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Victorino gives Phillies comeback win over Mets

Jul 5, 2008 - 4:22 AM By Vince DiGregorio PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Johan Santana again did his job, but the New York Mets' offense did not.

Shane Victorino delivered a two-out RBI single off Duaner Sanchez in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 3-2 comeback victory over the Mets in the opener of a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park on Friday.

Sanchez (3-1) came on for Santana to start the ninth inning and struck out both Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell. Pedro Feliz kept the inning alive with a double into the left field corner and Victorino followed with the winning hit, lining a 1-2 pitch to right to give Philadelphia its fourth straight triumph.

"I just wanted to get the win," Victorino said. "Fortunately, I was the guy. Sometimes this game is frustrating. You can have these bad games, and then all of a sudden, you become the hero with one at-bat.

"To say that we were able to come back off their No. 1 guy in Johan, I think that shows a lot. It doesn't happen very often. He finds a way to get a lead and keep the lead."

Sanchez had gotten ahead in the count to both Feliz and Victorino but was unable to get the third out.

"I lost the game because of the mistakes I made," Sanchez said. "I should have made better pitches."

The single made a winner of Brad Lidge (2-0), who tossed a perfect top of the ninth. The closer combined with two other relievers to limit New York to just one hit over the final 4 1/3 innings.

Winless in his previous five starts, Santana was seeking his first victory since June 1. The lefthander came up with another solid effort, allowing two runs and six hits - all singles - in eight innings with no walks and six strikeouts.

"I think what's important for (Santana) at this point is, he didn't lose the game," Mets interim manager Jerry Manuel said. "In his mind, I think he feels that things are starting to turn his way. I believe they will."

Santana left the game after throwing just 95 pitches.

"(Manuel) told me after the eighth inning that I was done for the night," he said. "I was fine with that."

New York has scored a total of 12 runs in Santana's last six outings.

"It's not the first time (a lack of run support) has happened to me," Santana said. "I knew coming into this series that this was a very important game. I'm not trying to be a hero, do anything crazy out there."

The game was a pitchers' duel for the first four innings, even though both teams left a runner on third in the first. Santana and Phillies southpaw J.A. Happ each retired 12 of the first 14 batters they faced.

Happ ran into trouble in the fifth, when New York loaded the bases with none out. Santana fouled out, but Jose Reyes' RBI grounder gave the Mets a 1-0 lead.

Happ reloaded the bases with a four-pitch walk to Endy Chavez, then issued a free pass to David Wright to force in another run.

"I might have tried to do too much that inning," Happ admitted. "I wasn't as consistent as I was the first four innings."

Chad Durbin replaced Happ and struck out Carlos Beltran to end the inning. Durbin then tossed a scoreless sixth before the Phillies rallied in the bottom half.

With one out, Jayson Werth and Chase Utley singled. One out later, Howard and Burrell delivered consecutive RBI base hits to forge a 2-2 tie.

"(Santana) throws a lot of strikes, so you have to swing because (you can) get down 0-2 real quick," Howard said. "He pitched a great game and we just got a couple of timely hits when we needed them."

Happ lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, three hits and four walks with three strikeouts in his second career start. This outing was better than his major league debut against the Mets on June 30, 2007, however, as he surrendered five runs and seven hits in four innings of an 8-3 loss.

"I think I'm a different pitcher than I was last year," Happ said. "Physically and mentally more confident. I trust my stuff."