Mets 9, Phillies 5: Thole, Reyes Lead Mets Over Phillies

Flushing, NY (Sports Network) – Jose Reyes went 4-for-5 and Josh Thole drove in three runs, helping the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-5, in the finale of a three-game series at Citi Field.

Daniel Murphy collected three hits and one RBI for the Mets, who snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the second time in eight games.

New York starter Jon Niese (4-5) gave up one unearned run, five hits and four walks while recording six strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.

“Our offense got timely hits and a lot of hits,” Niese said.

Philadelphia’s Vance Worley (2-1) endured the worst outing of his young career. The 23-year-old right-hander was tagged for eight runs — five earned — on 12 hits over three innings.

“I felt good. The last couple of bullpen (sessions) went well. Everything was working in the bullpen. Just got [on the mound] and it wasn’t there,” Worley said.

The Phillies were trying to match their longest winning streak of the season at five games and complete their first sweep of the Mets in Flushing since September 14-16, 2007 at Shea Stadium.

New York built a considerable lead for Niese, scoring four runs in both of the first two innings off Worley, who tossed six innings of shutout ball against the Mets in his first start of the season on April 29.

Reyes led off the opening frame with a triple that skipped past sliding left fielder Raul Ibanez and scored on a groundout by Justin Turner. Jason Bay and Murphy stroked consecutive two-out singles to put men on the corners, and a misplay by Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins on a ball hit by Angel Pagan allowed Bay to score. Thole and Ruben Tejada then hit back-to-back RBI singles.

All four runs in the second were scored after Worley retired the first two batters. Murphy and Pagan singled home a teammate, then both crossed the plate on Thole’s double to right field.

With the help of a Reyes error, the Phillies were able to load the bases with one out in the third, but Niese limited the damage to an RBI single by Placido Polanco.

Reyes put the Mets up 9-1 with a two-out, RBI triple off Kyle Kendrick in the fifth.

New York reliever Taylor Buchholz yielded three runs in the eighth. Ibanez led off with his sixth home run of the month, a blast to the right-field seats. Ben Francisco followed with a single and scored on Dane Sardinha’s two-out double. A run-scoring single by pinch-hitter Domonic Brown closed the gap to 9-4 then Jimmy Rollins kept the inning alive with a single off Pedro Beato. However, he was thrown out trying to turn it into a double, ending the rally.

Francisco added an RBI double with two outs in the ninth.

Reyes recorded his sixth straight multi-hit game…Worley had allowed three earned runs or less in each of his first five career major league starts…The Mets pounded out a season-high 17 hits, the most allowed by Philadelphia this year.

Mets Vs. Phillies: Mets Hope To Avoid Sweep

(Sports Network) - Flip-flopping between reliever and starter, Vance Worley hasn't had much consistency in his role with the Phillies this season.

The 23-year-old right-hander will get his second straight starting assignment today when Philadelphia tries to complete its first sweep of the Mets in Flushing since September 14-16, 2007.

Worley lasted five innings in his last start, against Cincinnati on Tuesday and allowed six hits and three runs in a no-decision. This will be his sixth major league start and second against the Mets. His first start this season came vs. New York on April 29 when he threw a two-hitter over six shutout innings of a 10-3 victory.

Jonathon Niese has received just one run of support in two starts against the Phillies this season. He'll hope for more offense from his struggling team today when he gets the ball for the Mets.

Niese was blistered for eight hits and six runs in an 11-0 loss at Philadelphia on April 7. A return trip to Citizens Bank Park yielded a 2-1 loss, but Niese was much better in that game as he surrendered two runs in 6 1/3 frames. All told, he's 1-3 in five career contests vs. the Phillies.

Last night, Ryan Howard's two-run double in the eighth proved to be the deciding factor as the Phillies took a 5-2 win. Chase Utley went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored while Domonic Brown added two hits and a run scored for the Phillies, who have won four straight.

Cole Hamels (7-2) snapped a five-game losing streak to the Mets as he gave up two runs and seven hits with 10 strikeouts and retired the final 11 batters he faced over a seven-inning performance. He moved to 4-0 on the road this season.

Jose Reyes had two hits, a pair of stolen bases and two runs scored while Justin Turner and Jason Bay each drove in a run for the Mets, who have dropped three straight and six of seven.

Mike Pelfrey was solid in the start as he yielded just two runs on four hits with a pair of walks and six strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings, but for the second night in a row the Mets' bullpen blew the game.

The Phillies have won six of eight meetings with the Mets this season.

Phillies 5, Mets 2: Bullpen Blows Lead Again In 8th Inning

For the second night in a row, the New York Mets had a lead in the eighth inning only to see it evaporate because of a bullpen that's been extremely leaky of late. The lead was 2-1, but a three-run inning for the Philadelphia Phillies put the game out of reach for the Amazin's.

This 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies is a tough one to swallow -- not only because of the continued struggles fromt he relief corps -- but because it spoiled a brilliant outing from Mike Pelffrey.

The Mets big right-hander was simply dealing tonight, limiting a strong Phillies lineup to two earned runs in 7 2/3 innings, while allowing four hits and striking out six. It was the kind of outing that makes you wonder why he's been unable to find a groove all season. In fact, he would've allowed only one run had Mike O'Connor (with one out) been able to get Chase Utley out, who instead singled. Jason Isringhausen couldn't get the job done either, walking Placido Polanco, and Tim Byrdak was the second lefty to give up a hit to a lefty, Ryan Howard, he's paid to get out. Howard instead doubled, plating two and taking the life out of what was looking to be an impressive victory for New York.

With all the talk surrounding the bullpen, let's also point out that the Mets had a two-run lead by the third inning (which turned into a one-run advantage), but they had no hits after one out in the fourth inning. You're just not going to win many games when you flip on the hitting off-switch that early, especially against a team that can swing the bat like Philadelphia. The one bright spot for New York remains Jose Reyes, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and two steals in the game.

The Mets will hope to avoid the sweep tomorrow afternoon.

Mets Vs. Phillies: Mets Look To Get Back On Winning Track

The New York Mets had their chances to earn a much-needed victory last night against the Philadelphia Phillies, but instead a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning turned into a 6-4 loss by the time the ninth inning came and went. For the second game in a row, Daniel Murphy's defensive deficiencies surfaced, as he was unable to nab a ground ball from Domonic Brown in the ninth inning, which allowed the eventual game-winning run to score.

The Phillies aren't the best team in the major leagues for nothing -- and Friday night they proved they'll do what it takes to scratch runs across, not needing a single home run to get the job done.

Saturday the Mets will have to get the job done against a very tough left-handed pitcher in Cole Hamels, who is 6-2 with a 3.06 ERA and 1.02 WHIP on the season, to go along with 68 strikeouts in 67 2/3 innings. Plain and simple, he'll pitch to contact when he has to but he'll walk nobody so the Mets better take advantage of the opportunities they get when they're base. It's scary to say this, but Hamels is becoming one of the best lefties in the game and he's the No. 3 starter on Philadelphia. New York has a .230/.319/.365 slash line against lefties this season which doesn't bode well for success against a pitcher who's on a roll right now.

With Hamels likely to be stingy on the mound, Mike Pelfrey needs to find ways to get the job done. As a de facto No. 1 starter, a 5.37 ERA and 1.55 WHIP just doesn't cut it. Against the Phillies lineup, Pelfrey could be in for a quick shower if he doesn't make his pitches, get ground balls and miss some bats. 

The Mets have lost five of their last six games.

Phillies 6, Mets 4: Three-Run Ninth Leads Phillies Over Mets, K-Rod

(Sports Network) - Domonic Brown's single in the ninth inning plated the go-ahead run and started the decisive rally, as the Phillies edged the Mets, 6-4, in the opener of a three-game series.

With two men on and one away in a tie game, Brown smacked a grounder toward first base. The Mets' Daniel Murphy failed to get in front of the ball, trying to field it from the side. But the ball stayed down, scooting into the outfield as Carlos Ruiz scored.

That opened the floodgates: Jimmy Rollins followed with a sacrifice fly, and Placido Polanco tacked on an RBI infield single later in the inning. The cushion helped Philadelphia withstand a New York rally in the bottom half and hold on for a third consecutive win.

The Phillies scored all the runs against Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez (1-1), who carried a 19 2/3-inning scoreless streak into Friday's game. It was the longest active streak in the majors.

Mets Vs. Phillies: No Halladay or Lee, But Life Doesn't Get Any Easier For Mets In This Series

When you're a New York Mets fan (or at this point, a member of the organization) you've learned to take whatever happens in stride. So when the good news came down that the Wilpons had sold a $200 million minor stake in the club, you just had to know that something bad was in store for this team. Thursday afternoon R.A. Dickey left with a heel injury and was in a protective boot afterward (DL stint hasn't been decided upon yet) and the Mets lost another game in rather embarrassing fashion 9-3 to the Chicago Cubs.

Life doesn't get any easier this weekend for the Mets as they'll face the MLB's best team in the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. Philadelphia has won six of its last nine games after looking like a mortal team for much of the year, mostly due to injuries. While Shane Victorino is on the DL, their driving force has returned at second base in Chase Utley. Even with the knee injury and concerns this year, Utley and Ryan Howard figure to pose a very lethal threat in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots in the lineup.

Chris Capuano, who is 3-5 on the year, will have the like-handed advantage tonight and the spacious ballpark as well, but is still in for a tough task. After giving up four home runs (six earned runs) against the New York Yankees, you can really see just how important the confines of Citi Field can be for a soft-tosser and fly-ball guy like Capuano.

The Mets get lucky in that they won't have to face Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee or Cole Hamels this series, but they do have to face a very dominant pitcher in Roy Oswalt tonight. Oswalt has a 3.33 ERA and a 6-5 record in his career against the Mets and is 3-2 with a 2.77 ERA and 1.18 WHIP this season. Maybe this is the game Jason Bay gets going as he has the most hits of any Met against Oswalt -- he's 11-for -31, with a .351/.429/.419.