Live Game Thread: Phillies @ Mets -- 4/10

Preparing for another live blog as the series wraps up in New York...

John Maine vs. Adam Eaton

Pre-game:

• No Jimmy Rollins tonight, again.

First inning:

• Shane Victorino takes a first pitch ball from John Maine to start the game. Maine's up around 90-92 mph, and gets Victorino to swings and foul off ball four before Victorino singles up the middle. There goes the no hitter.
• Here's Eric Bruntlett, coming off a very rough night. Maine is having a bit of trouble finding the plate early. Hit and run is on, and Bruntlett pops it up to Delgado on the infield. Victorino has no clue and can't get back in time, double play.
• Maine gets ahead on his first batter, going 0-2 to Chase Utley. Utley puts one in the air, and Angel Pagan tracks it down on the warning track.
• 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 BB, 0 K. 0-0 Tie.

• Jose Reyes is cold. Second pitch he lifts a lazy fly ball to left field for the first out.
• Pagan puts one in the air to left, and Pat Burrell is there to put it away.
• Yikes. Adam Eaton gets David Wright to chase a ball very low and very away. Wright just looks silly on that swing. Quick inning.
  
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 BB, 1 K. 0-0 Tie.

Second inning:

• Maine gets Ryan Howard to lift one to center field for the first out.
• On the next pitch, Burrell pops one up to Ryan Church. Five outs, four pop ups.
• Maine is either in the dirt or missing high tongiht it seems. Maybe that's just me. Geoff Jenkins rips one to left center. Beltran watches it likes it's a goner, and I thought it was gone too, but it hits about a foot down from the top of the wall and bounces to Beltran. Jenkins slides into second with a double.
• Can of corn for Beltran off the bat of Pedro Feliz to center field, and the inning is over.
• 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 BB, 0 K. 0-0 Tie.

• Beltran pops one up behind the bag at first, Howard's under it and there is one out. Beltran is 0-8 this series.
• With Carlos Delgado up, the Phillies move into the shift. Delgado just fouled one off his foot and didn't even flinch. If that was me, I'd be on the ground crying for my mommy. Guess that's why I'm on the couch writing about baseball as opposed to playing it. Full count to Delgado. After a few foul balls, Eaton throws a ball in the dirt and Delgado walks.
• Church rips a curve ball under the glove of Utley, Delgado moves to second base.
• Damion Easley grounds a ball to Bruntlett, who fields it cleanly, tosses it to second where Utley gets nailed by Church, but makes a nice throw to first to complete the double play and end the inning.
• 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 BB, 0 K. 0-0 Tie.

Third inning:

• They're commenting on the Tommy Agee home run, which is celebrating it's 39th anniversary today.
  
• I love Chris Coste, what a story. He works the count full before walking.
• Eaton sacrifices Coste to second base, one away.
• Maine looks worried, but comes out with a nasty breaking ball to Victorino, 1-2, before Victorino grounds one back to Maine. Maine could have easily turned and nailed Coste at third with about 70 feet to spare. Coste moves to third as Maine goes to first to get Victorino.
• Quickly two strikes to Bruntlett, and he flies out to Beltran in center to end the threat.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 BB, 0 K. 0-0 Tie.

• Leading off the inning, Brian Schneider quickly grounds out to Utley at second.
• Maine goes down swinging in a futile plate appearance. What happened to the Maine that could hit a home run? Oh, right, that was a miracle.
• I fully believe that if Victorino wasn't in center for the Phils, the Mets would be looking for the sweep tonight. He tracks down and nearly over runs a ball stung into center by Reyes. That was another quickie.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 BB, 1 K. 0-0 Tie.

Fourth inning:

• Utley pops out to left for the first out. This game is flying.
• Howard stings one into the shift, taking a short hop in front of Easley. He corrals it and makes the strangely angled toss to Delgado at first.
• Maine is having trouble finding the plate, as he walks Burrell. He's been helped out by some poor hitting decisions on the Phillies part, swinging on ill-advised pitches.
  
• Jenkins grounds out right to Delgado, who needs to move one step to the left to make the out at first.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 BB, 0 K. 0-0 Tie.
  

• Pagan rips one to over the head of Bruntlett, who jumps for it, but the ball tips off the top of his glove and into the outfield.
• Wright looks terrible on the first pitch again, swinging at a slider in the dirt. Ugly. Second pitch: equally ugly. He can't hit that slider for the life of him. Rally towels are up and spinning as the slider falls in for a called strike three. Wright can't pick up the ball lately.
• A common theme the last two nights: walks from the Phillies. Beltran walks to put two on with one out.
• Delgado has a beautiful batters count, 3-1, and promptly grounds out to second, advancing both runners.
• Church comes through, waiting on a pitch and punching a two RBI single to left center. Pagan and Beltran score easily. Good stuff.
• Bruntlett brought his glove tonight, backhanding a ball from Easley and making a falling away throw to second to get Church an end the inning.
• 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 BB, 1 K. 2-0 Mets.

Fifth inning:

• 53 pitches for Maine starting the fifth inning. Much better pitch count than his first time around. Maine K's Feliz on three pitches for his first strike out of the game.
• Maine seems to be finding his stride here. Coste hits one to straight away an Beltran breaks back before having to come charging in and makes the catch at his thigh.
• Easton ground out to Reyes. Maine only needed 6 pitches that inning.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 BB, 1 K. 2-0 Mets.

• Schneider grounds out to Utley for the first out of the fifth inning.
• Maine goes down on three pitches for the second time tonight.
• Reyes up with two outs, a place where Reyes finds himself very often and I feel he is absolutely wasted in these spots. He rarely has the ability to create runs in this spot. Reyes does something he should never, ever do, popping up for the third time tonight.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 BB, 1 K. 2-0 Mets.

Sixth inning:

• Maine is busting Victorino in tight. He's getting strikes in there though. Another walk though, as Victorino takes the free pass to first. Third walk of the game for Maine.
• Bruntlett pops out to Church, who staggers under it and makes the catch.
• With Utley batting, Victorino takes off for second. Schneider shows Mets fans why the team picked him up this offseason, as he puts the throw on the money and gets Victorino at second.
• Utley grounds one off the bag and Easley comes over and tries to flip it to first but it was too late. Easley and Utley collide behind the bag, but both players are just fine.
• Maine is missing low and in to lefties tonight. Very strange that he keeps missing to the same exact spot. Maybe he's not missing, if it's going to the same spot. Who knows. Howard works the count full. On the eighth pitch of the at bat, Maine walks Howard. Two on, two out for...
• Burrell. Maine misses with the first two pitches. Ball three. Ball four. Four pitches. Bases are loaded. He's up to 83 pitches.
• Another ball to Jenkins. Next pitch, Jenkins grounds to Delgado who has to move to his right to field the ball. He makes the throw to second, as his momentum was carrying him in that direction to end the thread.
• 0 runs, 1 hit, 3 walks, o K. 2-0 Mets.

• Pagan leading off the inning again. How good is this kid? Pagan dumps one into left and coasts into second with a stand-up double. Moises who?
• Here comes Wright. Let's see if he can make contact. And he does. Wright grounds out to Bruntlett, which allows Pagan to move to third with one away.
• Beltran rips a single into right field, allowing Pagan to trot on home for the third run of the game. Your standard Beltran swing right there. So sweet. 3-0 Mets.
• With Delgado batting, do you send Beltran? Why not test Coste? Long AB for Delgado here. Making Eaton work. Full count. Delgado swings through a high slider, and Delgado just misses under it. Two away.
• With Church batting, Beltran attempts a steal. Very close play at second, but Coste made a perfect throw and got the call.
• 1 run, 2 hits, 0 BB, 1 K. 3-0 Mets.

Seventh inning:

• Maine is still out there.
• He promptly gives up a solo home run to Feliz to deep left field. Hanging slider from Maine, he was just asking to get taken deep. 3-1 Mets.
• Coste rips one to left field. Pagan does not know how to handle the outfield at Shea just yet and the ball goes over his head and off the wall. Coste practically walks into second with an easy double. That's the end of the day for Maine.
• Pedro Feliciano is in the game for the Mets.
• Maine's final line: 6+ IP, 1 ER, 5 hits, 1 K.
• Feliciano is quickly behind Jayson Werth 3-0. Now 3-1. Ball four. First and second, nobody out.
• Victorino up, and the Mets are looking for the bunt. 1-2 on Victorino as he bunts it and hits it while still in the box. Swing away here? Yup, and he swings through a breaking ball for the first out.
• 0-2 and Feliciano gets one in on the outside corner, striking out Bruntlett. Beautiful pitch. Two away.
• Uh-oh, Utley's up. 2-2 to Utley. Both strikes have come on sliders that start behind Utley and break over the plate. Dirty. Got 'em swinging to end the threat.
• 1 run, 2 hits, 1 BB, 3 K. 3-1 Mets.

• Ryan Madson is now pitching for the Phillies.
• Church lifts one very high to center field, and Werth is under it for the first out. One pitch, one out.
• Easley takes Madson the other way for a double. Bounces off the Amtrak down in the corner. Easley's first hit of the night.
  
• Schneider goes low and golfs the changeup to second base. Utley puts him away for the second out.
• Marlon Anderson is pinch hitting for Feliciano. Aaron Heilman is up in the bullpen for the Mets. Madson and Coste are having a bit of trouble communicating. 2-2 count to Anderson. Long AB here. Finally a pitch not fouled off. 3-2. With the 10th pitch, Anderson grounds out to Utley at second.
• 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 BB, 0 K. 3-1 Mets.

Eighth inning:

• Heilman is in the game. Don't have a repeat performance of the first two outings.
• Howard takes Heilman very deep to dead center field for a solo home run. 420 feet? That ball was crushed. 3-2 Mets.
• Burrell walks. Warm up Billy Wagner now. So Taguchi is running for Burrell.
  
• 2-2 count to Werth. He pulls it under the glove of Delgado. Taguchi goes first to third. Two on, no outs.
• Feliz grounds one to Wright, who barely makes the play and the throw, as they only get one at first. Tying runs scores and Werth moves to second. 3-3 Tie.
• Coste works the count full after behind behind in the count. Heilman gets Coste to swing through a pitch, two away.
• Werth fists one to first and Delgado takes it to the bag himself, inning over.
• 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 BB, 1 K. 3-3 Tie.

• JC Romero is pitching for the Phillies. He owned the Mets last season.
• Reyes quickly down 0-2 as he pulls it to short. Bruntlett fields it on the backhand but has no chance to get the speedy Reyes. Let's manufacture a run here, boys.
• Pagan drops down a beautiful bunt, moving Reyes to second as they throw out Pagan at first.
• IBB to Wright. He's been ice cold, crazy. Beltran is 4-21 against Romero, sense is now made.
• 2-1 to Beltran, as he lines one foul down the left field line. Coste and Romero have a meeting at the mound. A double steal as Beltran swings through the ball. Reyes moves to third and Wright moves to second. 2-2 count. Beltran swings through the slider low, two outs. Big out for Romero there.
• Delgado chops one to third, where Feliz fields it and makes the throw to first to end the inning.
• 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 BB, 1 K. 3-3 Tie.

Ninth inning:

• Wagner is pitching for the Mets, facing Rollins who is pinch hitting for the Phillies. Wagner hasn't pitched in eight days.
• Rollins hasn't taken his bat off his shoulder, and it's 1-2. Next pitch: swinging strike. One away.
• Bruntlett pops up to Church in right. Two away.
• 2-2 to Utley. Two strikes on the paint. Full count. Two pitches fouled off. Obviously still 3-2. Wagner misses low, Utley walks.
• Swing and miss by Howard on the first pitch. 1-2 count. Swing and a miss on the slider, and Howard goes down.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 BB, 2 K. 3-3 Tie.

• Church takes a slider over the plate for a called first pitch strike and breaks his bat on the next pitch. Quickly 0-2. Church swings over the slider, one away.
• Easley grounds one along the third base line, Feliz picks it up and makes the toss to first. Two outs.
• Full count for Schneider. Works out a walk.
• Endy Chavez is pinch hitting for Wagner. Chavez stings one right to Bruntlett at short. We're getting some free baseball.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 BB, 1 K. 3-3 Tie.

Tenth inning:

• Joe Smith is in for the Mets.
• Smith induces a chopping ground ball to second and Easley makes a beautiful play, just beating Taguchi with the throw at first.
• Jenkins works a walk, the ninth of the game from Mets pitchers. Sounds like last night for the Phillies.
• Feliz pops out to Beltran in center field for the second out of the inning.
• Coste lines one to Delgado at first who snags it for the final out.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 BB, 0 K. 3-3 Tie.

• Rudy Seanez is in the game for the Phillies.
• Seanez falls behind Reyes 2-0. A walk would be huge here. And now it's 2-2. Took the first strike all the way. Reyes gets called out on a very close pitch. That did not catch the plate at all and Reyes is wrung up. Not cool.
• Pagan pops one into shallow left and Bruntlett goes out to get it. Two out.
• Wright works the count full, 3-2. Wright walks for the second time tonight.
• Beltran swings over the slider for the first strike. That happens a lot with him. Slider low and in on Beltran is unhittable for Carlos. Wright swipes second base, putting him in scoring position. Beltran works the count full here, where a base hit will win it. Beltran slams his bat into the ground after swinging and missing on a slider low and away, ending the inning.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 BB, 1 K. 3-3 Tie.

Eleventh inning:

• Smith is still in for the Mets. Werth grounds one into the hole, Wright makes a diving stab, but the throw is too late and Werth picks up a infield single to leadoff the inning.
• Cole Hamels is sent up to bunt, and lays down a beauty. Wright and Schneider have a bit of trouble communicating and Schneider fields it but slips while attempting the throw. First and second, none away.
• Bruntlett fouls off the first two pitches, and is in the hole 0-2. Stick with the bunt? Yup. He fouls it off, strike three. One away. End of the night for Smith, Scott Schoeneweis is coming in the game for New York.
• Schoeneweis facing Utley here with two on, this should be fun. Schoeneweis is quickly behind 2-0. Two fouled off pitches, and the count is even. Utley grounds one to Easley, who turns to second, tosses it to Reyes to eliminate Hamels who guns it onto Delgado at first to get Utley and end the inning.
• 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 BB, 1 K. 3-3 Tie.

• Tom Gordon is now pitching for Philadelphia.
• Delgado chases a slider low and away, strike three. That was ugly.
• Church chases a fastball way out of the zone high, 94 mph, strike three. Again, that was ugly.
• First pitch to Easley, popped out to Werth in center. Bad inning from the Metties at the plate.

Twelfth inning:

• Jorge Sosa is coming into the game for New York. I don't get why Schoeneweis wasn't left in at least to face Howard. That one baffles me. Oh. Nevermind that. Schoeneweis is staying in. Woops.
  
• Gary is now asking Keith for Tootsie Pops. You know it's getting late when...
• Howard pulls one along the first base line, right to Delgado, who takes it to the bag himself for the first out.
• Schoeneweis is still in the game. Now I'm really confused. He's facing a righty in Taguchi, for what reason? He induces a chopper to Reyes, who has to make the quick throw, and does, to get Taguchi at first.
• Full count to Jenkins here. He's been on base three times tonight. Jenkins grounds it to the second base side of Easley, who has to make a backhanded stab, but can't come up with the ball. Jenkins is on with what I would score as an error.
• Double switch: Sosa in for Church, Brady Clark in the pitchers spot.
• First pitch from Sosa and Feliz grounds it right to Wright. Goes the short way to second to end the inning.
• 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 BB, 0 K. 3-3 Tie.

• Schneider pops the first pitch from Gordon, in his second inning, to Utley. One away in a hurry.
• Clark taking his first AB of the game. Clark stings one to third, Feliz fields it nicely and makes the long toss across the diamond to get Clark.
• Keith is bored. He's stretching in the booth.
• Reyes rips one into the gap, and easily pulls into second with a stand-up double. Man in scoring position with two away.
• Pagan comes through in a big way, singling up the middle and Werth comes up throwing in center. Reyes makes the slide and gets his hand to the plate before Coste applies the tag on his back. 4-3 Mets.

Final: Mets 4 -- Phillies 3.
WP: Jorge Sosa
LP: Tom Gordon