Mets 10
Phillies 1
PHILADELPHIA – One game out.
It’s all happening for the Mets right now, their season soaring, their hopes rapidly turning into a reality. It’s July 8, folks, and the Mets are now exactly one game out of first place.
Their latest win was a gem, a 10-1 demolition of the Phillies last night that might have been their most complete effort of the season. They smashed the ball, got great pitching and played flawless defense.
The Mets (43-40), who are a season-high three games over .500 and have won six out of seven, have taken two of the first three games of this crucial series against Philly and will wrap up the four-game set tonight. It might sound crazy, but if Matt Ginter can outduel Kevin Millwood, the Mets will be tied for the NL East’s top spot.
Last night, they got contributions in every facet from just about everybody wearing a New York uniform.
Offense? How about six different Mets notching multi-hit nights en route to a season-high 18-hit team barrage? How about three home runs in one inning? How about a two-blast game for Mike Cameron?
Big innings? You got ’em. The Mets had frames where they scored one run, two runs, three runs and four runs.
Great defense? That was there, too. Richard Hidalgo threw out a runner at home, and Cameron made a spectacular catch in center. Cliff Floyd made a nice running catch to end the seventh.
Strong pitching? Credit Steve Trachsel, who pitched his best game on the road this year, allowing just one run on five hits in seven solid innings.
A 94-minute rain delay kept the game from starting on time, but after a scoreless first inning, the Met offense didn’t waste much time unloading on Philly right-hander Brett Myers.
In the second inning, Floyd crashed a solo homer to right. One out later, Ty Wigginton blasted a solo homer to left. One out after that, Cameron bashed a solo homer to right. It was 3-zip, and the rout was on.
The Mets added a run in the third on Floyd’s groundout, then tacked on two more tallies in the fourth when five straight Mets reached base and Trachsel and Kaz Matsui knocked RBI singles.
In the fifth, the Mets exploded, putting the game away with four more runs. Wigginton clocked an RBI triple, Jason Phillips had an RBI double and Cameron blasted his second homer of the game, a two-run shot to center, clapping his hands as the ball disappeared into the stands for his ninth multi-homer game and a 10-0 lead.
That was plenty of ammo for Trachsel, who finally exorcised his road demons. Trachsel has been sensational at home this year, going 7-2 with a 1.59 ERA. But on the road? Coming in, he was 1-4 with a 7.88 mark.
Last night, though, Trachsel had no such issues. He didn’t allow any runs until Pat Burrell led off the seventh with a homer and only once allowed the Phillies a multi-hit frame. In doing so, he lowered his road ERA to 6.69.
Trachsel got a little help from his defense, especially in the third inning. With Jason Michaels at second and two outs, Placido Polanco hit a hard single to right. Michaels raced around third and headed home, but Hidalgo proceeded to show he’s way more than just a slugging bat. The Howitzer-armed right-fielder charged the ball and gunned a laser home to Phillips, who made a nifty pick-up to tag Michaels in plenty of time. Both Trachsel and Mike Piazza pointed at Hidalgo as he ran in from right field.
Later, Cameron made a superb catch, tracking down Jimmy Rollins’ fifth-inning drive, and Floyd robbed Michaels of extra bases to end the seventh.
NL EAST Standings
Team Wins Losses Pct GB
Phillies 44 39 .530
Mets 43 40 .518 1
Braves 43 41 .512 1½
Marlins 43 42 .506 2
Expos 28 55 .337 16
