Mets Game 143: Loss to Phillies

Phillies 3 Mets 0

As Mets fans we are blessed to have the Phillies in our division and in turn the opportunity to see two of the best righthanded starters in baseball pitching over the course of a weekend.

Roy Oswalt was spectacular, spinning a complete-game, 4-hit shutout. He completely stymied the Mets hitters, and did not allow a Met to touch second base.

Game Notes

Jonathon Niese wasn’t bad — he just wasn’t tremendous. Unfortunately, his only chance at victory against Oswalt was to be at least tremendous, or better.

Niese allowed 3 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks in 7 innings of work. That type of outing is defined as a “quality start”, and most would agree that Niese pitched well enough to win. But winning is tough when you pitch for the New York Mets.

Oswalt lost his first start in a Philadelphia uniform, but the Phillies have won all 8 of his starts since.

The Mets are now 70-73, 12.5 games out of first place with 19 games to play.

Next Mets Game

On Monday the Mets begin a four-game series against the Pirates in Flushing. Dillon Gee goes for his second Major League win against James McDonald. Game time is 7:10 PM.

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.