Final: Phillies 3, Mets 0
WP: Jerad Eickhoff (3-3, 2.65) LP: Sean Gilmartin (3-2, 2.67) SV: Garcia (2)
Philadelphia, PA–Jerad Eickhoff needed to go just six innings in today's start to shed his rookie eligibility. He got them, and more.
Eickhoff went seven shutout innings, striking out 10 and allowing just four hits (two coming on infield singles). A Darin Ruf two-run shot in the fourth and an Andres Blanco homer in the eighth were all the offense the Phillies needed, riding their lockdown pitching to a 3-0 win on Thursday and a three-game sweep of the first-place Mets.
Kirk Nieuwenheis' first double (he had two in the game, both to center field) and Kelly Johnson's single to shortstop were the lone hits Eickhoff allowed in the first four frames.
In the bottom of the fourth, Jeff Francoeur's double to center was immediately followed by Ruf's blast to left off Sean Gilmartin, today's Mets starter, as the Phils took the lead 2-0.
Eickhoff blazed through the fifth and sixth, working around just one combined hit in those innings, before running into trouble in the seventh.
Nieuwenheis hit his second double of the game with one out, and Kevin Plawecki walked with two gone to put runners on first and second. After a mound visit from Bob McClure, Juan Lagares' nine-pitch at-bat against the no-longer-a-rookie pitcher culminated in a swinging strikeout on a nifty curveball from Eickhoff, who made it out of the seventh with 110 pitches.
Eickhoff's excellent performance will be little-known by Phillies fans, who were by and large absent from Thursday's game. The announced paid crowd–NOT the people actually in the park–was just 13,328–the lowest in Citizens Bank Park history. In the stadium itself, it was evident that under 10,000 fans had come out to South Philly to actually take in what turned out to be a better game than most this season.
Jerome Williams pitched a solid eighth for the Phils, continuing to find success in a bullpen role. Williams worked around a single and a passed ball from Carlos Ruiz to hold the Mets scoreless.
Mets relievers Tim Stauffer did likewise, holding the Phillies at bay in the sixth and seventh innings.
Dario Alvarez, in for Stauffer in the eighth, allowed a leadoff homer to Andres Blanco, giving the Phils a 3-0 lead and an insurance run. The Mets brought in their closer, Jeurys Familia, to get the final out of the inning.
Luis Garcia came on to close for the Phils, as Ken Giles had pitched in the previous two games. Garcia pitched a scoreless ninth as the Phils swept the Mets, majorly hurting their rivals' chances for homefield advantage in the NLDS against the Dodgers.
By winning today, the Phillies' lead on the #1 overall draft pick in 2016 has been cut to just one and a half games (if the Reds-Cubs score holds, it will be just one game), with three to play. The Phillies take on the Marlins in their last series of the year, beginning tomorrow at CBP at 7:05 with Aaron Harang facing Justin Nicolino.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Gilmartin | 5.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2.67 |
| Jerad Eickhoff | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 2.65 |
- Gilmartin: Loss; 70 pitches, 44 strikes; 4 groundouts, 5 flyouts; 19 faced batters
- Eickhoff: Win; 110 pitches, 74 strikes; 7 groundouts, 0 flyouts; 26 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Mets
- Tim Stauffer (6th): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 6.97 ERA
- Dario Alvarez (8th): 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 12.27 ERA
- Jeurys Familia (8th): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 1.87 ERA
Phillies
- Jerome Williams (8th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 5.80 ERA
- Luis Garcia (9th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 0.79 ERA
At the Plate:
Mets
- Kirk Nieuwenheis: 3-4, 2 2B, .200 AVG
- Kelly Johnson: 2-4, .267 AVG
- Ruben Tejada: 1-4, .266 AVG
Phillies
- Darin Ruf: 1-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, .249 AVG
- Jeff Francoeur: 1-3, R, 2B, .261 AVG
- Andres Blanco: 1-1, R, HR, RBI, .293 AVG
What's Next
- Friday, October 2: vs. Miami Marlins, 7:05 pm
- LHP Justin Nicolino (4-4, 4.16 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Harang (6-15, 4.86 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Theo DeRosa (@Derosatheo11) is a contributor to Philliedelphia.com.
