Phillies Swept by Mets in Final Game of Series Losing 6-1

The Phillies came out blazing in the top of the first inning with Odubel Hererra starting the game with a lead off triple.  Cesar Hernandez, getting the start for Freddy Galvis, struck out swinging in the next at bat which left scoring Hererra from third base up to Chase Utley.  Chase hit a ground ball to second baseman Daniel Murphy, allowing the Phillies to take the lead 1-0, scoring Hererra and giving Phillies fans a promising hope.

Jerome started out strong only giving up one hit and striking out Michael Cuddyer to end the 1st inning.  The 2nd inning got a little shaky when Jerome gave up a run to Juan Lagares, scoring Eric Campbell from second base after he advanced on a wild pitch, leaving it tied 1-1.

The gloom continued into the 3rd inning where Jerome gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, Travis d’Arnaud, giving the Mets the lead and making it 2-1.  After the Phillies were unable to get much going in the top of the 4th inning, late in the bottom of the 4th Williams gave up a single to pitcher Jon Niese, scoring Juan Lagares and making the score 3-1.

The Phillies decided to keep Jerome in for the lead off spot in the 5th inning, where he grounded out to third baseman, Eric Campbell.  I imagine the Phillies thinking is that if the starting pitchers can keep in the game until the 6th inning for the bullpen, the Phillies could be in a better spot than most would like to think.  This can be the only reason I can think of for leaving Jerome in at that point when it’s a 3-1 game.  The bullpen has been strong with setup men Luis Garcia, Dustin McGowan, and Justin De Fratus all looking pretty solid, and with a one-two-punch of Giles-Papelbon to lay the smackdown and close the game, I would say things look promising there.  While Jake Diekman and Jeanmar Gomez are on the fringe for some games,  rounding out the relief pitchers there isn’t much to complain about.  Especially if they can get some run support.

Hererra had his second multi-base hit in the second at bat of the 5th inning, landing a double.  Looking to start something after a walk to Cesar Hernandez and a bunt by Chase Utley, the Phillies Jeff Francoeur ended up also walking to juice the bases.  Leaving it all up to Darin Ruf, swinging at the first pitch, he lined out to third baseman Eric Campbell who was all over the game tonight.

In a recurring theme, the first pitch of the bottom of the 5th inning to Lucas Duda found itself in the seats, making the score 4-1.  Adding insult to injury, Michael Cuddyer got himself a double on the next at bat, and was scored on a fielder’s choice by Eric Cambell.  After a coaching visit to the mound Jerome was able to calm himself and finish out the 5th inning, leaving the score at 5-1 going into the 6th.

At the top of the 6th inning the Phillies showed up to play again.  After a Cody Asche single, Cameron Rupp reached on a fielding error by shortstop Ruben Tejada.  Ben Revere advanced the runners to make the first out of the inning and the Phillies decided to bring in Andres Blanco as a pinch-hitter for Jerome Williams.  Blanco watched a few pitches before grounding into a double play to the pitcher, ending the inning.

Justin De Fratus was brought in for the bottom of the 6th inning and walked the second batter he faced setting up the final run of the game to Lucas Duda, who hit a double to Ben Revere, allowing Travis d’Arnaud to score from first base and make the game 6-1.  Dustin McGowan came in to finish up the game pitching two innings and only giving up one hit.

Coming up next the Phillies look to get some more wins against the Nationals, where they start play tomorrow at 7:05 EST in Washington, DC.