Marlon Byrd hit a one-out, RBI double in the eleventh inning to put the Phillies ahead 3-2. Jonathan Papelbon earned his tenth straight save with a perfect eleventh and the Phillies snapped a four game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Mets.
Utley, Brown Spark Offense Early
Chase Utley appeared to be coming back down to earth after a scorching April. Until today. Utley went 3-5 with 3 runs scored, his first steal, and a double. For those who keep track of these things, Utley has been worth 1.6 fWAR including his 5/10 performance, making him the eighth most valuable Major Leaguer, the sixth-most valuable National Leaguer, and the highest-ranking National League second baseman. Dom Brown drove in the first two runs for the Phillies with a one-out single in the third and a two-out single in the fifth.
Phillies Runners Take Advantage of d’Arnaud’s Arm
Former Phillies’ prospect Travis d’Arnaud is not known for his arm and the Phillies took advantage of this fact. Carlos Ruiz, Utley, and Brown all stole off d’Arnaud rather easily.
Another Solid Effort From Hernandez Handed to Bullpen
Roberto Hernandez turned in another solid start but was unable to pitch beyond the fifth inning. Hernandez allowed only one run, earned, on a first inning Curtis Granderson double. Hernandez teetered but did not break. The same could reasonably said for the bullpen: Jake Diekman, Mike Adams, Antonio Bastardo, Mario Hollands, and Jonathan Papelbon combined for six innings, striking out eight, walking two, while giving up only one earned run.
Bastardo would be the pitcher the Mets got to, allowing Daniel Murphy to score on a David Wright in the eighth. Bastardo responded with a scoreless ninth, his second inning pitched. Hollands earned his first Major League win after giving up only one hit in the tenth and Papelbon threw a perfect eleventh for the save.
Runners Left on Base
This game, at times, was excruciating to watch. At four hours, 45 minutes, it no doubt will rank as one of the longest games of the year. But the content was pretty yawn worthy, too, despite a plethora of base runners. The two clubs combined for an amazing 32 runners (17 for New York, 15 for Philly) left on base. For whatever it is worth, the National League record for a nine-inning game is 18.
The Phillies will send RHP Kyle Kendrick to the mound tomorrow to face RHP Dylan Gee. Winner gets out of the NL East basement and has a chance to gain ground on the first-place Marlins. You read that right, the first-place Marlins. I told you they weren’t going to be as bad as everyone thought they’d be.
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