Dillon Gee was on the mound tonight trying to extend Phillie losing streak to eight. Joe Blanton, who hasn’t made a start in four months, took the ball for the Phillies. Both line ups were pretty watered down for the night cap. The Mets had Harris, Pridie and Evans playing the outfield. The Phillies had only Victorino, Valdez and Rollins returning from game one.
Gee struggled from the moment the games started. He loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the first and actually got out of it without giving up a run! He wouldn’t be so lucky in the second inning however. He gave up back to back hits without recording an out and with runners on the corners, gave up a single giving the Phillies an early lead. Rollins would get his second hit of the night and put the Phillies up by two. They added another run in the top of the third.
Joe Blanton was lifted after two innings and the Phillies began using their bull pen and the Mets took advantage. They had two men on with two out when Willie Harris hit a ball to deep left field that was dropped by Hunter Pence. After David Wright drew a walk, Charlie Manuel dipped into his bull pen again to get out of the third inning. I guess the game wasn’t so meaningless. Kyle Kendrick came in gave up an extra base hit to Nick Evans and the Mets tied the game. Josh Thole hit line drive to center field that Victorino misplayed and the Mets had a 5-3 lead. The Mets added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth when Jason Pridie hit an extra base hit and was chased home by a Rubin Tejada single.
The Met Bullpen pitched a scoreless 7th, 8th and 9th innings to seal the win.
Mike Pelfrey will make his last start tomorrow.
Side notes. Keith Hernandez said it right, the Phillies look out of sync. I really do admire the fact that the Mets are playing these games hard. It’s a lot different than last year, that’s for sure. Dillon Gee reminded me of Oliver Perez for the first couple of innings. He did, somewhat, settle down and pitch into the 6th inning. Jason Pridie plays a real good center field. I wonder what kind of player he would be if he played everyday. The Phillies lost their eighth game in a row.
7 comments
MetsFan4Decades
9/25/2011-2:16am at 2:16 am (UTC -4)
How Gee came out of that with a GS, I will never know. Especially the way it started for him.
The Phillies look awful. There is no way the NL division leaders on their way to 100 Ws should have dropped 2 to these Met lineups. Especially that conglomeration TC was forced to field in game 2.
But hey, I’ll take this double header sweep. It’s the little things.
Anonymous
9/25/2011-2:19am at 2:19 am (UTC -4)
i know the phils clinched. and the mets are out of it. but damned, it still feels good to see this.
even better, all the front running phils fans are in a big panic about the offense. and I hope they are right to panic, and the phils drop out of the playoffs early after losing a bunch of low scoring games.
Anonymous
9/25/2011-2:48am at 2:48 am (UTC -4)
The Phillies and Yankees will meet in the WS.
TRS86
9/25/2011-3:02am at 3:02 am (UTC -4)
To watch the Brewers and Rangers.
Anonymous
9/25/2011-3:08am at 3:08 am (UTC -4)
Well I didn’t say they would play each other just that they will meet.
BTW The Rangers without Lee will not upset the Yankees this year. I see very little impediment to the Yankees reaching the WS. The Brewers possibly could challenge the Phillies but I still believe the Phillies starting pitching will dominate a short series.
BTW if the Brewers are the Yankees opponents in the WS I could very well see the Yankees in four.
Anonymous
9/25/2011-12:13pm at 12:13 pm (UTC -4)
I don’t care about the yankees. I care more about the Phils losing. the worse, the better!
Anonymous
9/25/2011-8:59am at 8:59 am (UTC -4)
From Newsday:
“Straw’s advice to Reyes: Stay in NY”
With Jose Reyes playing in what could be his final games wearing a Met uniform, Darryl Strawberry had this message for him Saturday: Don’t make the mistake I made. Strawberry knows exactly what Reyes is going through because he had the same experience 21 years ago.
At the age of 28, just as Reyes is now, Strawberry was coming off a 37-homer, 108-RBI season and weighing offers from the Mets and his hometown Dodgers. When the Dodgers upped their bid to $22.25 million for five years, the Mets didn’t match. Strawberry jumped to the Dodgers — and spent the rest of his career wishing he hadn’t.
“It’s a tough situation to be in,” Strawberry said. “I know if I had to do it all over again, I would have stayed. It looks good on the other side, but it’s not always good as the place that you’re used to. When you’re young, you don’t realize that, for me. I was young and didn’t realize what New York meant to me.
“Tell Jose I said New York is a great place. No matter what you have to go through, how difficult it gets, this is the place where you want to play.”Reyes often has repeated his desire to finish his career with the Mets, so that doesn’t seem to be the biggest issue in these negotiations. When told Saturday of Strawberry’s cautionary tale, Reyes reiterated that stance.
“Everything is a consideration,” Reyes said. “I think playing here in New York means a lot for me. Like I always say, I don’t want to leave here. I want to stay here. But at the same time, I don’t know. There’s no doubt, I want to stay here.”
Strawberry hit 252 of his 335 regular-season home runs with the Mets and became a New York icon as a larger-than-life member of the immortal 1986 club. Reyes has labored through much more disappointment than success in Flushing.
More than anything else, it was the business side of the game that pushed Strawberry to the West Coast. “I think I was just personally fed up with management,” he said. “It never had anything to do with the media or the fans or playing in New York. When you look back over it, then you realize, God, that was so stupid, I was so young, what was I thinking about? Leaving New York City to go to L.A. or anywhere. This is the greatest place to play.”"The fans here never forget the legacy that you leave for yourself, and Jose has a chance to do that,” Strawberry said. “He’s a remarkable player and he still has a chance to do some greater things before his career is all over with. It’s a place that cares about him. When you look around, you’ll see a lot of [Mets fans] wearing No. 7. That speaks for itself.”