GAME RECAP: Mets Finish Phillies 9-4
Nine runs, 16 hits, a breezy victory in front of more than 32,000
fans at Citi Field -- this sort of thing has become almost routine for the Mets
as they continue chugging toward their first National League East title since
2006. The Mets moved another day closer to that goal with a 9-4 win Wednesday
over the Phillies, maintaining their 6 1/2-game NL East lead. Ruben Tejada hit an inside-the-park home run, Michael Conforto and Yoenis Cespedes added more traditional shots and the
Mets cruised from there, despite an uncharacteristic outing from Matt Harvey, who was experiencing dehydration
symptoms. "You've got to be able to forget the night before," Mets
manager Terry Collins said, referencing his team's lone loss Tuesday in the
three-game series. "You have an ugly night, it happens. It's a part of the
game. You have to move on and be ready for the next game." The Mets
certainly were, rapping out nine of their 16 hits against Phillies rookie
starter Aaron Nola -- like
Harvey, a former No. 7 overall pick. Nola lasted just four innings, giving up
two of the Mets' three home runs. "It wasn't one of [Nola's] better
performances, but the defense really wasn't the greatest today," said
Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin. "We didn't come up with great
plays."
OTHER
NOTES FROM THE DAY:
- With two outs in the second and a man
on base, Tejada lifted a ball down the right-field line, where Domonic Brown made
an unsuccessful lunge to grab it. As the ball drifted further down the line,
Brown tumbled into the concrete area behind the wall, suffering a possible
concussion. With no one around to back up Brown, Tejada sprinted around
the bases for a two-run, inside-the-park home run. The exit velocity as
tracked by Statcast™
was 74.5 mph, which is the lowest exit velocity of any home run tracked
this year. "When I saw him in the stands, I tried to run as hard as I
could," Tejada said.
- Nola had allowed just one earned run
in 15 innings in his previous two starts, but he allowed nine hits and six
runs in just four innings against the Mets. It was the worst start of his
nine-start career, but the Phillies' defense played a big part in it. From
Brown going head-over-heels over the right-field wall to balls bobbled to
ground balls under the gloves of Ryan Howard and Andres Blanco, the
Phillies' defense extended the second and third innings for Nola, arguably
leading to five of those runs. "An inch here, an inch there and it
could have been a different story," Mackanin said.
- The Phillies had runners at the
corners and one out in the seventh, trailing 7-4, when Howard stepped to
the plate against Mets left-hander Sean Gilmartin.
Mackanin is sitting Howard against left-handed starters, but did not
pinch-hit for Howard in this situation. Howard, who is hitting .137 with a
.439 OPS in 102 plate appearances against lefties, hit into a double play.
"When we had our discussion, [I said] 'I'm not going to play him
against lefties, but I won't pinch-hit for him,'" Mackanin said.
"He's been hitting against lefties for a long time, and I'm not going
to be the one to pinch-hit for him."
- "The ball is just travelling
out. I guess these balls fly a little better because I don't know where
it's coming from." -- Sweeney, who has three homers in 24 at-bats
since joining the Phillies following the Chase Utley trade. He had nine homers in 472
at-bats with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
- Brown left the game in the fourth
inning with concussion concerns after flipping over the right-field wall.
He traveled back to Philadelphia for further testing.
- Morgan
has not walked a batter in his past four starts, a total of 22 2/3
innings. He's walked a total of 14 this season.
- The
Phillies are one of two teams Kelly has not faced in his career. In 16
career games against the National League East, he is 3-0 with a 2.22 ERA.
- In
42 career games against the Phillies, Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval
is hitting .264 with four home runs and 19 RBIs.
NEXT
GAME:
After a spectacular
August, in which he went 6-0 with a 2.68 ERA, Red Sox right-hander Joe Kelly
looks to continue his dominance in Friday's series opener against the Phillies,
who will counter with left-hander Adam Morgan. Relying on his high-90s fastball
during the first few months of the season, Kelly's ability to mix in his
offspeed pitches has been a huge contributor to his success. "It's been a
point of emphasis lately that no matter what team we're facing, I have to throw
the offspeed [pitch]," Kelly said. "Earlier in the year, I was
throwing all fastballs, and obviously that didn't work out. It's just something
we've been trying to make a point of emphasis early on in the game. Mix in some
offspeed pitches and try to get the hitters off the fastball." Morgan went
six innings on Saturday against the Padres, allowing two unearned runs on four
hits for the win. It marked the fifth time in his last six starts that Morgan
went at least six innings.
PHILS PHACTS:
NOT A Gold Glove Play – Phillies right fielder Domonic Brown crashed and flipped head-over-heels
over the short wall in right field in the second inning of Wednesday's 9-4
Phillies loss at Citi Field. He left the game
two innings later because of concerns about a concussion. An athletic trainer
drove Brown to Philadelphia, where he will be seen on Thursday by a specialist.
Brown had been pursuing a fly ball from Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada when it happened. The ball dropped, but
Brown could not stop his momentum toward the wall. He flipped over the wall and
appeared to hit the concrete floor in the seating area hard, although instant
replay did not have a good look at it. Brown eventually got up, but not before
Tejada circled the bases for a two-run, inside-the-park home run. Brown seemed
to be OK after the incident and remained in the game until the bottom of the
fourth. "He said he hit his knee," Phillies interim manager Pete
Mackanin said. "That's what the trainer told me. He hit his knee. We asked
him numerous times in the dugout, 'How do you feel? Are you OK?' He said,
'Yeah, I'm fine.' He didn't really look dazed or anything like that. The
trainer came up to me the next inning and said he's done. "We don't want
to see that happen to anybody. Hopefully, he'll be fine. If I was told he hit
his head I would have taken him right out of the game." Mackanin said he
does not expect Brown, who missed time in 2013 with a concussion, to be in
Boston this weekend. "I guess he took that test and didn't score
exceptionally well," Mackanin said.
The Performance Behind The Numbers – The line score shows that Phillies rookie Aaron Nola suffered the worst start of his nine-start
career Wednesday night at Citi Field. He allowed nine hits, six runs and struck
out four in just four innings in a 9-4
loss to the Mets. It was the shortest start of
his career. It was the most runs he had allowed. "I felt good out
there," Nola said. "Things kind of just unraveled. I missed a couple
spots and they really made me pay for it." But he also got little help
from his defense. Left fielder Darnell Sweeney had trouble picking up a ball in the
corner in the second inning which might have allowed runners to take an extra
base. One batter later Domonic Brown could not
catch a fly ball in right field. Brown's momentum carried him to the short
wall, where he flipped head-over-heels as the ball rolled to the wall. A single
turned into a two-run inside-the-park home run. "Possibly a slide might
have been a good idea because that way you don't worry about the wall,"
Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "That's the reason those guys
do that. Or just back off it and play it in front of you. He made a good effort
to try to catch it, then he got to the point where it was a little bit too late
and he had no choice but to catch it on his shoestrings, and then he carried
into the fence." Brown left the game with concussion
concerns. Daniel Murphy then hit a ball under Ryan Howard's glove in the third inning. A potential
second out turned into a one-run double. It proved costly when Michael Conforto hit a two-out, two-run home run to
left. Three batters later Andres Blanco could not
backhand a ball down the line, helping Travis d'Arnaud to a triple. "An inch here, an
inch there and it could have been a different story," Mackanin said.
"It wasn't one of [Nola's] better performances, but the defense really
wasn't the greatest today. We didn't come up with great plays."
Return Uncertain – It sounded Monday like Phillies rookie Maikel Franco could be back at third base within the
week. Then Franco, who broke his left wrist last month, took about 20 swings on
Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field. "It was a problem," Franco said.
"I felt something in my wrist. I don't know when I can come back." There
remains a chance Franco could play again this season, but the Phillies will not
rush their best hitter with a little more than a month to play. Plus, once the
wrist heals, Franco can make up for any lost at-bats with plate appearances in
winter ball. "They're going to back off for a day or two or more,"
Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "There's going to come a
point where we'll probably end up shutting him down. That doesn't mean we will,
but if another week goes by and we get into the middle of September and he's
going to need rehab at-bats, I don't see the point in playing him for the final
week or 10 days of the season. "Unless he's 100 percent, we're going to be
careful." Franco was tossed a few balls in the batting cage. He said he
felt some discomfort when he made contact with the ball. "It's the same
thing. The same thing from when I was hit," Franco said. Franco was hit
with a pitch on Aug. 11 in Arizona. "It's a big deal for me because I want
to play," Franco said. "So it's hard to take. But I have to
understand my situation right now. I know I want to play. I don't want to put
us in the situation where I just go out and play. That could be a lot of
trouble, a lot of problems."
Filling The Corners – Phillies rookie Darnell Sweeney started in left field Wednesday night
at Citi Field, the third time he has started at a different position since he
joined the organization last month. He previously started at second base and
center field, but seeing Sweeney in left for the first time and Domonic Brown leave the game with concussion
concerns made one wonder about the Phillies'
corner outfielders next season and beyond. Sweeney seems to be viewed as more
of a super utility player, but he has shown he can hit. He hit his third homer
of the season in a 9-4
loss to the Mets. He also threw out Yoenis Cespedes at third from right field -- he moved
from left to right when Brown left the game -- to end the sixth. "I like
the way he looks at the plate, and he made that great throw to nail the runner
at third base," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "We'll be
seeing more of him." But certainly somebody has to play the corners in the
future. Cody Asche and Brown
have received the bulk of plate appearances there this season. Asche is hitting
.249 (86-for-345) with 20 doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 24 RBIs and a
.673 OPS in 103 games. Brown is hitting .228 (43-for-289) with six doubles, one
triple, five home runs, 25 RBIs and a .634 OPS in 63 games. If Asche and Brown
had enough plate appearances to qualify, Asche would rank 60th and Brown would
rank 63rd among 67 outfielders in OPS. "You look at some of the teams that
have waited and have reaped the benefits of being patient with some
players," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "We talk
about Kansas City a lot, we talk about teams like Pittsburgh a lot. Guys like
[Starling] Marte, [Gregory] Polanco, [Mike] Moustakas and [Eric] Hosmer. It
doesn't often happen right away. It does take some time for people to adjust
and readjust to being Major Leaguers. There are ebbs and flows. "Did I
have more aspirations and hope Asche would have performed a little bit better
based on how he played in 2014? Yes, but at the same time he was moving to new
position. He had to make that adjustment. None of that stuff is easy." But
if Asche and Brown are both back next season -- Brown is salary
arbitration-eligible for the second time and it is far from certain he will be
tendered a contract -- they will be pushed. Rookie Aaron Altherr has started eight of the previous 15
games in left field. He has started twice in right field. Double-A Reading
outfielder Nick Williams could open next season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He
could be knocking on the door before the end of next season. The Phillies also
might try to bring back veteran Jeff Francoeur. If he returns (or if they sign
another veteran) he will need to play, too. "When you start creating depth
at the upper levels there's only good things that can happen," Amaro said.
"It can push the incumbents to perform better. It will give us a good read
whether or not some of the guys are up to the task and who wants a challenge. "This
was a bit of a fact-finding year for us. We're getting to learn some things
about some players. Hopefully the guys like Brown and Asche and those guys who
were kind of incumbents, hopefully they feel like they're getting pushed.
There's nothing wrong with that."
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies have returned to their lackluster ways and regained their grip on last
place in the NL East with a record of 53-81. Given the departures, aging stars,
injuries, and bipolar performances this season, this could still end up
being the worst team in franchise history… at least that is something to hope
for this year! All time, the Phillies are 52-64-0 on this day.
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