Game #8: Phillies 8, Mets 3

In tonight's battle of Gee vs. Lee, it was Lee that had Mets fans saying, "Oh, Gee!"

Dillon Gee didn't make it to the 3rd inning, while Cliff Lee came within one out of a complete game as the Phillies took care of the Mets, 8-3, to even the series at a game apiece.

The Bad Stuff:

(NYDailyNews.com)

• A night after New York did a number on Roy Halladay, Philadelphia turned it around and did the same number on Dillon Gee. After retiring the first four batters of the game, Gee let four runs score on six 2nd-inning hits. The seas got rougher in the 3rd as he gave up solo home runs to Ryan Howard, Michael Young, and John Mayberry in the span of four at-bats. Down 7-0, the Mets were sunk just a third of the way into the game.
• Except for a couple pitches, Cliff Lee was vintage tonight, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 8 hits in 8.2 innings, walking none (typical) and striking out 6 on 106 pitches. Only a couple 9th-inning singles by Marlon Byrd and Justin Turner prevented Lee from getting the 27th out himself.

The Good Stuff:

• John Buck can't do it all at the plate, but he sure as heck tried. Hitting cleanup for the first time since about half the guys on the Mets were playing tee-ball, Buck launched another opposite-field home run, this one of the two-run variety in the top of the 4th. His 14 RBIs are miles ahead in the National League, and his fourth home run bring him one shy of matching the combined efforts of all four Mets catchers in 2012 (Josh Thole, Mike Nickeas, Rob Johnson, Kelly Shoppach). Five percent of the season gone, and he's already been worth it.
• The New York bullpen did a nice job of keeping the team from getting completely blown away, as Greg Burke, Scott Rice, LaTroy Hawkins, and Brandon Lyon combined for five innings of one-run relief following Gee's departure.

Final Analysis:
Lest we forget, two years ago the Philadelphia Phillies had perhaps the most feared rotation in baseball since the Orioles of the early 1970s. Three-fourths of that rotation are still on the team, and while Roy Halladay is going through some hardships, they still haveLee and Cole Hamels. Mets fans see Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Jonathon Niese in their future and are overjoyed at what could be. But in order to get there, they'll have to first overtake the Phillies, who showed through Cliff Lee tonight that they aren't done just yet.

MM