Game #23: Phillies 5, Mets 1

Most teams who commit three errors in a game are going to lose. Today was no exception.

John Buck's dropped popup opened the flootgates for a big Phillies 7th inning, as the Mets were swept for the first time at home in 2013, 5-1.

The Bad Stuff:

• New York got lucky in the 1st inning as errors by Jonathon Niese and David Wright led to nothing on the Philadelphia side. They wouldn't get so lucky in the 7th when John Buck dropped a two-out foul ball by way of Lance Nix. Nix took the second chance to single into left, then after Jimmy Rollins's single knocked out Niese, Ryan Howard slammed a pinch-hit double to put the Phils up. Chase Utley drove in Howard to make it 4-1 after seven, and John Mayberry's double in the 8th provided the final margin.
• The Mets could only manage three hits on the afternoon and just one after the 1st inning, giving Cole Hamels his first W of the season despite six walks from him. They hit 1-5 with RISP and left eight men on base.

The Good Stuff:

• Jonathon Niese took the hard-luck loss on the afternoon, allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits in 6.2 innings, walking one and striking out three on a season-high 117 pitches. The one earned run Niese allowed was a stupid home run to Freddy Galvis in the 5th inning; Galvis golfed a pitch he had no business hitting over the short wall in the left field corner.
• David Wright drove in the Mets' only run on a single in the 1st. Ruben Tejada scored that run after a leadoff double in the 1st, his first of two doubles on the afternoon.

Final Analysis:
I believe in the power of the healing hot springs. Miami should provide those tomorrow. Already guaranteed a losing record in the month of April, the Mets need at least a series win and probably a sweep to get their confidence back up for the merry (or not-so-merry) month of May. Matt Harvey takes the hill tomorrow; if anyone can get New York going, it's him.

MM

Game #21: Phillies 4, Mets 0

The very least you could say is that, at two hours thirty-five minutes, the pain was relatively quick.

The Mets had no answer for Kyle Kendrick, and the Phillies rode a big 6th inning to a 4-0 series-opening win.

The Bad Stuff:

(NYDailyNews.com)

• Coming off a series in which Philadelphia's big three of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels all lost, it was Kyle Kendrick who needed to be a stopper. But no one expected him to stop New York to the tune of a complete-game, three-hit shutout. He gave up no extra-base hits, walked just one Met, and struck out five of them, turning in one of the finer starts of his career with 107 pitches.
• The Mets only got a single at-bat with RISP (they failed) and stranded the only four runners to get on base (clearly).
• In what was in the first half of the game a real pitcher's duel, Dillon Gee cruised to five quick shutout innings himself. Then in the 6th, the roof caved in: three consecutive singles by Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Michael Young provided the opening score, and Ryan Howard's three-run homer all but guaranteed a Philly triumph.

The Good Stuff:

• Ruben Tejada, David Wright, and Justin Turner were the only New Yorkers to manage hits off Kendrick on the night, while Ike Davis drew the walk.

Final Analysis:
Dillon Gee, while spectacular for his other 72 pitches, was undone by a horrendous stretch of 11 tosses to start the 6th, and his team paid for it in the W-L column, falling below .500 for the first time in 2013. For the sake of comparison, it took until late summer for the Mets to have a losing record in 2012. Hopes are fading faster for these Mets (some would say at least there's no chance for soul-crushing false hope), and if they consistently make guys like Kyle Kendrick look like any of his better peers in the Philly rotation, it has the makings of a very, very long summer.

MM

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