It wasn’t that long ago that the Phillies were nipping at our heels. They’re still close, but over the last week, we’ve put some breathing room between our second place rivals. Taking two of three against the Yankees was huge, and it sets us up nicely for a three game series with the Phillies beginning today.
On Monday, the Mets fought back from being down 4-0 to win it. David Wright had the walk off RBI single to put the game away and Carlos Beltran hit a huge three run shot in the bottom of the first to erase most of that four run deficit. Jeremi Gonzalez became the latest pitcher to fill in at the fourth and/or fifth spots in the rotation and he was hit hard. Billy Wagner struck out the side in the ninth and he picked up the win.
Saturday’s game was tough because of that ninth inning, and now we know it was the difference in a chance for the sweep. Billy Wagner gave up four ninth inning runs and allowed the Yankees to win it in the eleventh off of Jorge Julio. I wonder if Wagner’s hand is still bugging him. Anyway, a great start by Pedro Martinez went to waste. Carlos Delgado and Cliff Floyd homered in the 5-4 loss.
The Mets got back on track yesterday and they only scored in one inning to do it. Carlos Delgado hit a three run shot and then David Wright hit a solo shot to give the Mets a 4-2 lead. The Yanks scored one more, but the pen held on to win it. Tom Glavine improved to 7-2 and he gave up two runs on seven hits and four walks in six innings of work. Wagner picked up his ninth save despite getting into trouble in the ninth.
Phillies are on deck this week. If we can take two of three, we can pad that cushion even more.
