Flushing, NY (Sports Network) – Kyle Kendrick pitched 6 2/3 strong innings, allowing just one run, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets, 3-1, in a rain-soaked rubber match of a three-game set at Citi Field.
Kendrick (8-5) gave up six hits and walked just one batter while fanning four for the Phillies, who have won 18 of their last 23 games to climb into a tie atop the wild card standings with the San Francisco Giants, who lost earlier Sunday. Philadelphia will start a three-game set with San Francisco on Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park.
“I had to get ahead, I knew I threw a lot of pitches,” Kendrick said. “I just tried to keep my pitch count down, just get aggressive and attack the strike zone. I was trying to get some early contact.”
Shane Victorino went 3-for-5 with a stolen base, an RBI and a run scored for the Phillies, while Jayson Werth ended with two hits and scored once. Brad Lidge earned his 16th save.
Jose Reyes homered for the Mets’ only run, and New York has now dropped 10 of its last 13 series (2-10-1). The Mets fell to 10-19 since the All-Star break.
Mike Pelfrey (11-7), coming off an outing in which he shut out the Rockies for seven innings, gave up three runs on seven hits in seven frames to take the loss.
“Whether we’re going out there and putting up 10 runs or one run, your mindset is to go out there and try to get people out,” Pelfrey said.
Jimmy Rollins used his legs to help the Phillies produce the game’s first run in the third.
Rollins, who came into the game with 25 consecutive successful stolen base attempts - the longest active streak in the majors, got on base with a two out bloop single to left. With Victorino at the plate, Rollins swiped both second and third, and Victorino grounded an RBI double just inside the right field line for a 1-0 lead.
The Mets answered quickly on Reyes’ blast that hit the right field foul pole leading off the home third, tying the score.
Philadelphia placed a runner at third with two outs in the fourth, but Luis Castillo made a diving grab on Wilson Valdez’s ground ball, preventing the go- ahead run.
The Mets couldn’t prevent the go-ahead run in the fifth, however, as the Phillies used some more two-out hitting.
With two outs and nobody on, Victorino singled softly to center. He stole his 22nd base of the season with Placido Polanco at the plate, and Polanco promptly sent a grounder up the middle to plate Victorino without a throw for a 2-1 advantage.
The visitors struck for another run in the sixth. Werth led off with a triple, grounding a ball down the right field line that right fielder Angel Pagan had a difficult time handling. Two batters later, Carlos Ruiz singled past the drawn-in third baseman David Wright to easily plate Werth for a two-run edge.
Meanwhile, Kendrick settled down to dominate. Following Reyes’ home run, he allowed just two baserunners — a fifth-inning bunt single by Castillo. He exited after walking Castillo with two outs in the seventh with pinch-hitter Jeff Francoeur coming up.
With Francoeur’s career 9-for-22 mark against Kendrick, the Phillies opted for Chad Durbin, who induced a deep fly out from Francoeur to preserve the 3-1 lead. Francoeur is now 0-for-15 against Durbin in his career.
Ryan Madson pitched a scoreless eighth, working around a two-out walk to David Wright. He struck out Carlos Beltran to end the frame and bridge the gap to Lidge, who set down the Mets in order in the ninth to lock up the win.
During the Phillies’ strong 23-game run, their starting pitchers have an ERA of 2.78…Philadelphia moved to 10-3 in August…The season series is tied, 6-6…Mets starters have a 1.44 ERA in their last eight games, but have gone just 4-4 in that stretch…The Phillies have won six of their last seven road games…Philadelphia is 44-11 when scoring first…Lidge is 16-for-16 in career save opportunities against the Mets…New York is 0-46 when trailing after eight innings, one of two major league teams without a win in that category. The Cubs are the other.