Rest easy, Mets fans. It appears David Wright has finally paid his electric bill as his power has been turned back on. Wright had his best offensive game of the season, collecting two home runs (his first multi-homer game since September 14, 2008 against the Braves) and tying his career-high with six RBI. His second home run of the game, a two-out two-run blast off Ryan Madson in the ninth inning, led to a thrilling turnaround as the Mets were able to grab a victory from the jaws of defeat, shocking the Phillies by the final score of 10-9.
The Mets came out of their corner firing quick punches at Jamie Moyer. The first five batters of the game all collected base hits, with the biggest hit coming off the bat of Carlos Beltran. His two-run homer (the first since his return from the disabled list) gave the Mets an early 4-0 lead. However, the all-or-nothing Phillies flipped the switch to “all” and Mike Pelfrey was the victim of their booming bats.
Home runs by Pedro Feliz, Chase Utley and Raul Ibañez gave the Phillies the lead by the third inning. Pelfrey could not build upon his strong start last Sunday against the Cubs, when he gave up one run in eight innings of work. Today he pitched six poor innings, allowing eight runs on ten hits, raising his ERA back over 5.00. When Pelfrey was relieved of his duties, the Mets were staring at a four-run deficit. However, the Mets weren’t going to be the only team to blow a four-run lead in this game.
In the seventh inning, what appeared to be a meaningless stolen base by Daniel Murphy ended up being a key play in the game. Murphy hit a one-out double to center and then stole third base. He later scored on a groundout by Wilson Valdez.
After another run by the Phillies in their half of the seventh inning gave them a 9-5 lead, David Wright came up to bat in the eighth inning after a double by Fernando Tatis. By the power of Grayskull, Wright hit his first home run since August 5. The blast cut the deficit in half as the score was now 9-7. After singles by Carlos Beltran and Omir Santos, Daniel Murphy was able to cut the deficit to one on an RBI single. The score was now 9-8 and that’s where it remained until the climactic ninth inning.
Brad Lidge was not called upon to get the save in the ninth inning as his recent failures have made Armando Benitez look like a vintage Dennis Eckersley. Instead Ryan Madson was given the ball in the ninth inning to protect the one-run lead. Things started out well for Madson as he retired the first two hitters he faced. Fernando Tatis then came up and ripped his fourth hit of the game, setting the stage for He-Man himself, David Wright. On the first pitch he saw from Madson, Wright launched his second home run of the game, a two-run homer that gave the Mets a 10-9 lead.
Francisco Rodriguez came in to get the save in the bottom of the ninth and made easy work of the Phillies. He retired all three batters he faced, including two via the strikeout route to notch his 31st save.
This game was won by the Mets’ 2-3-4 hitters. Tatis, Wright and Beltran combined for ten hits, including three home runs. They also scored eight runs and drove in eight runs. It was a great showing by those three hitters, as without their heroics, this game would be more remembered for Mike Pelfrey’s awful performance.
The only thing missing was Howie Rose saying “put it in the books” during the FOX telecast of the game. Too bad Bob Murphy wasn’t around. After all, with a final score of 10-9 in Philadelphia, you would have expected him to say “the Mets win the damn thing!”
Tomorrow is a day-night doubleheader for the bitter rivals. John Maine will be making his long-awaited return from the disabled list to start the first game. He will be opposed by Kyle Kendrick in the 1:05 PM start. In the nationally televised nightcap, Tim Redding will start against former Met Pedro Martinez. You can be sure the national spotlight will be on Pedro’s mind when he faces the Mets. The second game will begin at 8:05 PM.
A comeback win, the return of David Wright’s power, a He-Man flashback, the opening weekend of football and a day-night doubleheader on Sunday. It looks like a good weekend for sports and hopefully, a good weekend for the Mets.
