Bullpen Lets Phils Down Again

The New York Mets rallied late against the Phillies bullpen for a walkoff 4-3 victory, scoring single runs in the 8th to tie and the 9th to win on a Tuesday night in Queens.

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With the exception of Luis Garcia in the 7th, no Phils pitcher had a ‘clean’ night. Ken Giles came on for the 8th inning and gave up a lead that the team had worked hard to attain in the top of the frame. Jeanmar Gomez (0-1) pitched into the 10th, ultimately taking the loss, with Elvis Araujo on the mound to give up the actual game-ending hit.

Things had been rolling along very quietly in this one for some time. Mets’ starting pitcher Jake de Grom was completely handcuffing the Phils hitters into the 8th, leaving with a 3-0 lead. He allowed just 6 hits, while striking out 9 and walking none.

He was staked to that lead all the way back in the 3rd inning, when Lucas Duda produced an RBI single, and Michael Cuddyer later followed with a 2-run single to give New York the early 3-0 lead.

That lead held into the 8th when the Phillies finally chased de Grom and mounted a rally against the Mets bullpen. With one out, Carlos Ruiz and Cesar Hernandez hit back-to-back singles. That was it for de Grom. Hansel Robles came on, and he was immediately greeted by a Ben Revere 2-run triple to center. When Freddy Galvis followed with an RBI single, the game was tied.

But the Fightin’ Phils, suddenly alive in this game which seemed lost for most of its length, kept coming. Mets’ skipper Terry Collins turned to Alex Torres as his new pitcher, and Chase Utley kept things going for the Phillies with a base hit. One out later, Alex Torres was out, replaced by Carlos Torres, whom Maikel Franco greeted with an RBI single to put the Phils up 4-3.

Suddenly holding their first lead of the night, the Phillies proceeded to do what they have done all too often this season, they immediately gave up that lead. Giles came on for the bottom of the 8th, and walked the leadoff man Duda. When Cuddyer followed with a double it looked like big trouble. Wilmer Flores drove a sac fly to tie it, but he Phils escaped at least deadlocked.

Into extra innings went the game, and in the bottom of the 10th, the Mets gained their walkoff victory. It began with a Juan Lagares leadoff single off Gomez. In came Araujo, and he promptly walked Duda. The Phils nearly got out of it, as Daniel Murphy then rapped into a 4-6-3 doubleplay. But following a walk to Cuddyer, Flores slapped a single to left, scoring Lagares with the game-winner.

With the hosts having taken the first two games of the series, the Phillies will try to avoid the sweep in the Wednesday afternoon finale to their 3-city, 10-game road trip. Sean O’Sullivan will take the mound for the Phils, to be opposed by Mets rookie Noah Syndergaard.