Final: Phillies 4, Mets 3
WP: Adam Loewen (1-0, 7.79 ERA) LP: Bartolo Colon (14-13, 4.18 ERA) SV: Ken Giles (14)
PHILADELPHIA – Under widespread, light rain in the series opener against 18-year veteran RHP Bartolo Colon and the 2015 National League East division champion New York Mets (89-68), the Philadelphia Phillies (60-97) began their final homestand of the 2015 season with a 4-3 victory.
Phillies' LHP Adam Loewen was credited with his first big-league victory since 2007, as a member of the Baltimore Orioles.
Wednesday evening, the Phillies will look to snap a franchise-record, nine-series losing streak against the Mets, which dates back to May 29 of last season.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Mets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| Phillies | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 4 | 12 | 1 |
The Phillies struck first in tonight's game while facing Colon in the bottom of the first inning.
Following back-to-back singles by center fielder Odubel Herrera and left fielder Aaron Altherr, first baseman Darin Ruf went yard to center field to give the Phillies an early, 3-0 lead.
This blast raised Ruf's run-batted-in total to 35 on the season, and 80 for his four-year career.
First baseman Lucas Duda put the Mets on the board with a run to begin the top of the fourth, as he hit his eighth home run at Citizens Bank Park over 38 games.
An inning later, Phillies' starter David Buchanan allowed two runners to reach on singles. Despite striking out slugging outfielder Yoenis Cespedes for the second out of the inning, Phillies' manager Pete Mackanin pulled Buchanan to have southpaw Adam Loewen face the left-handed Duda.
Loewen was successful, striking out Duda on five pitches to end the scoring threat.
Over 4 2/3 innings tonight, Buchanan allowed just one run on six hits and two walks. The right hander was not eligible to win his third game of the season however, as he did not meet the five-inning minimum for a starter.
Colon, 42, allowed three runs tonight, in just five innings of work, on eight hits and 65 pitches.
Despite singling in his second plate appearance of the season, under the assumption that he would pitch at least one more inning, Loewen was still replaced on the mound by RHP Dalier Hinojosa to start the sixth inning.
A fielding error by right fielder Brian Bogusevic allowed two runners to reach, and nearly proved to be costly. Even though he walked pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson to load the bases, Hinojosa got out of the inning unscathed by getting right fielder Curtis Granderson and third baseman David Wright to line out and fly out respectively.
The Phillies added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh inning, thanks to shortstop Freddy Galvis extending the frame with a two-out single.
After Herrera laced his fourth single of the night, which tied a career high set back on Aug. 30 against the San Diego Padres, Altherr brought home Galvis with a RBI-single to shallow left field.
This insurance run turned out to be crucial in securing the victory.
In the top of the ninth, closer Ken Giles recorded his first save since Sep. 13 against the Chicago Cubs, and his 14th of the season over 18 opportunities.
Duda homered for the second time of the night, with one runner on and two outs in the ninth, to pull the Mets within one run. For the season, this was his second multi-homer game against the Phillies (May 27) and his seventh overall.
Giles struck out former Phillies' catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud to record the game's final out.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bartolo Colon | 5.0 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4.18 |
| David Buchanan | 4.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7.54 |
- Colon: L; 65 pitches, 46 strikes; 4 groundouts, 2 flyouts; 22 faced batters
- Buchanan: ND; 78 pitches, 46 strikes; 6 groundouts, 1 flyout; 22 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Mets
- Jon Niese (6th, 7th): 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 4.17 ERA
- Erik Goeddel (7th): 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 2.53 ERA
- Carlos Torres (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 4.79 ERA
Phillies
- Adam Loewen (5th): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 7.79 ERA
- Dalier Hinojosa (6th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 0.90 ERA
- Hector Neris (7th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 3.92 ERA
- Luis Garcia (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.58 ERA
- Ken Giles (9th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR, 1.61 ERA
At the Plate
Mets
- Lucas Duda: 3-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, .249 AVG
- Michael Conforto: 1-4, 2B, .280 AVG
- Ruben Tejada: 1-3, 2B, BB, .267 AVG
Phillies
- Odubel Herrera: 4-4, R, .293 AVG
- Aaron Altherr: 2-4, R, RBI, .252 AVG
- Darin Ruf: 1-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, .238 AVG
What's Next:
- Wednesday, September 30, 2015: vs. New York Mets, 7:05 pm
- LHP Steven Matz (4-0, 2.27 ERA) vs. RHP Alec Asher (0-5, 7.52 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
- Thursday, October 1, 2015: vs. New York Mets, 7:05 pm
- RHP Logan Verrett (1-2, 3.40 ERA) vs. TBA
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
