Reid Brignac comes through as Philadelphia Phillies beat New York Mets in 14 innings
By Mike Lacy
Reid Brignac. Image Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Do you like baseball games that go into extra innings? Do you like unlikely heroes? Then Friday’s Phillies vs. Mets game was right up your alley!
The Phillies defeated the Mets 6-5 in a 14 inning game that saw the winning run driven in by Reid Brignac who was making his first start for the Phillies.
It seemed like neither team really wanted to win the game. A.J. Burnett put the Phillies in an early hole, surrendering three runs in the first two innings. Continuing a disturbing season-long trend, Burnett had poor control, and walked six batters.
The Phillies fought back thanks in part to a three-run home run by Domonic Brown (Yes, THAT Dom Brown). With the score tied at five after five innings, this looked like it was going to be a high-scoring, back-and-forth game.
And then something strange happened: Both teams stopped scoring runs.
It’s not all that surprising for the Phillies to stall on offense. After all, five runs is a pretty good showing for them. But it was surprising to see the Phillies bullpen shut down the Mets for seven innings, including another disaster-skirting performance from Mike Adams.
In the 14th inning, the Mets appeared to grow tired of the whole deal. Right fielder Chris Young dropped a fly ball by Marlon Burd, putting the winning run at second. Three batters later, Brignac provided the game-winning hit. Considering how poor Brignac had looked in his previous at bat, it’s worth wondering if Mets pitcher Jenrry Mejia simply grooved a pitch there.
Regardless, the Phillies won a game in which the heroes included Brignac, Brown, and Justin De Fratus (two scoreless innings). They’ll surely take that any time they can.