Ten-run lead saves Phillies in win over Mets

Theo DeRosa

September 24 2016

By Theo DeRosa, Sports Talk Philly staff

Final: Phillies 10, Mets 8

NEW YORK—For once, the lead was big enough.

With the September struggles of Jeanmar Gómez and other Phillies pitchers, blown leads had become almost expected when the Phillies were fortunate enough to have a lead in the first place.

Saturday night, only a 10-run cushion saved the Phillies from another crushing lost — and only just.

The Mets put up eight unanswered runs in the fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth innings, putting the tying run at the plate in the eighth and the winning run at the plate in the ninth, but the Phillies, by the skin of their teeth, hung on to win the third game in this four-game set in New York.

WP: Alec Asher (2-0, 1.66) ❖ LP: Sean Gilmartin (0-1, 7.13) ❖ S: Michael Mariot (40)

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
PHI	5	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	10	17	2
NYM	0	0	0	0	4	2	0	1	1	8	11	0

Mets starter Sean Gilmartin was kicked around early by the Phillies; Maikel Franco's three-run blast to left-center and Asher's two-run single drove in five runs between them as the latter chased Gilmartin from the game. Reliever Rafael Montero fared little better, allowing five runs himself (one in the second and four in the fourth, as Darin Ruf delivered a three-run homer). Franco has gone three straight games in this series with a home run; Ruf has gone two.

Ruf's homer put the Phillies up with a seemingly insurmountable lead of 10 to 0, but the Mets offense got it going in the middle innings to cut into the Phils' lead. Asher was tagged with four unearned runs in the fifth after Lucas Duda scored on an error by Franco at third; T.J. Rivera and Brandon Nimmo delivered RBI hits and Ty Kelly chipped in a sac fly.

The Mets worried the Phillies even more with two runs in the sixth against lefty reliever Joely Rodríguez; the rookie pitcher allowed an RBI double to Gavin Cecchini (his first MLB hit) and a run-scoring swinging bunt off the bat of Rivera.

David Hernandez coaxed a double play in the seventh to erase a possible Mets threat.

Hector Neris walked two batters in the eighth, then ceded another RBI double to Cecchini.

With Gomez's struggles, manager Pete Mackanin turned to Michael Mariot for the save opportunity. Mariot recorded the last out of Tuesday's game against the White Sox after Gómez made a one-run lead out of a four-run lead. Mariot allowed a pinch-hit homer to Jay Bruce with one out in the ninth to make it 10-8, and walked the next two batters, but recorded a pop-out and a comebacker to end the game and seal his second career save as the Phillies won it.

The last game of this four-game series gets underway tomorrow afternoon at 1:10 p.m. as Jake Thompson takes on Mets right-hander Robert Gsellman. The Phillies, with a win, would earn a split.

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