SB Nation New York - Mets Fall To Phillies, 3-1https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48977/ny-fave.png2010-08-16T07:23:20-04:00http://newyork.sbnation.com/rss/stream/13883062010-08-16T07:23:20-04:002010-08-16T07:23:20-04:00Kendrick's Pitching, Victorino's Hitting Lead Philadelphia
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<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>Shane Victorino went 3-for-5 with a stolen base, an <span class="caps">RBI</span> and a run scored for the Phillies, while Jayson Werth ended with two hits and scored once. Brad Lidge earned his 16th save.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>Jimmy Rollins used his legs to help the Phillies produce the game’s first run in the third.</p>
<p>Rollins, who came into the game with 25 consecutive successful stolen base attempts <del>- the longest active streak in the majors, got on base with a two</del> out bloop single to left. With Victorino at the plate, Rollins swiped both second and third, and Victorino grounded an <span class="caps">RBI</span> double just inside the right field line for a 1-0 lead.</p>
<p>The Mets answered quickly on Reyes’ blast that hit the right field foul pole leading off the home third, tying the score.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The Mets couldn’t prevent the go-ahead run in the fifth, however, as the Phillies used some more two-out hitting.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>During the Phillies’ strong 23-game run, their starting pitchers have an <span class="caps">ERA</span> of 2.78…Philadelphia moved to 10-3 in August…The season series is tied, 6-6…Mets starters have a 1.44 <span class="caps">ERA</span> 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.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/2010/8/16/1625161/kendricks-pitching-victorinos-hitting-lead-phillies-past-metsEd Valentine2010-08-15T13:54:11-04:002010-08-15T13:54:11-04:00Mets Take On Phillies Tonight In Series Finale
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<p>(Sports Network) - <span>Mike Pelfrey</span> may have gotten a once-promising season back on track with his recent performance. The <a href="https://www.amazinavenue.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">New York Mets</a> pitcher will attempt to build off that encouraging display when he takes on a <a href="https://www.thegoodphight.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Philadelphia Phillies</a> squad that's had its troubles scoring runs at Citi Field this season.</p>
<p>After going 0-4 and surrendering four or more runs six times during a frustrating seven-start stretch that began on June 30, Pelfrey was finally unable to regain the form that made him one of the NL's top pitchers during the early portion of this season. The towering right-hander outdueled Colorado ace <span>Ubaldo Jimenez</span> in a 1-0 victory over the <a href="https://www.purplerow.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Rockies</a> Tuesday at Citi Field, yielding only four hits and one walk over seven shutout innings.</p>
<p>Pelfrey was sensational over the first 2 1/2 months of this campaign, amassing a 9-1 record and a 2.42 earned run average through his first 13 starts, then went into an extended funk afterward. The former first-round pick lost five of his next six decisions and posted an awful 7.74 ERA in nine subsequent outings, and hadn't lasted beyond 5 2/3 innings in seven straight appearances before Tuesday's gem.</p>
<p>One of Pelfrey's early-season wins came against the Phillies at Citi Field back on May 27, with the 26-year-old twirling seven shutout innings of three-hit in a 3-0 triumph. He was also hit hard in a May 1 start in Philadelphia, permitting six runs and eight hits in four innings to take the loss.</p>
<p>For his career, Pelfrey is 5-3 with a 4.83 ERA in 11 encounters with the Phillies, and he sports a solid 7-2 mark with a 3.14 ERA over 13 home starts this year.</p>
<p>Philadelphia finally ended a string of four straight road losses to the Mets -- all of which came via a shutout -- with a 4-0 triumph in last night's second test of this three-game series.</p>
<p>The Phillies were outscored by a 16-0 margin in losing three straight times to New York at Citi Field from May 25-27, then mustered a mere one hit -- a single from starting pitcher <span>Cole Hamels</span> -- against the Mets' <span>R.A. Dickey</span> in a 1-0 defeat in Friday's opener.</p>
<p>Philadelphia countered with a masterful effort from <span>Roy Halladay</span> (15-8) last night, as the staff ace held the Mets to four hits and struck out seven without a walk over the first eight innings to register his 15th win of the season.</p>
<p>"He don't like to give anything up cause he's stubborn," said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel about Halladay. "At the same time, even he gets hit sometimes. He was real good [Saturday], his stuff was crisp."</p>
<p>Philadelphia finally ended its Citi Field scoring drought in the third inning, when Halladay reached on an infield single, moved to second on a <span>Jimmy Rollins</span> base hit, and scored on Placido Polanco's single to center.</p>
<p>The Phillies' other three runs came as a result of two Mets' errors. Rollins crossed the plate in the fifth when New York second baseman <span>Ruben Tejada</span> threw wildly on a double-play attempt, while a miscue by third baseman <span>David Wright</span> enabled two more runs to score in the sixth.</p>
<p>Halladay's strong pitching and New York's shoddy defense made for a tough-luck night for Mets starter <span>Pat Misch</span>, called up from Triple-A Buffalo prior to the game. The lefty was charged with all four runs in six innings of work, but only one was earned.</p>
<p>With the win, Philadelphia closed within two games of Atlanta for first place in the NL East after the <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Braves</a> lost to Los Angeles on Saturday. The Phillies are just one back of San Francisco for the top spot in the league's Wild Card race.</p>
<p><span>Kyle Kendrick</span> draws the assignment for Philadelphia tonight and will be seeking to atone for a brutal showing on Tuesday, when he was rocked for six runs (five earned) and eight hits before exiting after 3 1/3 innings of a loss to Los Angeles.</p>
<p>The right-hander had been pitching well prior to that setback, going 2-0 and allowing just four runs in a combined 20 1/3 innings in a three-start stretch against Colorado, Arizona and Florida.</p>
<p>Kendrick has had an up-and-down season for the Phillies in 2010, bringing a 7-5 record and 4.60 ERA over 24 appearances (22 starts) into tonight's tilt. His biggest problem has been with the long ball, as he's served up 21 homers in 131 innings of work.</p>
<p>The 25-year-old is 2-2 with a 3.34 ERA in six lifetime starts against the Mets, but was reached for four runs in five innings of a 9-1 defeat to New York at Citizens Bank Park on April 30. Wright, <span>Jeff Francoeur</span> and <span>Rod Barajas</span> all homered off Kendrick that night.</p>
<p>For the season, New York has won six of its 11 overall matchups with Philadelphia.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/2010/8/15/2319384/mets-take-on-phillies-tonight-in-series-finaleJeff Freier