Eighth inning drama leads to Phils loss

By: Rebecca Serad, Sports Talk Philly Staff

Final: New York Mets 4, Philadelphia Phillies 3 ❖ Attendance: 33,359

Philadelphia, PA — For much of tonight's game, it seemed that the Philadelphia Phillies (3-4) would pull out a victory over the New York Mets (4-3). However, that was not the case. Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff threw seven strong innings, allowing only two runs on three hits and striking out seven. The game was turned upside down in the eighth, after Eickhoff had exited. Phillies reliever Edubray Ramos entered the game and appeared to throw a fastball at Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera's head. It was too far off away from the plate to be brushed off as an accident, and the near-miss led to questions regarding the motivation. Further investigation revealed some bad blood from an encounter the two had near the end of last season. Both benches were warned, and the at-bat continued. Ramos' emotional response to the incident led to him walking Cabrera. He ended up scoring what would be the winning run in the game for the Mets.

The Phillies offense took advantage of the opportunities they were given in the first inning, but after that, failed to string together hits. The one bright spot was rookie Brock Stassi's first Major League hit, a solo home-run in the ninth inning. With the way that Eickhoff had been pitching, it could have been enough to secure the 'W'. However, the eighth inning ended up dooming the Phils.

WP: Jerry Blevins (1-0, 0.00 ERA) ❖ LP: Edubray Ramos (0-1, 2.08 ERA) ❖ SV: Addison Reed (2)

Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next

Game Summary

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
NYM	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	2	0	4	4	0
PHI	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	10	2

The Phillies offense struck first. In the bottom of the first, Cesar Hernandez led off the inning with a walk. He was replaced by Howie Kendrick at first on a fielder's choice. Odubel Herrera and Maikel Franco hit back to back singles to load the bases for Michael Saunders. He singled to right to score Kendrick from third. The bases were still loaded for Cameron Rupp. He walked to score another run. Brock Stassi hit into a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning, but it was still a good start for the Phils' bats.

The Mets cut that lead in half in the top of the fourth. With one out, right fielder Jay Bruce homered into the right-center field seats. Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff was able to retire the next two batters on a groundout and a pop-out to end the inning.

The seventh inning brought the Mets an opportunity to capitalize on defensive miscues by the Phillies. Bruce led off the inning with a walk. Curtis Granderson followed with an infield single to Hernandez. However, the Phils second baseman threw the ball away, allowing Bruce to advance to third. Neil Walker hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Bruce. Herrera's throw to the plate was missed by Rupp and Granderson was able to advance on the play. Eickhoff was able to get the final two outs to keep the score tied at two apiece.

The top of the eighth raised the tension between the two ballclubs. With one out, it appeared that Phillies reliever Edubray Ramos had fired a mid-90s fastball at the head of Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. It looked like a fight was about to break out, but it fizzled as the umpires issued warnings to both benches. At first glance, it didn't make any sense for Ramos to throw at Cabrera, but it turns out that the two had history. Phillies manager Pete Mackanin left the dugout to ask about the warning, but was quickly ejected by home plate umpire Alan Porter. Ultimately, no one else was ejected and the at-bat continued. Ramos' emotions got the better of him and he ended up walking Cabrera. This would come back to haunt the Phillies. After striking out Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes, Ramos was taken out in favor of Joely Rodriguez. He allowed a two-run homer to Bruce and the Mets took the lead. The final out of the inning was recorded, but it was too late. The Phils were behind with only two at-bats left.

The Phillies fought back in the bottom of the ninth. Brock Stassi led off the inning with a homer to right-center field. The homer was Stassi's first Major League hit and put the Phillies one run away from tying the game. One out later, pinch-hitter Daniel Nava singled to put the tying run on first base. However, Hernandez and Kendrick were both retired to end the game.

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