Tyler Cloyd Pitches Well, Phils Lose 3-2 to Mets

The kid did OK on Wednesday night.

Tyler Cloyd, in his first Major League start, gave up 3 earned runs in 6 innings against the Mets, but the offense faltered, sending the Phils to a 3-2 loss to New York at Citizens Bank Park.

I don’t know, guys. That wild card possibility isn’t starting to look so good.

Cloyd was as advertised, with a fastball that barely reached 90 and a curveball and changeup that wasn’t electric, but effective. He struck out five batters in his six innings of work, but as many Phillies pitchers have learned this year, giving up three runs can sometimes be a death sentence.

You better get used to seeing more of Cloyd over the final month of the season. He’ll be pitching every five days, taking Vance Worley’s spot in the rotation after Worley was shut down for the year because of a bad elbow. The Phils will get a chance to see just how real that 12-1, 2.35 ERA record at LeHigh Valley really is. Cloyd, for his part, was happy with his performance.

“It was fun,” Cloyd said after the game. “I tried not to look up and let the stadium take me over. This was my first time in Citizens Bank Park. Crazy day. Crazy, but fun.”

What wasn’t fun was watching the Phils’ bats flail against New York once again, this time against highly regarded prospect Matt Harvey. The Mets’ youngster pitched into the 7th inning, giving up only an RBI double to Jimmy Rollins and a sacrifice fly to Ryan Howard. The Phils could do nothing against the Mets’ bullpen, continuing a season long trend of team-wide ineffectiveness against New York.

Somehow, as bad as the Mets have been, the Phillies are just 4-10 against them this season. Combine that with their struggles against the Nationals (last week’s sweep notwithstanding) and Braves, and it’s easy to see why the Phils are stuck in third place in the division.

Where It All Went Wrong

When Mets left fielder Lucas Duda hit a two-run homer to right in the third, giving the Mets an insurmountable 3-2 lead. The Phillies never really threatened after that, which tells you just how bad a night it was for the offense.

Most Attractive Play

Duda was quite the dude on Wednesday night. His running catch of a Howard liner in left near the wall saved a run, and possibly two, in the bottom of the fifth, preserving the Mets’ 3-2 lead. So, a sentence ago, when I said the Phils never really threatened after that, I meant after THIS.

Hero

Um, do I HAVE to pick one? I guess the Phillies bullpen, because they were able to keep the game close in the later innings once Cloyd was removed. Jeremy Horst (who is sporting a dazzling 0.92 ERA this year), Phillippe Aumont and Josh Lindblom all kept the Mets off the board in the last three innings of the ballgame.

Villain

David Wright. Because he’s David Wright. Seriously, you need a reason?