Mets 4 Phillies 3
The Mets were damn lucky to squeak out this win.
Jon Lieber stymied the Mets bats over eight innings, and would have won the game had he not botched an easy throw to first base that Ryan Howard was too lazy to bend down and dig out of the dirt. The error ignited a three-run, two-out rally, culminating with a blast to deep left center by Endy Chavez that scored two runs.
Billy Wagner very nearly blew another save in the ninth. Ryan Howard led off with a single to right, but Pat Burrell and Chris Coste both struck out. Pinch hitter Chase Utley then sent a hanging slider to the right field wall, chasing Howard to third. A second pinch-hitter, Mike Lieberthal, then worked the count to 3-2 before scorching a liner down the third-base line. The hit would have scored Howard and possibly Utley, if not for David Wright diving full length to his right to spear the ball, then throwing out the slow-footed Lieberthal by two steps to end the game.
Notes
Tom Glavine finally won his 12th game, over a month after winning his 11th. Remarkably, he’s tied for the NL lead in wins, with Aaron Harang, Brandon Webb, Jason Marquis and Carlos Zambrano. After giving up a 3-run homer to Howard in the first, Glavine settled down to cruise through six scoreless innings.
Aaron Heilman pitched for the fourth time in five days and was flawless.
No one batter on the Mets was particularly special today, but nearly everyone who managed a hit made it productive.
Sunday night’s game pits John Maine vs. Scott Mathieson. Maine will be pitching with eleven days rest … how the heck did that happen?
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