6/23 Game Recap: Mets Blast Phils 8-0

It appeared to everyone who was watching that Matt Harvey was on his way to pitching a complete game shutout.  Then the rains came.  Before then, the Mets’ offense exploded for seven runs.

June 23, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Mets pitcher

(33) celebrates scoring with third baseman

(5) during the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets went ahead 1-0 in the first when they manufactured a run after Eric Young, Jr. led off with a single.  That’s where the score remained until the top of the fifth.  The inning started strangely, when Phillies center fielder Ben Revere gloved what should’ve been a fly out off the bat of Jun Lagares.  It was ruled, however, that Revere never had complete control of the ball, and Lagares motored to third base.  With one out, Matt Harvey roped a double off the wall in right center to put the Mets up 2-0.  Eric Young, Jr. and David Wright then contributed doubles of their own as the Mets extended their advantage to 4-0.

New York added two more runs in the sixth on an RBI double by Juan Lagares and a sacrifice fly from Omar Quintanilla to go up 6-0.  They then added single runs in the seventh on a Marlon Byrd RBI double and the ninth on a homer off the bat of David Wright.  That ballooned their advantage to 8-0 and closed out the scoring as the Mets won the game and took the series in Philadelphia.

Not to be lost in the offensive explosion was the brilliance of Harvey.  He was in complete control all day, and was at 72 pitches when a brief rain delay ended his afternoon prematurely after the sixth inning.

Highlights:

• Matt Harvey was his dominant self today as he improved to 7-1.  He tossed 6 shutout innings before the rain forced him out of the game.  He allowed 2 hits, walked 1 and struck out 6.  He lowered his season ERA to 2.05, and his WHIP to 0.88.

• David Wright had a huge day at the plate, going 4 for 5 with 2 doubles, a triple and a home run to lift his average to .309.  He drove in 2 and scored 2.

• Eric Young, Jr. had another great day in the leadoff spot.  He went 3 for 5 with 2 runs and an RBI.

• Marlon Byrd went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI’s.

• LaTroy Hawkins and Brandon Lyon combined to throw 3 shutout innings to lock down the win.

Thoughts:

The Mets have had a tremendous road trip so far, going 5-3 in Atlanta and Philadelphia.  The team, 6-4, over their last 10 games, has been playing very well recently.   They’re only 30-42, but the arrival of Zack Wheeler, the spark provided by Eric Young, Jr., the improvement of Juan Lagares, and the anticipated late summer arrival by Travis d’Arnaud (as well as the continued tremendous performances by Matt Harvey and David Wright) should give Mets fans hope that the team can have a solid second half of the year.

Matt Harvey is an absolute beast.  Aside from dominating the Phillies from the mound, he smoked a run scoring double and lined a ball so hard in his next at bat that he knocked the pitchers glove off his hand.  The 24 year old Ace is second in the league in ERA (2.05), first in WHIP (0.88), and first in strikeouts (121).  If he keeps this up, he should be the clear choice to start the All-Star Game at Citi Field on July 16th.

Next Up: 

The Mets are off tomorrow.  They open a two game series with the White Sox Tuesday in Chicago at 8:10 PM, with Zack Wheeler on the hill.  He’ll be opposed by Chris Sale.

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