Live Game Thread: Mets @ Phillies -- 4/18

Mets vs. Phillies.
Santana vs. Hamels.

A great game on paper, let's see how it turns out on the field. Stick around for a blow-by-blow rundown of the game, injected with my own commentary and occasionally witty remarks.

Feel free to discuss the game in the comments.

Pre-game:

• I'm worried about Johan Santana and the long ball tonight. He wants to challenge hitters way too much, and he keeps the ball in the strike zone more than necessary. He needs to throw more junk when he's ahead in the count.

First inning:

• ...And here we go! First pitch to Jose Reyes, a fastball high, fouled back. On the third pitch, Reyes flies one to So Taguchi in right.
• Cole Hamels is dialing it up to 96 mph early on. Behind Ryan Church 3-1, before he gets him swinging on his changeup to push it full. Church walks, and the perfect game is no more.
• Here is David Wright, coming off a hitless night against the Nationals. Carlos Ruiz can't get his grip on a Hamels change, and it squirts away as Church moves to second. That just looked lazy. Wright goes deep and golfs one to the short porch in left. Off the top of the wall and bounces back into play. Church had it read the whole way and scored easily, and Wright slides into second with an RBI double.
• Carlos Beltran, playing after taking a night off due to a sore neck, smokes a ball to Eric Bruntlett at short. Wright is caught off second base and the double play ends the inning.
• 1 run, 1 hit, 1 BB, 0 K. 1-0 Mets.

• First pitch from Santana in there for a called strike one. Third pitch goes well over the head of Brian Schneider. Calmate, Santana. Taguchi thought he had a free pass to first, but he is wrung up on a called strike three. That was not a strike, but rather nice framework from Schneider.
• With Jayson Werth batting, Gary Cohen is mentioning how CBP is so quiet. I've been there, and either the fans are just very, very quiet, or the park is built to reduce noise, or something. Werth pops one out to left for the second out.
• First two pitches to Chase Utley fouled away. Woah...I don't know where that pitch missed. Low, I guess, but that's what's called now. The textbook strikezone is out the window. "On the outside corner, strike three called." Thanks Gary.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 BB, 2 K. 1-0 Mets.

Second inning:

• Well that was quick for Carlos Delgado. Good morning, good afternoon, and goodnight. Wide strike zone tonight, that's for sure.
• Angel Pagan pops one foul, behind home. Ruiz puts him away. Keith makes his usual catchers-mask-toss-away comment.
• Schneider singles up the middle as Utley...um...gets stuck on the grass? Looked like he was glued down.
• First two to number eight hitter Luis Castillo fouled away. With Castillo's absolute lack of power, he somehow manages to get one out to left field for Pat Burrell to put away.
• 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 BB, 1 K. 1-0 Mets.

• I love this matchup of Santana and Ryan Howard. Howard goes down swinging at a slider low and away. Good start, Mr. Santana. Now your real test...
• Burrell. He gets a first pitch strike from Johan. Met Killer rips a single to center, tailing away from Beltran. He runs it down in the outfield, keeping Burrell to a long single.
• Why do you hold a guy like Burrell? He's not going anywhere. Pedro Feliz pops out to Beltran in center, who thinks they already have three outs. At least he didn't toss the ball to a fan in the stands.
• Ball in the dirt with two strikes, and Ruiz attempts to check his swing. He fails, and is called out on strikes. Johan's fourth in two innings.
• 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 BB, 2 K. 1-0 Mets.

Third inning:

• Here is Santana at the plate. Think he can smoke one the other way for a home run? Guess not.
• Hamels in danger of walking Reyes on four pitches. And does. Make him pay for it, Jose.
• Church puts a charge into one, to straightaway center field, but Werth has it on the warning track for the second out. It was no Aaron Rowand tracking down a Xavier Nady line drive, that's for sure.
• With Wright batting, Reyes takes off for second. He's in there safe as the throw goes a little high, but he takes a knee to the head and is laying on top of second base as some cheers pour in from the Philly crowd. Trainers are out there, and they're checking for concussions. They're dilating his pupils with a pen light. A concussion would knock him out for about two weeks. He's also holding his mouth, as he probably ate a ton of dirt on that play. Reyes does not want to come out of the game, as he's standing around second trying to work it off. Just read "Oh come on!" off the lips of Reyes. Willie Randolph and Ray Ramirez are trying to coax him out. Surprisingly, Reyes is staying in. Wow.
• Start a new bullet here...Wright cracks the first pitch from Hamels after the delay to center. Werth attempts a dive, but the ball skips past him and back to the warning track. Hamels should have thrown some pitches to stay warm. Reyes scores easily and Wright ends up at third base with a stand up triple.
• Beltran pops out to end the inning.
• 1 run, 1 hit, 1 BB, 1 K. 2-0 Mets.

• Bruntlett pops it up to right field and Church camps out under it and puts it away.
• Pitcher v. pitcher here. These matchups are always fun. Called strike three. Johan notches up number five in the strike out tally.
• What's that? Another strike out! Taguchi goes down swinging. Six for Johan through three. Two an inning, each inning.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 BB, 2 K. 2-0 Mets.

Fourth inning:

• Delgado is a career .381 hitter in CBP. 40-105, 8 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR. Three triples? He must really love this place. Delgado makes an attempt to dump one away from Werth, but this time he tracks it down and with a sliding play makes the first out of the inning.
• Broken bat grounder for Pagan, and Feliz makes the long toss around the diamond to get the out.
• Schneider rips his second hit of the night. He pulls one to the left of Taguchi in right. One on with two away for Castillo.
• Soft ground ball to Feliz, who tosses to Howard to end the inning.
• 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 BB, 0 K. 2-0 Mets.

• 1-2 on Werth, and he bails himself out with a strange looking swing. Don't know how he made contact at all there. Dirty changeup from Santana gets Werth swinging. Strikeout number seven.
• Utley pulls one down the first base line, it takes a bad hop and skips right through the five hole of Delgado. Error charged to Delgado, thanks to the Phillies scorer. I'm going to hear it from all the people that hear me proclaim how Delgado is an underrated defensive player.
• Howard's up with one on. The game's momentum could shift to the Phillies with one big swing here. Johan gets him swinging on a slider again. Eight for Santana.
• Burrell is up, and the aforementioned quip about the game shifting in the Phillies favor still rings true. Burrell smokes one to center, but Beltran cuts across and makes the play.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 BB, 2 K. 2-0 Mets.

Fifth inning:

• Even with this two run lead and Santana pitching extremely well, it still feels like the Phillies can take this game at any time. Hopefully, this is only me and none of the Mets feel the same way. I have to shake this feeling.
• Santana leading off the inning again. Swinging for the fences. Filthy changeup that started at Santana's head and dropped to the dirt. Santana is down swinging.
• One pitch, one out for Reyes. He grounds out to Feliz.
• I still cannot believe Randolph wants to go back to Castillo in the two-hole. Church seems to fit perfectly there. Stick with him, dangit! Church goes down looking on a fastball over the outside corner.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 BB, 2 K. 2-0 Mets.

• First pitch of the inning for Santana, and Feliz hits one deep, but Beltran tracks it down on the warning track for the first out of the inning.
• Another pop up to left, and Ruiz is retired by Pagan. Gary just noted there has not been one ground ball out from Santana this game. That's nuts.
• There goes that, as Bruntlett grounds one to Wright at third. Wright makes the throw, on taget, to Delgado to end the inning. First inning without two strikeouts for Santana.
  
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 BB, 0 K. 2-0 Mets.

Sixth inning:

• Wright singled into left field over Bruntlett. Wright is now a home run away from the cycle. Double, triple, and a single.
• Beltran grounds one into the hole, but Bruntlett tracks it down, backhands, and makes a falling away throw to second to get the lead runner. Looked a bit close on that play at second, at least to me, but no one else made a peep about it. Hmm.
• Delgado bloops one down the first base line, which would have been a nice double, if it had not landed inches foul. He's in the hole 0-2. They're showing the Verizon High Speed of the game, and only have Hamels listed at 92 mph. I watched him hit 96 mph in the first inning. My guess: SNY is outsourcing their radar gun. Delgado bloops out to Utley.
• Pagan pulls a single through the hole, past Bruntlett. Nice swing there. Thanks for the replay. First and second, two away.
• Schneider makes his first out tonight, popping out to Burrell in left.
• 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 BB, 0 K. 2-0 Mets.

• Hamels and Santana matchup again. Santana's working him tight. Imagine is he gets plunked. Not good news. Don't do it Johan. Hamels goes down swinging. Nine for Santana.
• Taguchi grounds out, two away quick.
• Werth lines one into left and Pagan makes a diving, rolling grab to put it away. Excellent play. Shows his hustle and tenacity. Good stuff, Pagan.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, o BB, 1 K. 2-0 Mets.

Seventh inning:

• Castillo grounds another one softly to short, a low throw, but Howard digs it out.
• Santana pulls one down the first base line, which is snagged by Howard. Hamels wouldn't get their in time, so Howard needs to get to the bag himself and dives for the bag, just beating Santana. Johan broke out of that box with some speed. The replay had an added "woooosh!" sound effect via Ron. Thanks, that gave me a laugh.
• Reyes smokes one, right into the glove of Feliz manning the hot corner.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 BB, 0 K. 2-0 Mets.

• Utley takes a pitch from Santana deep to center field, over the fence and into the Phillies bullpen. This is a one run ballgame. 2-1 Mets. That is exactly why Santana needs to throw more junk.
• Howard grounds one along the line, which Delgado snags and takes to the base himself. One away.
• First pitch to Burrell is way in the dirt and skips past Schneider. After missing with his first two, works him inside to get the count to 2-2 and strikes him out on the next pitch, a change. Double digits for Santana.
• 2-2 pitch to Feliz, and he chops one over the head of Santana. Castillo comes charging in, snags it with his glove, grabs the handle, and makes the across the body throw to first to beat Feliz to the bag. Amazin'. Excellent play.
• 1 run, 1 hit, 0 BB, 1 K. 2-1 Mets.

Eighth inning:

• Church rips a ball into the right field corner. Church rounds first, but misses the bag, stumbles, falls, and has to hurry back to first.
• Wright doubles down the left field line, moving Church to third base. Wright is 4-4. A single, two doubles, and a triple. Some night after going 0-5 in 14 innings.
• After getting behind Beltran 2-0, the Phils will give him the intentional free pass and opt to pitch J.C. Romero against Delgado.
• Delgado has just one hit in 13 at bats against Romero, batting .077. Delgado rips the first pitch on the ground to Howard. Howard bobbles it a bit and his only play is to first while the run scores. 3-1 Mets.
• Pagan bloops one between Taguchi and Werth and both runners need to hold. The ball drops in and Wright walks on home. Beltran moves to third as Pagan hustles out a double. Good stuff. 4-1 Mets.
• Schneider puts one in the hole on the left side again, driving home Beltran. Pagan moves to third as Schneider drives in another with a single. 5-1 Mets.
• With Castillo batting, Pagan breaks for home, but Castillo doesn't square a bunt. Castillo fouls one away, saving a near disaster. Willie, a suicide squeeze? I don't think so. Castillo bounces one to third, Feliz makes the snag, attempts a tag to Pagan, which fails, and makes the long throw to Howard to get the second out. Schneider moves to second.
• Santana is still in the game, as he is getting a chance to bat in the eighth inning with two runners in scoring position. Santana goes down on strikes. His third strike out at the plate tonight.
• 3 runs, 4 hits, 1 BB, 1 K. 5-1 Mets.

• This is a strange sight. A Mets pitcher still in the game in the eighth inning. The Mets bullpen was taxed last night, so to have him eat up these innings here is amazing. Light-hitting Ruiz dunks one between Pagan and Reyes for a leadoff single. The Phillies third hit of the night.
• Bruntlett lines one right past Santana for the second straight hit. Santana made a valiant attempt on that ball, but couldn't make the stab. That will be all for Santana, I believe.
  
• J. Santana: 7+ IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K. Pretty freakin' good, if I say so myself.
• Aaron Heilman will enter the game for the Mets with two on and no one away.
  
• 95 mph fastball from Heilman for his first pitch to Greg Dobbs, pinch hitting. Second pitch from Heilman is taken DEEP to right for a three run home run. 5-4 Mets. Ugh! Heilman will never, ever be a closer for that reason.
• A huge cut from pinch hitter Geoff Jenkins on the second pitch. If he made contact, that ball was gone. Third pitch, Jenkins takes it to the warning track. He just missed tying this game.
• Werth squares to bunt, but Heilman makes Werth jump and dive out of the way with a ball way inside. Werth grounds one to Castillo for the second out. Heilman is done with Utley coming to bat.
• Pedro Feliciano will enter the game for the Mets. Feliciano pitched to one batter last night, walking him on four pitches.
• Feliciano gets Utley swinging on a fastball to end the inning. Good stuff from Pedro.
• 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 BB, 1 K. 5-4 Mets.

Ninth inning:

• Brad Lidge in the game for the Phillies.
• Lidge dials it up to 96 mph against Reyes. Ground ball to Utley, one away.
• Church smokes a single to left field. Great stuff from him. Willie, please don't move him.
• Wright's up with the chance for the cycle. Down 0-2 quick, but battles back to even. Now it's full. Slider outside, and the Mets have two on for Beltran. Five trips to the plate, five straight times on base for Wright.
• Beltran smokes one to Howard at first, and he gloves it and on the upswing with his arm, flings it across the infield. Bases loaded, one away for...
• Carlos Delgado. One career AB against Lidge, one career home run against Lidge. Delgado pops one to left, easily plating Church with a sac-fly. 6-4 Mets.
• Swing form Pagan at a ball in the dirt, but the ball skips at the plate and gets by Ruiz and scoots into the dugout. Both runners move up a base. Lazy fly ball to left and Burrell ends the inning.
• 1 run, 1 hit, 1 BB, 0 K. 6-4 Mets.

• Billy Wagner is in for the Mets and the save.
• Howard grounds one right back to Wagner, who makes the toss to Delgado for the first out. Howard didn't even make it halfway down the line.
• Full count to Burrell. Please don't bring the tying run to the plate. Popped up to shallow right and Castillo retreats to try and make the play. Church comes in and calls him off and makes the play.
• Feliz is up with the Phillies last chance. Quickly ahead 0-2 on Feliz and Wagner dials it up to 99 mph, but misses badly. Count is now even. Ground ball to Wright, who makes a perfect throw to Delgado to end the game.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 BB, 0 K. 6-4 Mets.
  

Mets 6 -- Phillies 4
WP: Johan Santana
LP: Cole Hamels

Thanks for tuning in. Be back in a bit with a recap.