Coming off a solid major league debut, Jonathan Pettibone seemed primed to pitch well against the Mets, and pitch well he did. On a sunny afternoon at Citi Field, the Mets and Phillies battled it out on FOX (without Joe Buck in the booth). It turned out to be a beautiful day for Charlie Manuel's squad, as there were bright spots on nearly every dimension of the team. Here's the rundown for today's game.
The first inning went pretty well, with both pitchers looking strong, though Pettibone's pitch count had already eclipsed 20. In the bottom of the second, Ike Davis (with a well-documented new batting stance) managed to line a ball down the first base side and have it take an odd bounce off the wall. Laynce Nix was forced to turn around, allowing Davis to reach second. Jordany Valdespin followed with a double to center that scored Davis. 1-0 Mets.
Lead by Pettibone's first major league hit, the Philles did some damage to Marcum in the third. Jimmy Rollins' single followed by Chase Utley's ground-rule double to left-center would bring Pettibone home. A wild pitch allowed J-Roll™ to score the second run, and a deep fly to left drove in Utley. 3-1 Phillies.
We move ahead to the bottom of the fourth, where Pettibone runs into some trouble. Two singles and a walk would load the bases with no outs. The Phillies we've come to expect already began to let the game sip away. However, Pet (can I call him Pet?) managed to work out of the jam by only giving up a sac fly to left by Ike Davis. 3-2 Mets. Marcum was also hit for in the inning, so he finished the day with just 4 IP.
The top of the fifth became a very good sign for the Phillies' offense. Robert Carson came in to pitch for the Mets, and he promptly gave up a double to Rollins. Utley would fly out, and Michael Young walked. Ryan Howard then singled up the middle to score Rollins. Domonic Brown followed that up with a 3-run bomb to right-center. Just as you'd expect, John Mayberry Jr. followed that up with a solo shot to left. 8-2 Phillies.
Pettibone would remain in the game for another inning, giving up one more run to the Mets. 8-3 Phillies. His final line was very good for a 5th starter making his second major league appearance. 5 IP, 7 hits, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.
Raul Valdes pitched a perfect bottom of the sixth. Laynce Nix singled in an RBI in the seventh after Young singled and Howard reached on an error. 9-3 Phillies.
Valdes would come out for another perfect inning in the seventh. Chad Durbin was called on for the eighth, also putting zeros across the board. Other than a home run given up to the blistering hot John Buck by Jeremy Horst, the rest of the game finished quietly. Phillies win 9-4.
The offense, bullpen, and Jonathan Pettibone all looked spectacular today. Phillies fans can look to this game as a possible springboard into a winning couple of weeks.
A big congratulations goes out to Pettibone, who collects both his first major league win and hit in the same game. Tomorrow is a big day for the team, as the Phillies will not only look to sweep the Mets, but will see the return of All-Star catcher, and fan-favorite, Carlos Ruiz.
Tune in at 1:10 to see the Mets' Jon Niese take on the Phillies' Cole Hamels, who still seeks his first win of the season.
