The Mets (70-84) defeated the Phillies (71-83) by a score of 5-4 in a rain-shortened game on Saturday night in Philadelphia.
Dillon Gee got the win, tossing 6+ decent innings (4 runs, 7 hits, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts) before the game was called off in the bottom of the seventh.
The Phillies struck first on a sac fly in the 2nd inning, but the Mets were able to tie it thanks to David Wright‘s 2nd home run in 2 games since returning from a 7-week stint on the disable list.
The Mets got 4 more in the 6th. Daniel Murphy led off with his 12th homer of the year, and Juan Lagares made it 4-1 with a 2-run triple to center. Travis d’Arnaud capped off the big inning with an RBI double off the right field wall.
The Phillies got 3 runs off of Gee in the 6th after Jimmy Rollins drove in 2 with a double and Carlos Ruiz cut the gap to 1 with an RBI groundout, but Mother Nature squashed their momentum, ending the game in the 7th before the Phillies could tie the score.
Another win for the Mets, who have managed to string together a couple victories in a row to move within 1 game of the Phillies for 3rd place. Obviously, this means nothing in the long run (in fact, having a better record hurts us in the draft), but there is something to be said for confidence and bragging rights, and finishing ahead of the Phillies for the first time in 7 years is the least the Mets could do after making us suffer all year.
Fun Fact: Dillon Gee has 3 career complete games, yet he has never thrown 9 innings in a game. He has 2 rain-shortened victories and his other complete game was an 8.1 inning loss earlier this year (remember the Freddie Freeman walkoff?).
Don’t look now, but Travis d’Arnaud is finally starting to put some hits together. Given the fact that our entire future rests on his shoulders, it is a relief to see signs of competence from the promising rookie.
It’s nice to see that David Wright has not let a long layoff prevent him from being the best 3rd baseman in the world. It’s also nice to see Lagares’ bat begin to come around a bit more, because with his fielding and speed, even an average bat would make him a solid Center Fielder.
Overall, it’s important that the Mets continue to get a look at their younger players as they wrap up the season over the next couple weeks. We definitely have some useful pieces on the fold, but the onus is on the front office to turn a nice foundation into a contender with some major moves… soon.
Quick Note: Terry Collins plans to sit Wright on Sunday, play again Monday and Tuesday in Cincinnati and then sit again on Wednesday. Despite homering for a second straight game and having no issues with his right hamstring, Wright said he is not fully back yet.
“I mean, I feel OK. I’ve been lucky getting in some hitters’ counts. But still, defensively, I’m not really reacting the way I want to. It’s going to take more than two games. I feel about how I expected to — a little sore, a little stiff — but for the most part pretty good,” Wright said.
The Mets will look to bring out the brooms tomorrow in Philly. Carlos Torres (3-5, 3.39 ERA) will take on Cliff Lee (14-6, 2.95 ERA) at 1:35 PM.
