• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Utley caps Phillies' sweep of Mets

Aug 31, 2007 - 3:53 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Chase Utley's single capped a rally and a series sweep.

Utley's single to right field in the ninth inning plated Tadahito Iguchi as the Philadelphia Phillies rallied past the New York Mets, 11-10, and swept the four-game series with their National League East Division rivals on Thursday afternoon.

The Phillies (71-62) now trail the first-place Mets (73-60) by two games in the division and travel to Florida for a three-game series.

"This was a huge series for us," Utley said. "We swung the bats well. It's tough to take four games from these guys. We have a month to go. We're going to try to carry this momentum to Florida and see what happens."

With the Mets leading, 10-8, in the eighth, they went to closer - and former Phillie - Billy Wagner, who was trying for his first six-out save in eight years.

"(Wagner) was rested," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "It was his fourth day without pitching, so we wanted to get some him work. Every once in a while, we have the luxury to get him some extra work when he hasn't pitched. It was set up perfectly for us."

Wagner promptly surrendered a one-out solo home run to Pat Burrell, his second of the game, but managed to escape the inning without further damage. For Burrell, it was his 24th homer of the season and 41st career against the Mets.

"You can't say enough about the effort," Burrell said. "Being up 5-0, then being up 8-5 and then being down 10-8, we had our chances to really put it away. But (the Mets) did a (heck) of a job of coming back and getting ahead, especially after losing three games in a row."

Jayson Werth led off the ninth with a single to left and subsequently stole second and third with one out to ignite the crowd.

"I got a couple of reads on (Wagner) and I took off," Werth said. "In a situation like that, I wasn't gonna be thrown out."

Iguchi followed with a single to left, tying the game at 10-10.

"Iguchi, I was just trying to bury a slider," Wagner said. "It ran in on his hands, and he got enough of that."

Iguchi then got into the act on the basepaths, stealing second. After Jimmy Rollins was walked intentionally, Utley delivered his single to conclude the comeback.

"I've seen Wagner a few times," Utley said. "He's tough. That's why he's one of the best closers in the game.

"I was taking (the first pitch) just to see what he was gonna do. And then, he came with a bunch of fastballs. Once you get into a hitter's count, most of the time he throws a fastball. I was just trying to hit the ball hard."

Wagner (2-2) allowed three runs and four hits in 1 1/3 innings as New York heads to Atlanta for a three-game series.

"I wouldn't call (the loss) devastating," Wagner said. "We still do lead our division. But it does put a little damper going into Atlanta. We need to go out there and get back to winning and take care of business. We have to forget about how tough and how ugly the series was for us and pick ourselves up."

The Phillies' heroics made a winner of Tom Gordon (2-2), who pitched one flawless inning after his bullpen mates did their best to throw it away.

Endy Chavez had a two-run single to highlight a five-run eighth inning that gave the Mets a 10-8 lead. New York scored the five runs on just two hits.

New York trailed, 8-5, going into the frame. Ruben Gotay drew a one-out walk from J.C. Romero, and Phillies manager Charlie Manuel elected to replace the lefthander with Antonio Alfonseca.

The move backfired as Alfonseca did not retire any of the five batters he faced. He walked pinch hitter Moises Alou, then surrendered a pinch RBI double by Marlon Anderson to make it 8-6.

Chavez followed an intentional walk to Jose Reyes with his two-run base hit and, on a double steal, Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz made a throwing error, allowing Reyes to score the go-ahead run.

David Wright drew a walk from Alfonseca, and Jose Mesa came on to walk Carlos Beltran, loading the bases. Carlos Delgado then hit a grounder that scored Chavez for a 10-8 advantage.

With the game even at 5-5 in the fifth, Philadelphia had runners on first and second with two outs when Ruiz hit a blooper just beyond the reach of second baseman Gotay and into shallow right field for an RBI single.

Pinch hitter Shane Victorino followed with another blooper that fell into shallow center for a run-scoring single that made it 7-5. The ball appeared to be catchable, but there was some miscommunication between center fielder Beltran and shortstop Reyes that allowed it to drop.

Rollins then delivered an RBI single for his third hit of the game and an 8-5 bulge.

"They showed why they won the division last year, but we were able to show that we're a good team also by pulling out the win," Rollins said.

The Phillies hit three home runs off Mets starter Orlando Hernandez. Ryan Howard gave Philadelphia a 2-0 lead in the first inning with his 36th blast of the season.

Philadelphia used more power in the third inning to push the advantage to 5-0. Utley hit a one-out single before Burrell lined a 3-2 pitch over the left field wall for a two-run home run.

One out later, Aaron Rowand homered to left for his 22nd of the season.

Hernandez was finished after three innings. The righthander allowed five runs and six hits, including three home runs, while walking one and striking out two.

New York rallied with three runs in the fourth off Phillies starter Kyle Lohse. Wright led off with a double and scored on Shawn Green's two-base hit to get the Mets on the board.

Gotay drove in the second run with a groundout before Lastings Milledge made it 5-3 with a pinch RBI single. Geoff Geary replaced Lohse and retired Reyes on a groundout to end the inning.

Lohse lasted 3 2/3 innings, giving up three runs, five hits and two walks with two strikeouts.