There are times when it’s tough to be a Mets fan. Perhaps you remember when the Mets held a commanding seven-game lead with 17 games to play in 2007, and then collapsed to their rival from down the Turnpike.
Or perhaps you recall 2008, when the Amazin’s held a 3.5 game lead in September with only 17 games to play, before becoming the first team ever to blow a 3.5-game lead in consecutive Septembers. Those heartbreaking collapses only heightened the disdain Mets fans held for those Phillies teams that featured Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.
However a few years later, there was one series that was particularly special for Mets fans, in the midst of an otherwise uneventful season. During a three game-set against the Philadelphia Phillies, the 2010 Mets got revenge and made history in the process.
For just the second time since the franchise’s inception, the Mets swept a series by pitching three-straight shutouts. The first time this took place was in 1969, when Jerry Koosman, Tom Seaver and Gary Gentry blanked the Phillies in Philadelphia down the stretch.
After years of struggling against their division rivals, the Mets vindication against the Phillies began on May 25. In just his second start with the Mets, R.A. Dickey led a whitewashing of the Phils at Citi Field. Dickey threw six scoreless innings, while the Mets scored eight runs to even their record for the season at 23 – 23. The victory was Dickey’s first win for the Mets.
Omar Minaya’s reclamation project would finish that season 11 – 9 with a 2.84 ERA. Two years later, Dickey would win the Cy Young Award, going 20 – 6 with a 2.73 ERA, leading the league in innings pitched (233.2), complete games (5), shut outs (3), and strikeouts (230). He was then traded the following off season to the Blue Jays with Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas in exchange for John Buck, Travis d’Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard, and minor leaguer Wuilmer Becerra.
In the second game of the series, rookie sensation Hisanori Takahashi started for the Mets and blanked Philadelphia for six innings, striking out six without issuing a single walk. Takahashi served Mets manager Jerry Manuel as a swing man in 2010, finishing 10 – 6 with a 3.61 ERA and eight saves. The Mets won the game 5 – 0, behind the three RBIs provided by catcher Rod Barajas, and Jose Reyes‘ home run and two RBIs.
In the series finale, the Mets finished their sweep, behind the starting pitching efforts of Mike Pelfry, who pitched seven shutout innings to improve his record to 7 – 1 to start the season. Pelfrey had the best year of his career in 2010, finishing 15 – 10 with a 3.66 ERA. Francisco Rodriguez pitched the ninth inning for the Mets to record his ninth save of the season and push the Mets to two games above .500.
The three-game sweep was the high-water mark for the Mets in 2010. They went on to finish 79 – 83, in fourth place, 18 games behind the Phillies. Minaya and Manuel both got fired after the season and were replaced by Sandy Alderson, and Terry Collins. That duo would ultimately help lead the Mets to the 2015 World Series.
