2nd baseman Chase Utley pounded two homers and went 3 for 3 with 4 RBIs, starter Adam Eaton held a 3-0 shutout through five innings, Pedro Feliz slammed a pinch-homer for the winning run and J.C. Romero and  Brad Lidge shut down the Mets over the final 3 innings as the Phillies salvaged the final of their three game series by a 5-4 score.

Eric Bruntlett once again started at shortstop replacing last season’s MVP   Jimmy Rollins.   Before Sunday’s game, the Phillies announced that Rollins had been placed on the 15 day disabled list because of his sprained left ankle.  They also placed recently recalled outfielder Chris Snelling on the DL and called up infielder Brad Harman from the Reading Double A club and outfielder T.J. Bohn from Triple-A to fill the two roster spots.

Utley’s first homer came with two out in the first inning off of starter Mike Pelfrey.  Then, in the fifth, after Jayson Werth led off with a single and Greg Dobbs followed suit putting runners at 1st and 2nd base, Utley cleared the bases with his second homer, his 5th in 4 games to put the Phils up 4-0.  AP Sports writer Dan Gelston recounts Utley’s at bat;

Pelfrey, who gave up 10 hits and four runs in five innings, threw almost nothing but fastballs. With two on and none out in the fifth, Utley sat on a heater and rocked one off the foul pole net in right. His major league-leading eighth homer of the season made it 4-0, and Utley popped out of the dugout for a quick wave.

He hit a two-out, solo shot in the first…, making him the first Phillie to homer in four straight games since Howard did it at the end of last season.

Meanwhile, Adam Eaton totally dominated the Mets through five innings giving up but 2 hits, issuing 1 walk while striking out 4.  But in the sixth inning, the roof fell in on Eaton.

AP’s Gelston describes the inning;

Jose Reyes hit a leadoff triple and scored on Luis Castillo’s RBI single. David Wright doubled and Carlos Beltran’s two-RBI single up the middle made it 4-3 and chased Eaton.

Ryan Church tied the score with an RBI single off reliever  Chad Durbin.

That would be all the runs for the Mets…

Lefthander J.C. Romero came on for Durbin in the seventh and held the Mets in check through the eighth inning, only issuing a walk in the seventh and 2 out double in the eighth.

With reliever Pedro Feliciano pitching for the Mets in the Phillies seventh inning, Pedro Feliz led off the inning, pinch hitting for 3rd baseman Greg Dobbs, by clubbing a game-winning opposite-field homer.

MLB.com’s Andy Jasner adds color;

After the Mets rallied to tie the game at 4, Pedro Feliz put the Phillies back ahead with a pinch-hit homer in the seventh off Pedro Feliciano. For Feliz, it was his second career pinch-hit home run, with the first one coming Aug. 1, 2003 at  Cincinnati off Paul Wilson.

“I wanted to get a good swing on it and I did,” Feliz said. “It happened to go out. It was a good moment. I’m happy I was able to do it. I’m excited. I hope it’s not the last one for a while. I put a good swing on the ball and I hope it continues on the trip.”

Things got a little dicey in the ninth inning for closer Brad Lidge.
Pinch hitter Damion Easley led off with a walk.  Shortstop Reyes singled putting Easley at 2nd base with none out.  But Lidge got Castillo on strikes, got Wright to foul out to rightfield and retired Beltran on a hard grounder in the whole which Bruntlett dove for and rifled to first base for the final out in a highlights film play.

Neither starter was in on the final decision.  Romero, who pitched two scoreless innings, was awarded the win, his first of the season.  Feliciano was charged with the loss and Lidge recorded his 3rd save of the seasom.

For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Sunday’s games, click here.

The Phillies travel to Denver for a two game rematch on Monday and Tuesday against last season’s division championship rivals, the Colorado Rockies.  The Phillies face two lefthanders in the short series.  On Monday,  Kyle Kendrick faces Mark Redman followed by the top of the rotation, Brett Myers opposing Rockies ace Jeff Francis on Tuesday.  Then the Phils travel on to Milwaukee for 3 games with the Brewers.

For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Mondays’ games, click here.

Add to:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. | del.icio.us | digg | Furl | Reddit | YahooMyWeb |

This entry was posted on Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 5:20 am and is filed under Real-Time Baseball News and Commentary, 2008 Phillies Highlights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.