The Giants outscored the Cardinals in the series 9-6, as Wondrous Juan Marichal turned in a 1-hit shutout in the middle game, with the only hit coming in the 9th inning!
Check out the blog for more (I hope – will try to do a decent write-up this weekend).
Bike Mike
Game 1 at Shea Stadium
Mets 7 Phillies 3
Mike Hampton pitched 8 strong innings, striking out 8, to get his first win of the season (1-3). JA Happ took the loss (0-3). Phils led 3-0 going to the 6th when Mike Piazza singled in a run. Then in the 7th the roof caved in on Happ and the Phils bullpen (Chad Durbin) as the Mets scored 6 runs on 7 hits and a walk. Jay Payton had the big blow – a 2 run HR to tie the score. Then Mike Bordick doubled in a run and Edgardo Alfonzo doubled in two more before Benny Agbayani finished the scoring with an RBI single.
Game 2 at Shea Stadium
Mets 2 Phillies 1
Al Leiter was sensational, pitching a complete game 2 hitter with 12 strikeouts to even his record to 2-2. He outpitched Jamie Moyer (3-1) who also pitched a complete game in defeat. Meyer was victimized by two solo HRs – by Mike Piazza in the 4th to tie the game at 1-1 and then Todd Zeile in the 7th for what proved to be the winning run. The Phils had taken a 1-0 lead in the 4th on a solo bomb by Chase Utley.
Game 3 at Citizens Bank Park 1G of DH
Mets 4 Phillies 2
The Mets come from behind again as Piazza singles in the 6th to make it 2-1 Phils and then ties it in the 8th with a solo HR (5). Robin Ventura then shocks the Philadelphia crowd with a 2 run HR for what proved to be the game winner as the Phillies bullpen implodes again. Reliever Tyler Walker (0-2) gave up both HRs, blowing a save opportunity and converting it into a loss. Joe Blanton had pitched a solid game allowing only 1 run over 7 innings but he tired in the 8th, and after Scott Eyre retired the first batter in the frame, Walker came in and that was the story.
Glendon Rusch pitched 6 solid innings for the Mets before three relievers took over, holding the Phillies to 1 hit and 0 runs over three innings. John Franco, the first of the relievers, got the win (2-0). Armando Benitez got the save as he struck out the side in the bottom of the 9th, for his 3rd save of the year
Game 4 at Citizens Bank Park 2G of DH
Mets 7 Phillies 1
Once again the Phils pitching fails them late in the game. The Mets took a 2-0 lead, against Phils ace Cliff Lee, after two. Mike Piazza drove in a run with a sac fly and Zeile hit another HR (6). The Phils got on the board against Rick Reed in the 6th when Jayson Werth hit a solo HR (6). Trailing 2-1 in the 8th, and with Lee still on the mound, the Mets exploded for 5 runs on 5 hits, 2 walks and a huge error by the usually reliable Shane Victorino in CF. Victorino dropped a fly ball from Derek Bell allowing a run to score making it 3-1. Then the floodgates opened as Bordick singled in a run, Alfonzo doubled in two more and Zeile hit a sac fly to make it 7-1. All the runs were charged to Lee, who allowed 5 earned runs in the game.
Rick Reed pitched 7 1/3 strong innings to even his record at 1-1. Turk Wendell finished up.
With the sweep, the suddenly surging Mets are 11-10 as they try to catch 53 Brooklyn and 96 Atlanta in the East. The Phils drop to 8-13. Next up: the Mets play 58 Milwaukee while the Phillies play 2001 Arizona
--submitted by A.Raylesberg--
After the 1996 Atlanta Braves won the first two games of their 4 game set with the 1928 St. Louis Cardinals, the Cardinals looked to be over-matched.
With John Smoltz starting the first game of a double-header as the teams moved to St. Louis, the Cardinals were apparently on the ropes. But like the Braves, the Cardinals seemed to thrive on home cooking as the bats came alive while Bill "Wee Willies" Sherdel and Grover Cleveland "Old Pete" Alexander pitched complete games.
The Cardinals stay above .500 at 11-10 while the Braves are a game up on them at 12-9.
Bike Mike
