Game Recap: Pair of Home Runs Not Enough as Mets Can’t Complete Sweep in 3-2 Loss

For the second game in a row, the Mets and Phillies finished their contest with a final score of 3-2. Unlike last night, New York was on the short end of the stick, as Jonathon Niese wasn’t able to secure the sweep at Citizens Bank before David Wright and company skipped town for their next trip down to South Beach.

Mets Offensive Highlights:

New York immediately got runs on the board, as Mike Baxter led the game off with a home run, his second of the year, and second in the last week. The very next inning, Scott Hairston continued his hot streak with his 15th long ball of the season, which was crushed deep into the left field seats. Outside of those two mistakes, Kyle Kendrickdid a good job of keeping the Mets offense silent and allowing the Phillies to re-take the lead. Hairston and Wright were the only two to enjoy multi-hit games, as New York went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position, while stranding 6 runners.

Phillies Offensive Highlights:

Once the Mets scored in the first two innings of today’s contest, it was then the Phillies turn to start scoring, as they scored a run in the third, fourth, and fifth innings on their way to the victory. Jimmy Rollins got things started in the third, hitting a two-out double to right field. Kevin Frandsen then singled to center, cutting the deficit in half. The Fightin’ Phils were back at it the next inning, with John Mayberry singling to lead things off, then coming around to score on a Ty Wigginton double. What ended up being the difference happened in the fifth, which started with Frandsen doubling. He moved to third after a Chase Utley ground out, he scored the game-winning run off a Ryan Howard sacrifice fly. Despite going 2-for-12 with RISP and leaving 12 men stranded, Philly was able to salvage the series finale.

Pitching Highlights:

Both starters kept their teams in the game, but it was Kyle Kendrick who was able to scratch out the victory. He went 7.2 innings and gave up 2 runs on 7 hits and no walks, while striking out 6 hitters. Raul Valdes worked out of a jam by retiring Ike Davis to end the 8th inning, and Jonathan Papelbon worked a scoreless 9th for his 30th save of the season.

In getting his 8th loss of the year, Jonathon Niese went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs on 9 hits and 1 walk, and registered 4 strikeouts. Once again, the bullpen provided scoreless relief, as Ramon Ramirez and Robert Carson both threw an inning a piece. However, New York wasn’t able to reward their performance this afternoon with a win.

The loss snaps the four-game win streak the Mets were enjoying, as they now drop back one game behind the Phillies in the race for third place, as they currently sport a 61-70 record.

Probable Pitchers Friday:

The Mets head down to Miami as part of their three-city road trip to take on the Marlins. R.A. Dickey (16-4, 2.76 ERA) will head to the mound to take on Nathan Eovaldi (4-9, 4.54 ERA). Game time at Marlins Park is set for 7:10pm.