Final: Mets 6, Phillies 1
WP: Jon Niese (1-0, 1.59 ERA) LP: Jerome Williams (0-1, 4.09 ERA)
Flushing, NY- On Jackie Robinson Day, the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets partook in National League baseball and commemorated the legendary Brooklyn Dodger by wearing #42 on each of the players' uniforms. Despite multiple opportunities tonight to score off of their opposition, the Phillies ultimately failed to pick up to the big hits when they mattered to bring runners home.
The Phillies' offense wasted no time tonight to get things going. On a 2-0 count to lead off the game, center fielder Odubel Herrera tripled to center field for his first career three-bagger. Two batters later, Chase Utley grounded out to second base to score home Herrera for his seventh run-batted-in of the season.
In the top of the second inning, the Mets' answered and tied the game at one. With center fielder Juan Lagares batting and third baseman Eric Campbell on first, Phillies' starter Jerome Williams threw a wild pitch. Catcher Cameron Rupp had difficulty locating the ball, which ended up rolling next to the home umpire's foot. With a few seconds elapsed until Rupp finally located the ball in play, largely thanks to Williams directing him to its location, Campbell had already advanced to second base. The next batter, Lagares, singled to score Campbell for the Mets' first run of the game.
In the bottom of the third inning, Mets' catcher Travis d'Arnaud homered, his first of the season, on a line drive to left field. A former Phillies' prospect, d'Arnaud was part of the trade which brought ace Roy Halladay to Philadelphia in the December of 2009. He now has at least one run-batted-in in seven of his eight games played this season. The next inning, Mets' starting pitcher Jon Niese added an insurance run of his own on a RBI-single to left, increasing his team's lead to 3-1.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Phillies had two runners on, Herrera and shortstop Cesar Hernandez, with only one out for Utley, who homered twice in last evening's game. Instead of trying to face Niese, who had just walked Hernandez on four pitches, Utley bunted on the first pitch to advance the runners to second and third with two outs. Even though right fielder Jeff Francoeur walked to load the bases, the Phillies failed to score as first baseman Darin Ruf lined out to third base on the first pitch.
New York extended their advantage in the bottom of the fifth by two additional runs. First baseman Lucas Duda hit his first home run of the year to right center field, increasing the Mets' lead to 4-1. The next batter, Michael Cuddyer, doubled and then advanced to third on a Daniel Murphy groundout. Then, third baseman Cody Asche fielded a ground ball by Campbell and attempted to throw out Cuddyer heading home to prevent another run from scoring. Instead, Asche hit Cuddyer, which counted as an error and allowed the Mets' batter to head to second base. This was the fourth consecutive inning where the Mets scored at least one run against Williams.
In the top of the sixth, Asche led off the inning with a single, his third hit of the night. Rupp reached base the next batter on a throwing error by shortstop Ruben Tejada, but the common theme of the season for the Phillies' offense remained intact: failing to bring home runners in scoring position. The rally was negated as left fielder Ben Revere grounded into a force out, and pinch hitter Andres Blanco grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Right handed reliever Justin De Fratus took over for Williams in the bottom of the sixth inning. In five innings of work this evening, Williams allowed five runs (four earned) on ten hits, one walk, and two home runs allowed. This was his shortest outing since last season on September 10 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. After d'Arnaud walked with De Fratus on the mound, Duda hit his fourth double of the season to bring him home and increase the score to 6-1.
Another rally came to fruition for Philadelphia in the top of the seventh inning. As it turned out, they once again did not capitalize on the opportunity. Herrera doubled for the second time of the night, third of the season, to lead off the frame. On the very next pitch from Niese, Hernandez singled for his third hit of the season in 13 at-bats. After Niese struck out Utley on a foul-tip, he was replaced on the mound by right hander Carlos Torres with Francoeur up to bat. Up 1-0, Francouer decided to swing, which resulted in the second, induced double play of the night for Mets pitching to end a Phillies rally.
In the top of the eighth, Ruf and Asche both walked against left hander Alex Torres on eight combined pitches. Asche finished the night batting 3-for-3 with one walk, which increased his batting average to (.500) over 24, 2015 at-bats. Six combined pitches later, two for each batter, Rupp, Revere and Grady Sizemore were retired by Torres to strand yet another Phillie in scoring position tonight.
Dustin McGowan took over for De Fratus in the bottom of the seventh. Despite allowing a walk to Tejada and single to right fielder Curtis Granderson, he escaped the inning without allowing a run. This was the first time the Mets did not score since the first inning. McGowan also threw a scoreless eighth inning of relief for the Phils.
Unable to score in the ninth and complete the improbable comeback, the Phillies fell short for their fourth consecutive game and third of the series as they were swept by their division rival, Mets. Philadelphia's offense went 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position tonight, and 3-for-27 overall in the series as they were outscored 14-6.
Phillies' leadoff hitter, Odubel Herrera, had three extra-base hits tonight: one triple and two doubles.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerome Williams | 5.0 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4.09 |
| Jon Niese | 6.1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1.59 |
- Williams: L; 82 pitches, 56 strikes; 8 groundouts, 4 flyouts; 27 faced batters
- Niese: W; 94 pitches, 58 strikes; 9 groundouts, 2 flyouts; 30 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Phillies
- Justin De Fratus (6th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.18 ERA
- Dustin McGowan (7th, 8th): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 1.50 ERA
Mets
-
Carlos Torres (7th): 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
- Alex Torres (8th, 9th): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 5.40 ERA
NL East Standings
| W | L | GB | L10 | Streak | Home | Road | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves | 6 | 3 | - | 6-3 | L2 | 3-3 | 3-0 |
| New York Mets | 6 | 3 | - | 6-3 | W4 | 3-0 | 3-3 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3-6 | L4 | 3-3 | 0-3 |
| Washington Nationals | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3-6 | W1 | 1-2 | 2-4 |
| Miami Marlins | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3-6 | W2 | 1-5 | 2-1 |
What's Next
The Phillies head to Washington for a four game, weekend series starting Thursday evening at 7:05.
| Date | First Pitch | Phillies Probable Starter | Nationals Probable Starter | TV | Radio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R, 4/16 | 7:05 | Cole Hamels | Doug Fister | CSN | 94WIP 1210 WPHT SBP 1480 (Sp.) |
| F, 4/17 | 7:05 | Sean O'Sullivan | Max Scherzer | ||
| Sa, 4/18 | 1:05 | Aaron Harang | Jordan Zimmermann | ||
| Su, 4/19 | 1:35 | David Buchanan | Stephen Strasburg |
While the former, beloved right fielder in Philadelphia from 2008, Jayson Werth, was absent for the teams' first matchup of the season this past weekend at Citizens Bank Park, he will be playing in this upcoming series. Werth was activated from the 15-day disabled list Monday morning, having finally recovered from a right shoulder surgery on January 9. Already, he is in his fifth season with the Nationals, having spent four seasons with the Phillies from 2007-2010.
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
