Live Game Thread: Phillies @ Mets | Final Opening Day at Shea

Check out the game preview as we wait for the game to begin...

I'm official excited, and I love that they're taking on the Phillies today. Man, I hate that team.

Pre-game:

• I dig Daryl Strawberry as a new analyst on SNY. I think he'll be pretty good and won't pull any punches.
  
• Jon Heyman looks nothing like his picture that pops up on YES when he's on M&MD. Strange voice to boot.
• Gary/Keith/Ron are all wearing suits. This is a big step up from their ugly polo shirts they wore in Florida. Very dapper.
• There are three generations of Shea's out on the field right now. They're running a great video on Mets baseball and William Shea, voiced by Gary Cohen. Beautiful. Shea Stadium cost $28.5 million to build. That's an average contract for a player in the baseball world now.
• Howie Rose is on the field. I'm getting choked up. Resounding boo's for the Phillies trainers. That sounds about right. Jimmy Rollins wins for loudest jeers, just beating out Pat Burrell. He should be honored.
• Here come the Mets. SNY is screwing up the names and shots. It has to be tough. Here come the coaches, as Howard Johnson is getting a resounding cheer from the crowd. Endy Chavez gets a very loud cheer for a bench player. He's going down in Mets history forever. Matt Wise, who is on the DL, gets boo'd and Aaron Heilman has a mixed reaction. And the crowd literally goes wild for Johan Santana, and rightly so.
• Willie Randolph comes out to cheers. I'm surprised. David Wright comes out to the loudest cheers, as expected.
• The Mets are debuting the name "SHEA" to the wall of retired numbers. Great gesture.
• Here comes the National Anthem. Being sung by Michael Amante. Pretty good, I must say.
• Is a plane flyover really all that special for Mets fans? We get one every 20 minutes at Shea every game!!

First inning:

• Oliver Perez to J-Roll, first pitch of the year: strike, right down the heart of the plate. Rollins taps one three feet in front of the plate, Brian Schneider pounces, and tosses him out at first.
• There goes the no-hitter. Shane Victorino singles to center field.
• The construction crew is hanging out at Citi Field, watching the game. Chase Utley apparently gets tipped on the jersey, and takes his base. Utley was practically on top of the plate and barely got nicked.
• Ryan Howard pops up to Carlos Beltran in center. Perez handled him perfectly.
• Perez is dealing today. Climbing the ladder against Burrell. Called strike three. Inning over. That's how you get out of a first inning jam and get the crowd rocking at the same time.
• 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 BB, 1 K. 0-0 Tie.
  

• Jose Reyes does it again, swinging at the first two pitches of the game and quickly grounding out to short.
• Luis Castillo works out a walk.
• Wright crushes one to the warning track in left-center, but Victorino tracks it down.
• With Beltran at the plate, Moyer keeps checking on Castillo at first. Carlos Ruiz and Moyer have a conference on the mound. Beltran works the count to 3-1. Beltran rolls one along the line to third base. Inning over.
• 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 BB, 0 K. 0-0 Tie.
  

Second inning:

• Perez seems to be working with more of a sidearm approach today, but that might just be me. Jayson Werth singles through the hole on the right side to lead off the inning.
• Pedro Feliz pops one into foul territory, but no one can track it down. Mayor Bloomberg, sporting a nice orange pullover is taking in the game with new Gov. David Patterson by his side. Feliz grounds one right to Carlos Delgado, which freezes Werth. Delgado turns the unassisted double play. Good stuff.
• Carlos Ruiz pops out to Beltran in center.
  
• 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 BB, 0 K. 0-0 Tie
  

• Delgado starts off his season at Shea with a ball crushed to deep right field. Bounces off the HIP sign at the base of the scoreboard. 1-0 Mets. That ball got out in a hurry, and he knew it was gone as soon as he hit it.
• Angel Pagan puts a charge into one, out to the warning track, but again, Victorino tracks it down. He's fast, very fast.
• Ryan Church tries to lay down a bunt down the third base line, which trickles just foul. Nice approach from Church, I like it. Church barely gets nicked on the forearm, and takes first. So now the teams are even.
  
• Brian Schneider grounds one to Utley. Church gets tagged and the throw to first completes the double play.
• 1 run, 1 hit, 0 BB, 0 K. 1-0 Mets.

Third inning:

• I have to hand it to Moyer. I love his socks. Moyer grounds one back to Perez, who makes a diving stab to grab the ball, and makes the toss to first for the first out.
• 3-0 quickly to Rollins. And Perez works in a strike before getting Rollins to ground out to Wright. Two away.
• Victorino pops out to Church in right. 1-2-3 inning for Perez.
• 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 BB, 0 K. 1-0 Mets.

• Perez is probably one of my favorite Mets to watch bat. I love the jumping off the ground when he swings. He grounds out to Utley for the first out.
• Reyes, who seems to be letting go of the bag a little too early, ground out to third for the second out. Reyes seems to be bailing out and taking too large of a swing. He needs to get more compact and shorten up.
• Castillo grounds out to Howard at first, ending the inning.
• 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 BB, 0 K. 1-0 Mets.

Fourth inning:

• Perez wants nothing to do with Utley today, as he nicks him on the upper arm for the second time today. Two hit batters, both named Utley.
• Howard works the count full, putting Utley in motion. Peres is working his slider today, getting Howard to chase low and away. He had no chance to hit that ball and thats exactly the way you need to pitch him.
• Burrell hits one almost right to Church in right, two away.
• Perez gets Werth ground out to Reyes, who goes the short way, barely getting Utley at second base.
• 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 BB, 0 K. 1-0 Mets.

• Wright is quickly 0-2 against Moyer. Works it to 3-2, which doesn't surprise me. He's such a good hitter. He needs to start calling time more, I think. Wright puts one deep into the right centerfield gap, and Victorino tracks it down again. Werth and Victorino collide on the warning track, both are slightly shaken up and stay on the ground for half a minute, but both seem alright and will stay in the game.
• Now Moyer is quickly behind Beltran 3-0 before laying one across the middle for a strike. Moyer misses outside, and Beltran draws the one out walk.
• Kevin Burkhardt is interviewing Gov. Patterson, who grew up a Mets fan, and it still a fan, shares my sentiment about missing Shea, but is very excited to get to Citi Field. "The biggest surprise of my job so far, is that I am governor!" said Patterson.
  
• Everyone get off Delgado's back now. He literally shoots one into the opposite field, getting his bat out down low, singling to left. First and second, one away.
• Did Pagan just walk up the Indiana Jones theme? I love him even more now. Pagan puts one in the hole, which Utley tracks down. Pagan beats out the throw to first. Utley stuttered a bit, and with Pagan's speed, he beat it out.
  
• Bases loaded, one away for Church. This could solidify him for Mets fans with a hit here. Church dribbles one to second, Utley to Howard, plating Beltran. Two away, runners on second and third. 2-0 Mets.
• They're going to issue an IBB to Schneider to bring Perez up with the bases loaded.
• After waving at the slider on the first pitch, Perez attempts a drag bunt with Delgado on third. He literally left the bat hanging over the plate, and hoped it made contact. Pitch in the dirt and Perez swings, ending the inning.
• 1 run, 2 hits, 1 BB, 1 K. 2-0 Mets.

Fifth inning:

• Luis Castillo has been removed from the game, and Damion Easley has taken his place on the field. I'll let you know what's up with Castillo when it breaks. UPDATE: "Right knee soreness."
  
• Feliz grounds one to short, which Reyes has to backhand. Reyes has trouble finding the handle, makes the high throw, and Delgado goes up to get it. Again, I think Delgado is severely underrated at first.
• Ruiz singles to right.
• Mayor Bloomberg: "Take mass transit."
• Moyer is up there trying to bunt Ruiz over, but Perez wants none of that and walks him instead. First and second, one away. That's just terrible on Perez's part. He's trying to sacrifice and you walk him? Not good.
• Perez goes 2-0 on Rollins, forcing Schneider to come out and calm him down. Perez gets two foul balls to work the count 2-2. Grounded to Wright, who tosses to second to get Moyer, but the ball wasn't hit quick enough to get the speedy Rollins. First and third, two away.
• Castillo is out with "right knee soreness."
• Quickly 0-2 on Victorino, and the crowd gets to it's feet. Victorino pops up to very shallow right, and Reyes goes out and puts it away.
• 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 BB, 0 K. 2-0 Mets.

• Moyer is working everyone inside today. It seems to be working. That looping curveball must be impossible to hit. Reyes is up with the count 1-2. He shoots one to first, which Howard stabs out of the air.
• Easley is getting his first AB of the game. Takes a called first strike. He grounds out to his counterpart on the next pitch for the second out of the inning.
• Wright finally finds a place where Victorino can't catch it, doubling to right field.
• Victorino has saved this game too many times. Beltran smacks one to deep center, and Victorino tracks it down...again!
• 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 BB, 0 K.

Sixth inning:

• Perez almost hits Utley, yes, again! Utley pops out to short centerfield, and for some reason Reyes makes the out.
• Perez is working the slider today, getting Howard to pop out to, you guessed it, short centerfield. Reyes goes out, but Beltran puts this one away.
• Burrell is fouling off pitches left and right, with the count 2-2. Burrell works out a walk. One on, two away.
• Since I wrote that Perez is working the slider, he seems to be losing his control. He's up to 92 pitches. Rick Peterson comes out to the mound to have a little chat with Perez as Joe Smith starts to work in the bullpen. Quickly 3-0. Not good. Perez turns and throws to an unoccupied bag, which is a balk. Burrell moves to second. Perez throws ball four low and in, and it gets away from Schneider, a passed ball. Burrell moves to third as Werth takes first. That's the end of the day for Perez. I jinxed him.
• Smith will come into the game with two inherited runners on. Let's see how he handles that. He's been much better this year in that situation though.
• Perez's final line: 5.2 IP, 3 hits, 3 BB, 2 K.
• Scott Schoeneweis is up in the bullpen as Smith is quickly 2-0 on Feliz. Now 3-1. And he walks him. Bases loaded.
• Ruiz grounds one to Reyes, who flips to Easley to end the threat.
• 0 hits, 0 runs, 3 BB, 0 K. 2-0 Mets.

• Moyer is working the curveball to Delgado, quickly getting ahead of him 0-2. Delgado knocks one right into the shift in short right. One away.
• Craig Carton may have just jinxed the Mets, as he claimed they "locked up a win here on Opening Day." Thanks, Craiggy.
• Pagan knocks one to center, Victorino doesn't have to chase it down, but puts it away for the second out of the inning.
• The Phils put the shift on for Church, which I haven't seen before, and he grounds out to the third baseman, who was playing short, to end the inning.
• 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 BB, 0 K. 2-0 Mets.

Seventh inning:

• Smith went out the mound to start the inning, but Moyer was removed for the game in favor of a pinch hitter. Willie Randolph comes out and pulls Smith in favor of Schoeneweis, who will take on So Taguchi.
• I did not know Taguchi was 38-years-old. News to me. The count is full to Taguchi. Big first out, as Schoeneweis gets Taguchi to ground out to Easley.
• Rollins picks up his first hit of the game, singling to Pagan in left.
• Schoeneweis gets ahead on Victorino with a 1-2 count. Now it's full. Victorino grounds one off the mound and up the middle. First and second, both players very quick, with one away. The big guns are coming up.
• Utley gets pegged for the third time today, getting plunked in the arm. Didn't really look like he wanted to get out of the way of that ball, which is understandable. Bases loaded, with Howard coming to the plate.
• Howard grounds one to Delgado, and his throw to second base plunks Utley right in the back. The ball gets away which allows Victorino to score behind Rollins, tying the game. 2-2 Tie.
• Double switch for the Mets, as Schoeneweis will leave the game in favor of Jorge Sosa. Sosa will bat sixth, as Endy Chavez is now playing left in place of Pagan. Chavez will hit ninth.
• Burrell pops out deep to Church in right. Utley tags up and moves to third. Two away.
• Sosa is ahead of Werth, 1-2, and the crowd comes to their feet in support. Werth goes the other way, poking it through the hole between Easley and Delgado, scoring Utley. 3-2 Phillies.
• Feliz pops up to Reyes in shallow left, ending the inning.
• 3 hits, 3 runs, 0 BB, 0 K. 3-2 Phillies.

• Chad Durbin is in the game in place of Moyer.
• Schneider starts off the inning with a single up the middle on the first pitch he sees.
• Chavez, batting in the 9-hole, attempts a bunt on the first pitch. Chavez grounds one to Durbin, who tips it right to Rollins who turns the double play.
• Reyes, batting lefty, grounds one under the diving glove of Utley.
• Durbin keeps checking Reyes at first. Still no pitch to Easley. On his first pitch, Easley puts a charge into one, but Taguchi tracks it down on the warning track.
• 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 BB, 0 K. 3-2 Phillies.

Eighth inning:

• Aaron Heilman in the game for the Mets.
• Ruiz works the count full, and Heilman walks the leadoff batter.
• Taguchi sacrafices, moving Ruiz to second base for Rollins.
• Rollins pulls one under the glove of Delgado at first and Ruiz comes around to score easily. 4-2 Phillies.
• Schneider can't handle a Heilman slider, and that would be his second passed ball of the day. Not a good day behind the plate for Schneider. Heilman is now behind 3-1 on Victorino. Heilman walks him on the next pitch. First and second, again, both speedy, with only one away.
• Heilman is all over the place today. Missing low, missing away. Everything but his fastball is missing the zone. Heilman is very focused on Rollins at second. He's checked him four times this at bat. Utley doubles over the head of Church, driving in Rollins. 5-2 Phillies. Second and third, one away.
• Howard will get the IBB, brining up Geoff Jenkins in place of the pitcher.
• Gary Cohen is wondering where Pedro Feliciano is. I'm right there with him. Feliciano is like a ghost this season.
• Jenkins is up with the bases loaded. Jenkins pops one up, and the infield fly rule is called. Two away.
• Werth now up with the bases still chucked. Heilman is quickly behind 2-0. Heilman puts a 92 mph fastball by Werth, up at the letters for the first strike. Werth lefts one to right, and Church is under it to end the inning.
• 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 BB, 0 K. 5-2 Phillies.

• It's the middle of the 8th inning, and I can hear Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" in the background at the stadium. That brightens my day a bit.
  
• Rollins is out of the game, Eric Bruntlett is in the game at short. Good.
• Wright gets called out on a check swing, which was very close. I'm not sure about that. One away on a swinging strikeout.
• Beltran works the count to 3-1, and promptly doubles down the third base line. A stand-up double for Beltran, his seventh of the season.
• 3-2 to Delgado. Grounded to the right side and Beltran moves to third.
• Brady Clark is up in the pitchers spot. Clark is fighting off pitches, with the count 2-2. Full count now, as Clark fouls one off his foot. The AB continues. On the eighth pitch, Clark works out a walk. First and third, two away.
• Church is up with a chance to tie the game. Quickly 0-2 on a high fastball that Church does not agree with. Looked a little outside from my seat on the couch. Church dribbles another one to second, and Utley beats him with the throw by a step. Inning over.
• 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 1 K. 5-2 Phillies.

Ninth inning:

• Carlos Muniz is in the game for the Mets. Muniz is on the team, taking the place of Wise who was placed on the DL, retroactive to April 5.
• Rollins left the game with a sprained left ankle. Cheers erupt from Mets fans everywhere.
• Muniz gets a ground ball from Feliz, and Wright makes the toss to first for the first out of the inning.
• Ruiz puts one in the air right to Chavez in left field, two away quick.
• Taguchi hits one to right, and Church puts it away for the final out.
• 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 BB, 0 K. 5-2 Phillies.

• Tom Gordon will come into the game for the Phillies to try and put the game away and earn the save.
• Gordon takes down Schneider on three pitches. The shadows between the pitcher and the batter are favoring the Phillies right now.
• Chavez is taking his second AB of the game. On a 2-2 pitch, Chavez grounds one right to Gordon, who flips to Howard for the second out.
• Reyes, again batting left handed, knocks the ball to the warning track, very symbolic of todays game, and Werth puts it away for the final out of the game.
• 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 BB, 0 K. 5-2 Phillies.

Final: 5-2 Phillies.
WP: Jamie Moyer
LP: Scott Schoeneweis

Thanks for sticking around. Hope you enjoyed the Live Blog.