Phillies Edge Mets on Victorino’s 9th Inning Single
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Phillies centerfielder Shane Victorino followed 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz’s 2 out ninth inning double by lacing a walk-off RBI single to rightfield off of Mets reliever Duaner Sanchez, in relief of Johan Santana, as the Phillies edged the Mets by a 3-2 score in their series opener on Friday night.
With the win, the Phillies extended their lead over 2nd place Florida to 3 1/2 games Marlins lost in a slugfest to the Colorado Rockies. The Mets, in losing dropped to 5 games back and the Atlanta Braves remained 7 back as they beat the Houston Astros.
26 year old lefthander J.A. Happ, called up to fill the roster spot of Brett Myers who was demoted to the minors to work on his delivery and velocity, got the starting call in the end and handled the Mets well for four innings before getting into a fifth inning jam giving up a single, a ground-rule double and a walk with none out. After getting starter Johan Santana to foul out, and getting shortstop Jose Reyes ground into a fielders choice which drove in a run and left runners at 1st and 3rd, Happ walked rightfielder Endy Chavez to reload the bases and then walked 3rd baseman David Wright to force in the 2nd Mets run.
Happ threw 96 pitches giving up 2 runs on 3 hits while walking 4 and striking out 3 in 4 2/3 innings.
Manager Manuel went to reliever Chad Durbin who put on as excellent a relief exhibition as one would ever want to see. He struck out centerfielder Carlos Beltran to end the fifth, leavingf 3 Mets stranded. Then he retired the next 6 hitters he faced, 5 of them on strikes through the seventh inning showing yet again how he has become an indispensible cog in the Phils’ bullpen.
Meanwhile, Santana sailed along through five innings, only allowing 2 Phils to reach, both on singles. In the sixth, Santana ran into trouble as both rightfielder Jayson Werth and 2nd baseman Chase Utley both singled with one out. After shortstop Jimmy Rollins flied out to centerfield, both 1st baseman Ryan Howard and leftfielder Pat Burrell drove in runs with singles to leftfield to knot the game at 2-2.
Reliever Ryan Madson replaced Durbin to pitch the eighth inning and held the Mets to 1 hit while Santana retired the Phillies in order in the bottom of the eighth.
Closer Brad Lidge came on to pitch the ninth and retired the Mets in order on 5 pitches to earn his 2nd win to go along with 19 saves in 19 opportunities.
Sanchez came on for Santana in the ninth as the lefthander gave up 2 runs on 6 hits, walking none and striking out 6 before the “Flyin’ Hawaiian’s winning hit. AP Sports Writer Rob Maaddi recounts the inning for Yahoo sports;
Sanchez (3-1) retired the first two batters [striking out Howard and Burrell] before Pedro Feliz doubled to left field. Victorino followed with a liner to right on a 1-2 pitch to score Feliz and send a sellout crowd into a frenzy.
The dugout emptied quickly and swarmed Victorino.
The NL East-leading Phillies have won four straight after losing 13 of 18.
Manuel juggled his starting lineup so left-handed hitters Utley and Howard wouldn’t bat back-to-back against the Mets’ lefty-rich staff. Utley moved up to the No. 2 spot with Rollins going from leadoff to No. 3 and Howard stayed in the cleanup slot.
For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Friday’s games, click here.
On Saturday, veteran 45 year old lefthander Jamie Moyer, with a 7-6 seasonal mark, is opposed by John Maine with an 8-6 mark. In Sunday’s final Kyle Kendrick goes for his 9th win vs 3 losses vs lefthander Oliver Perez (6-5).
For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Saturday’s and Sunday’s games, click here and here.
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