rare for a reliever to allow zero earned runs a month into the season.
- (Winning Pitcher) Taylor Buccholz also stepped up tonight. He pitched two perfect innings and struck out two hitters.
- (Losing Pitcher) Kyle Kendrick was the losing pitcher for the Phillies tonight. He allowed four hits and one run in three innings pitched.
Hitters:
- There were so many opportunities in this game for the Mets to score runs, but they could not capitalize until the 14th inning. In the first inning, the Mets loaded the bases, but Ike Davis struck out.
- David Wright broke out of another one of his slumps, going 3-for-6, stealing second, and scoring both of the Mets’ runs.
- Carlos Beltran hit an RBI double to score Wright in the fifth inning for the Mets’ first run of the game.
- Ike Davis, Justin Turner, and Daniel Murphy (who pinch-hit and replaced Turner at second) were a combined 0-for-12.
- Jose Reyes continued his dominant season, going 2-for-6 and leading the game off with a double. Reyes also walked once. I really hope the Mets keep Jose. He got on base in three of his seven opportunities and has been a great leadoff hitter all season.
- In his first game back from the disabled list, Ronny Paulino went 5-for-7 (career high in single-game hits), driving in the final run of the game in the 14th inning. He hit a big two RBI double to score David Wright and pull the Mets ahead of the Phillies.
Game MVP: Ronny Paulino for being able to go 5-for-7 in his first game back from the DL.
Reaction: As corny as it sounds, tonight’s game was symbolic of our nation’s victory. Osama Bin Laden was the symbol for anti-American terrorism and his death really changed the world. Like the fight against terrorism, the Mets fought tonight. In regards to pitching, it was as if they could throw one hundred innings, without allowing another run. The bullpen has really turned it around since being the worst in the league for the first couple of games. Don’t forget about Chris Young, who threw a great game tonight. The negative side of this game was that the hitters could not come through when necessary. The team hit a respectable .255 (14-for-55), but their numbers with runners on base were probably much worse.
Tuesday’s Game: The Mets have Monday off, but are back in action at Citi Field on Tuesday. On Tuesday at 7:10 PM, R.A. Dickey (1-3, 3.82 ERA) will start for the Mets against Ryan Vogelsong (1-0, 1.74 ERA) and the San Francisco Giants.
