Jul 4, 2008 10:58 pm US/Eastern
Phillies Take Down The Mets On The 4th, 3-2
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ―
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Shane Victorino slapped his hands together after rounding first base, pumped his fist and braced himself for a beating.
CBS
Shane Victorino slapped his hands together after rounding
first base, pumped his fist and braced himself for a beating.
A game-ending hit can be a
painful experience sometimes.
Victorino's two-out RBI single
in the ninth inning lifted the Philadelphia Phillies over the New York Mets 3-2
on Friday night.
Duaner Sanchez (3-1)
retired the first two batters before Pedro Feliz doubled to left field.
Victorino followed with a liner to right on a 1-2 pitch to score Feliz and send
a sellout crowd into a frenzy.
The dugout emptied quickly and
swarmed Victorino.
"(Kyle) Kendrick got me a few
times, so he better watch out next time I have a chance to get him," Victorino
said. "It felt good to get the win."
The NL East-leading
Phillies have won four straight after losing 13 of 18.
Brad Lidge (2-0)
pitched a perfect ninth and Philadelphia's
stellar bullpen tossed 4 1-3 scoreless innings. Chad Durbin retired the seven
batters he faced, striking out six, after replacing starter J.A. Happ in the fifth.
Ryan Madson threw a scoreless eighth.
Johan Santana again had nothing to show for a strong
outing.
Santana gave up two runs and six
hits in eight innings. The two-time AL Cy Young Award winner is 0-4 in his last
six starts despite a 2.48 ERA in that span.
Santana threw just 95
pitches and wouldn't have minded staying in to pitch the ninth.
"I'm not trying to be a
hero," he said. "I guess things didn't turn out good."
The inconsistent Mets
fell 5 ½ games behind the Phillies, though both teams know that's a short lead
in July.
The Phillies battled
the Mets to the final day of the regular season last year, overtaking New York to win their
first division title in 14 years. The Mets had a seven-game lead with 17 remaining,
before their historic collapse.
"We haven't been able
to find a way to win these close games," third baseman David Wright said. "We
had chances but we couldn't get the job done."
New York backed Santana with two runs in the
fifth but the Phillies tied it in the sixth. Jayson Werth and Chase Utley hit one-out
singles. After Jimmy Rollins flied out, Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell delivered
back-to-back RBI singles.
Happ allowed two runs
and three hits in 4 2-3 innings in his second career start. Happ was called up
from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to replace opening-day starter Brett Myers, who was
demoted this week after struggling all season.
The left-hander's only
other start came against the Mets last year. He gave up five runs in four
innings and took the loss.
"He hung in there. He
battled," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He's improved a lot since last
year. He has a better fastball. With more seasoning, his command will get
better."
Happ ran into trouble
in the fifth. Damion Easley led off with a single and Ramon Castro followed
with a ground-rule double to right. After Chris Aguila walked to load the
bases, Santana fouled out. Jose Reyes then hit into a fielder's choice, beating
out the relay throw from second to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.
Happ then walked Endy
Chavez to reload the bases and walked Wright to force in the second run after
barely missing on an 0-2 pitch that would've ended the inning. Durbin came in
and fanned Carlos Beltran to strand three runners.
"I might have tried to do too
much that inning," Happ said.
"I was close. I kept us in there. Chad Durbin did a great
job.
That's why they're the best bullpen in the league."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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