LIVEBLOGGING: New York Mets vs Philadelphia Phillies 4/9/08
Wow, I haven't updated this blog in 6 months. That's not very good of me, but with the new 2008 MLB season, and the beginning of the NHL playoffs today, I'll be updating this a LOT more than I have since October.
Onto today's Liveblogging, which is the New York Mets vs Philadelphia Phillies on ESPN2. From beautiful (?) Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadow, NY. This is the 45th and final season the Mets will play at Shea Stadium. People often refer to Shea as a dump, and for the most part, it is. But it's still a nicer place than Yankee Stadium, even if Shea doesn't quite have the history.
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Top of 1st inning:
4:10pm First pitch from Mike "Should have been in the Santana trade" Pelfrey is to Shane Victorino, leading off tonight since Jimmy Rollins hurt his ankle. Boo hoo.
4:11pm: Pelfrey K's Victorino. Out 1.
4:12pm: Squibber hit in front of the plate by Bruntlett. Brian Schneider, he of great defensive skill, runs the ball down and throws to 1st for the 2nd out.
4:14pm: Chase Utley got hit by pitches 25 times last year. Ouch! That's a lot. In any case, Utley flies out to center for the third out.
Bottom of 1st inning:
4:16pm: Normal 2B Luis Castillo is out with a sore knee tonight, so Damion Easley is playing 2B instead. Angel Pagan will bat behind Reyes.
4:17pm: Jose Reyes draws a leadoff walk.
4:19pm: Angel Pagan hits the 1st pitch on the ground to pitcher Kyle Kendrick. He can't field it cleanly but is able to throw out Pagan at 1st. Reyes to 2nd. 1 out.
The announcers note that Jose Reyes hasn't stolen a base since Sep. 15 last year. This angers me since I'm counting on him for steals in my fantasy league.
4:20pm: David Wright singles the ball to rightfield, Jose Reyes scores easily. Mets 1-0.
4:21pm: Carlos Beltran lines out to Shane Victorino in CF. 2 out.
4:22pm: There sure are a ton of empty seats at Shea right now. Then again, it's quite cold in NY right now so I don't blame people for not showing. Of course, if this were Dodger Stadium, they'd announce the attendance at 50,000 either way.
4:25pm: Carlos Delgado draws a walk. Runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 out.
4:26pm: Ryan Church up, who is having a pretty good start to the season so far hitting .333, leading the team with 6 RBIs.
4:27pm: Church walks too. So now it's bases loaded for Damion Easley.
4:29pm: Damion Easley hits a chopper up the middle but SS Eric Bruntlett fields it and throws to 1st for the third out.
The David Wright single earlier in the inning that scored Jose Reyes was changed to an Error on Chase Utley, who really should have fielded the ball.
Top of 2nd inning:
4:33pm: Mike Pelfrey strikes out Ryan Howard. Ryan Howard either hits HRs or strikes out. Luckily, Pelfrey didn't give up a HR, yet. 1 out.
4:34pm: Pat Burrell singles up the middle.
4:36pm: Geoff Jenkins singles through the hole in between 1st and 2nd
4:39pm: It's starting to rain at Shea. Pedro Feliz hits what should be a double-play inning-ender, but Jose Reyes gives a bad feed to 2B Damion Easley who can't catch the ball. Error on Jose Reyes, and now it's bases loaded.
4:40pm: Carlos Ruiz singles to rightfield. Pat Burrell scores. Bases still loaded. Tie game at 1.
4:41pm: Pitcher Kyle Kendrick hits a squibber to Carlos Delgado in front of the first base bag. Delgado throws to Brian Schneider at home for the force. 2 out.
4:42pm: Shane Victorino grounds to David Wright who throws to 1st for the 3rd out.
Bottom of 2nd Inning:
4:46pm: Brian Schneider draws a walk to leadoff.
4:47pm: Mike Pelfrey lays down a nice sac bunt. Schneider to 2nd. 1 out.
4:49pm: Jose Reyes hits a broken bat grounder to Ryan Howard, who tosses the ball to Kyle Kendrick covering at 1st. Schneider to 3rd. 2 outs.
4:51pm: Angel Pagan draws a walk. That's the 5th walk from Kendrick, and it's only the 2nd inning.
4:56pm: Kyle Kendrick keeps trying to paint the corners but isn't getting the calls. He walks David Wright. That's the 6th BB now.
4:58pm: Carlos Beltran up with bases loaded. I'd much rather have Beltran up than Easley with bases loaded. But there are 2 out.
4:59pm: Beltran hits a 2-2 pitch to Chase Utley, who throws to Ryan Howard for the 3rd out. The Mets can walk all day but that's twice with bases loaded that they didn't convert anything. 3 out.
Top of 3rd Inning:
5:02pm: We are reminded, seemingly forever, of the 2007 Mets collapse. Curious how no one mentions that the Phillies, after winning the NL East, got swept in 3 games by the Rockies.
5:03pm: Eric Bruntlett grounds out, 4-3. 1 out.
5:05pm: Chase Utley strikes out. 2 out.
5:07pm: Ryan Howard finds a way to get a ground ball through the Ryan Howard shift on the right side, singling to rightfield.
5:09pm: Pat Burrell pops out to Damion Easley in foul territory of shallow rightfield. 3 out.
Bottom of 3rd Inning:
5:12pm: Carlos Delgado hits a double to leftfield. Carlos has been defeating "the shift" lately by hitting balls the opposite way.
5:14pm: Ryan Church hits the first pitch from Kendrick to centerfield for a single. Delgado moves to 3rd base.
5:15pm: Damion Easley singles a weak grounder through the hole in-between 3rd and short, Carlos Delgado scores. 2-1 Mets.
5:16pm: Brian Schneider lines out to Ryan Howard. 1 out.
5:19pm: Mike Pelfrey lays down a bad bunt right in front of the plate, but catcher Carlos Ruiz fields it anyways even though it was going foul, throws to Feliz at 3B trying to get the lead runner but it gets away from him so it's bases loaded again for the Mets. Charlie Manuel wants to argue interference by Pelfrey who briefly was in Ruiz's way as he tried to run, but that's horseshit. His catcher shoulda let the ball roll foul for an out. Instead, error on Ruiz.
5:20pm: Kyle Kendrick is visited at the mound by his pitching coach for the third time in this game, once per inning.
5:22pm: Jose Reyes hits what should be a 6-4-3 DP groundball to Eric Bruntlett, but he can't field it at all, so Church scores. Error on Bruntlett. Bases still loaded. Mets now up 3-1. The Phillies have 3 Errors in 3 Innings.
5:23pm: Angel Pagan doubles down the leftfield line. Damion Easley scores with Mike Pelfrey following. Jose Reyes to 3rd. Mets up 5-1.
5:24pm: That's it for Kyle Kendrick. Charlie Manuel giving him the early hook. Though the way he's pitching tonight, ya can't blame him. I guess there's hope for Mike Pelfrey tonight after all.
5:26pm: Funny that only one of the 5 Met Runs was charged to Kendrick. The rest were thanks to shoddy Phillie defense.
5:27pm: Now pitching for Philadelphia...delphia.....elphia....lphia..... Chad..chad chad chad...Durbin...Durbin....urbin... rubin.....
5:28pm: David Wright hits a grounder to SS Eric Bruntlett who can't field that ball either. They're sure missing J-Roll right now. Jose Reyes scores on the 4th Phillie error. 6-1 Mets.
5:29pm: Chad Durbin throws a wild pitch which hits the front of the plate, bounces over the catcher. Ruiz can't handle at all. The ball goes to the backstop so Angel Pagan scores. 7-1 Mets.
5:30pm: Carlos Beltran draws a walk.
5:31pm: Carlos Delgado is up again. The Mets have now batted around this inning.
5:32pm: Carlos Delgado lines out to Geoff Jenkins in rightfield who makes a nice diving catch. 2 out.
5:33pm: Ryan Church strikes out to end the inning. 3 out. Mets score 6 in the inning and now lead 7-1.
Top of 4th Inning:
5:39pm: Geoff Jenkins grounds out softly to Carlos Delgado. 1 out.
5:42pm: Pedro Feliz draws a walk after going full against Pelfrey.
5:46pm: Carlos Ruiz grounds out to 2B Damion Easley, who tags out Feliz and throws to 1st for the 4-3 DP. 3 out.
Bottom of 4th Inning:
5:50pm: Damion Easley skies a ball to shallow leftfield, caught by Pat Burrell. 1 out.
5:51pm: Brian Schneider grounds out to Ryan Howard. 2 out.
5:52pm: Mike Pelfrey strikes out. 3 out.
Top of 5th Inning:
5:55pm: Chad Durbin grounds out to Jose Reyes, 6-3. 1 out.
5:57pm: Shane Victorino grounds out to Carlos Delgado. 3-1. 2 out.
5:58pm: Eric Bruntlett walks. Why does Mike Pelfrey wear a mouthguard?
6:01pm: Chase Utley doubles to left-center, scoring Eric Bruntlett. Mets lead cut by one, now 7-2.
6:02pm: The announcers are talking a lot about Bill Buckner and his big return to Boston last night. They even show the famous clip from the 1986 World Series. I never get tired of seeing it because that is the definition of awesomeness.
6:04pm: Ryan Howard scalds a grounder right into the glove of 1B Carlos Delgado, who runs to the bag for the third out.
Bottom of 5th Inning:
6:06pm: Jose Reyes pops out to shortstop Eric Bruntlett. 1 out.
6:07pm: Shea Stadium ONLY cost $28.5 million to build back in 1964. I think CitiField costs around $600 million.
6:08pm: Angel Pagan grounds out to Eric Bruntlett, who almost boots that one as well but manages to hang on and throw to first for the 2nd out.
6:10pm: David Wright goes down on strikes. 3 out.
Top of 6th Inning:
6:13pm: Mike Pelfrey's pitch count was at 100 through 5 Innings, so Jorge Sosa is on in relief.
6:14pm: Pat Burrell hits a soft line drive that bounces to Jose Reyes, who boots it, but manages to recover in time to still throw out Burrell, who I imagine wasn't running too hard out of the box to still get thrown out. 1 out.
6:15pm: Geoff Jenkins grounds out to Carlos Delgado. 2 outs.
6:16pm: Dave O'Brien and Joe Morgan are discussing the Amazins lack of a no-hitter in franchise history, despite numerous former Mets such as Dwight Gooden, David Cone, Tom Seaver, doing so with other teams.
6:17pm: Pedro Feliz grounds out to Jose Reyes, 6-3. 3 out.
Bottom of 6th Inning:
6:21pm: Carlos Beltran strikes out. 1 out.
6:22pm: Carlos Delgado flies out to centerfield. 2 out.
6:23pm: Ryan Church grounds out to Ryan Howard, 3-1. 3 out.
Top of 7th Inning:
6:25pm: Carlos Ruiz fouls out to Carlos Delgado. 1 out. Eric Bruntlett's blonde beard is silly.
6:26pm: Greg Dobbs is up pinch-hitting for Chad Durbin.
6:29pm: Dobbs goes down swinging. 2 outs.
6:30pm: Shane Victorino flies out to leftfield. 3 outs.
Bottom of 7th Inning:
6:33pm: Clay Condrey is in to pitch for the Phillies. After Jorge Sosa pitched 2 solid innings for the Mets, with a 5-run lead, I wouldn't fault Willie for using Scott Schoeneweis in the 8th or 9th, providing the lead stays what it is.
6:35pm: Damion Easley leads off with a walk.
6:36pm: Brian Schneider singles to rightfield, Damion Easley stops at 2nd.
6:38pm: Marlon Anderson pinch-hitting for Jorge Sosa.
6:39pm: Anderson flies out to deep left-center. Shane Victorino catches up to it, but Damion Easley is able to tag up to 3rd base. 1 out.
6:41pm: Jose Reyes grounds to 2B Chase Utley. Schneider avoids the tag, Utley throws to first to get Reyes, and then they apply the tag to Schneider for the third out. However, Easley scored the run before Schneider was tagged out, so the Mets sneak another run in. 3 outs. Mets up 8-2 after 7.
Top of 8th Inning:
6:44pm: Pedro Feliciano is on to pitch the 8th Inning, and promptly gives up a leadoff single to error-maker Eric Bruntlett.
6:45pm: Chase Utley flies out to Angel Pagan in leftfield. 1 out.
6:47pm: Ryan Howard gets fooled on a nice changeup for strike 3. 2 out.
6:49pm: Joe Morgan tells a story about ordering a $9 hamburger from room service back in 1966 when he stayed in a Manhattan hotel. That's insane even nowadays.
6:50pm: Pat Burrell singles to rightfield. Bruntlett moves to 2nd.
6:51pm: Jayson Werth is in to replace Geoff Jenkins. Werth provides a right-handed bat against lefty specialist Pedro Feliciano.
6:53pm: Jayson Werth takes 4 straight balls for a walk. Rick Peterson out to check with Feliciano before he pitches to powerhitter Pedro Feliz.
6:54pm: Bases loaded, 2 out. Pedro Feliciano gets 2 strikes on Feliz before throwing 2 balls outside.
6:55pm: Feliz pops out to Damion Easley in shallow rightfield. 3 out. No damage done.
Bottom of 8th Inning:
6:58pm: Rudy Seanez is now pitching for the Phillies, Jayson Werth is now in RF in place of Geoff Jenkins.
6:59pm: Angel Pagan draws a leadoff walk.
7:02pm: David Wright lines out to SS Eric Bruntlett. He tries to double Pagan off of first but Angel gets back safe. 1 out.
7:04pm: Carlos Beltran flies out to deep rightfield. 2 outs.
7:05pm: Carlos Delgado flies out to Pat Burrell in left. 3 outs.
Top of 9th Inning:
7:07pm: Pitching the 9th for the Metropolitans is Carlos Muniz, who just replaced reliever Matt Wise after he went on the DL.
7:09pm: Carlos Ruiz goes down swinging. 1 out.
7:10pm: Pinch-hitting for Rudy Seanez, Chris Coste doubles down the leftfield line.
7:11pm: Shane Victorino grounds out to Damion Easley, 4-3. Coste to 3rd. 2 out.
7:12pm: Eric Bruntlett pops out to catcher Brian Schneider for the 3rd out. Game over. METS WIN!!
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The Mets finally beat Philadelphia for the first time in the last 10 games. Mike Pelfrey pitched pretty well through 5 Innings, giving up 2 ER on 5 Hits. He walked 2 and K'd 3.
A big thank you to Eric Bruntlett, whose 2 costly Errors were the major difference in the game allowing the 6-run 3rd Inning.
