Dear Phillies:
I'm not entirely sure what else can be written at this point. We're in a pattern. Early runs, an offensive shutdown, the pitching stumbles in the middle innings, and the hitters flail at everything in an attempt to catch up, but with no results. We got more of that tonight, as the Phillies jumped out to an early 4-0 lead against Mets starter Miguel Batista, but failed to score again, then saw the Mets chip away at Joe Blanton and the terrible Phillies bullpen, as the Mets managed their second straight come-from-behind victory, topping the Phillies by a score of 7-4.
For awhile, things looked good -- Joe Blanton was dealing, continuing the sweet pitching from last week's shutout against the Braves, and the Phillies were managing good at-bats and hitting balls hard against Batista, including a two out, two run home run in the first from Hunter Pence. The Phillies managed two more unearned runs in the second, thanks to a throwing error by last night's hero, Jordany Valdespin.
The Mets would get a run back in the fourth on a Daniel Murphy RBI single, but Joe Blanton looked to be in control. In the end, his performance was better than his final line indicated -- 6 2/3 innings, seven strikeouts, but four runs allowed. Chad Qualls, brought in in relief, squandered a 4-2 lead, surrendering a two out, two run single to David Wright (which included a hilariously botched rundown) and a go-ahead single to Lucas Duda, and that was all she wrote.
The Mets managed two more runs in the top of the ninth off a badly struggling Michael Schwimer.
Tremendous night, everyone.
Source: FanGraphs
photos courtesy of Cracked.com