Forgettable Memorial Day in Big Apple

3. 6. 6. 3. Final

On a sunny, windy Memorial Day afternoon in the Big Apple, the Phillies lost a 6-3 decision to the host New York Mets. It was the Phils 4th loss in 6 games following the 6-game win streak that raised false hope among some in the fan base.

Bartolo Colon (7-3), the portly 42-year old pitching in his 18th MLB season, recorded his 7th victory, tied for the most in baseball to this point. He threw 94 pitches, 67 of those for strikes, allowing 6 hits and 2 walks across 6 innings in which he struck out 6 batters in a workmanlike effort.

For the home fans amusement, Colon even pitched in with a base hit, his 2nd of the year and the 14th of his big league career.

May 25, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets shortstop

Wilmer Flores

(4) is greeted at home by New York Mets second baseman

Daniel Murphy

(28) and New York Mets left fielder

Michael Cuddyer

(23) after hitting a three-run home run against the Philadelphia Phillies during the sixth inning at Citi Field. The Mets defeated the Phillies 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets jumped on top quickly, scoring a run in the bottom of the first off Phillies rookie hurler Severino Gonzalez. Curtis Granderson smacked a leadoff single to right, moved to 2nd when Lucas Duda was hit by a pitch, and scored on a 1-out RBI single to center off the bat of Daniel Murphy.

The Fightin’ Phils briefly fought back to take a lead with a two-out rally off Colon in the top of the 3rd. Ben Revere started things with a single, and went to 3rd on a double by Freddy Galvis. Chase Utley then drilled a 2-run single to right scoring both runners. Utley continued a hot stretch that has raised his average 73 points in just over two weeks.

More from That Balls Outta Here

As has been so often the case in these situations, the Phillies gave the lead right back. This time it was a 2-out solo homerun by Duda, his 6th of the year, that tied the game at 2-2. Duda’s homer was fittingly caught by a sailor on this Memorial Day afternoon. In the bottom of the 4th, Michael Cuddyer drove his 4th homer of the year to push the Mets on top 3-2.

In the top of the 5th, the Phils answered with a solo run to tie it again. Gonzalez helped his own cause by working a leadoff walk. Singles by Galvis and Ultey loaded the bases, and Gonzalez scored on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Howard.

“..you just have to continue to try to find the positive in each day and try to carry it over.” ~ Howard

Gonzalez allowed the Colon hit to lead off the bottom of the 5th followed by a base hit from Granderson. One out later, he was out of the game, replaced by Elvis Araujo. In all, Gonzalez went 4.1 innings, allowing 6 hits. He struck out 8 batters, including the first 6 Mets outs of the game.

Araujo (1-1) got out of the 5th inning jam, but when he yielded a leadoff single to Murphy in the bottom of the 6th, he was replaced by Justin De Fratus, who immediately proceeded to give up the game. De Fratus walked Cuddyer on 4 pitches, then gave up a 3-run homerun to Wilmer Flores deep into the left-center stands to put New York up 6-3.

The Mets bullpen then took over for Colon, with Alex Torres, Hansel Robles, and finally closer Jeurys Familia all shutting down the Phillies. The trio of Mets relievers allowed no hits and just one walk, with Familia recording his 14th Save to shut it down.

Howard was quoted after the game regarding the team’s recent series of negative results following the win streak: “You’ve got to continue to try to find the positives. The results aren’t necessarily there all the time. But you just have to continue to try to find the positive in each day and try to carry it over.”

On Tuesday night, the struggling Jerome Williams will take the mound opposite outstanding Mets’ sophomore pitcher Jake de Grom. The 7:10pm contest will be carried on local TV by Comcast SportsNet, and by the usual radio outlets.

Home/Phillies News