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Phillies rally for six in ninth, top Mets

Jul 23, 2008 - 4:07 AM FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia Phillies waited out Johan Santana and feasted on a glaring hole in the New York Mets' bullpen to regain sole possession of first place in the National League East Division.

Pinch hitter So Taguchi and Jimmy Rollins highlighted a six-run ninth inning with back-to-back two-run doubles as the Phillies erased a three-run deficit en route to an 8-6 victory over the Mets in the opener of a key three-game series on Tuesday.

After ace Santana limited the Phillies to two runs and eight hits in eight innings, the Mets' bullpen was unable to preserve a 5-2 lead. With All-Star closer Billy Wagner unavailable due to tightness in his left shoulder, the trio of Duaner Sanchez, Joe Smith and Pedro Feliciano was tagged for six runs, five hits and a walk in the ninth.

"It was one of those situations where no matter what they were throwing, it wasn't good enough," said Wagner, a former Phillie who underwent an MRI earlier in the day that showed no structural damage. "I'd much rather be the guy out there."

Sanchez began the ninth and allowed three straight singles to load the bases. Carlos Ruiz drove in Philadelphia's first run of the inning when shortstop Jose Reyes fielded his grounder off Smith (1-2) and failed to step on second base before Shane Victorino slid in safely.

Feliciano came on and yielded a game-tying double over the head of right fielder Endy Chavez by Taguchi, who entered the at-bat 0-for-16 as a pinch hitter this season. Taguchi was surprised to find out how unsuccessful he had been in the role.

"(I was) 0-for-16? That's not so good," he said. "I got a lot of pitches and waited."

Rollins followed with a two-base hit to left field, giving the Phillies a 7-5 bulge.

Three batters later, Feliciano dropped Ryan Howard's comebacker while attempting to switch the ball from his glove to his throwing hand, ruining the chance of a potential inning-ending double play and allowing Rollins to score the sixth run of the frame.

It marked the second time in a month the Phillies capitalized on the departure Santana. The two-time Cy Young Award winner was lifted after eight innings of a 2-2 game at Philadelphia on July 4, and the Phillies scored the winning run in the ninth.

On Tuesday, Santana was removed after throwing 105 pitches, a decision Mets manager Jerry Manuel did not regret making.

"I thought he had gone through the lineup enough," Manuel said. "I thought he did what he was supposed to do - give us an opportunity to win games."

Santana went to a three-ball count on just one of the 31 batters he faced and recorded his 1,500th career strikeout in the fourth inning. He was lifted for a pinch hitter in the eighth.

"I'm not going to go against anything here," Santana said of being removed. "At the time, it looked like the right decision. I felt good, we all felt good. It didn't work out."

Chad Durbin (3-2) pitched a scoreless eighth and All-Star Brad Lidge allowed a run in the ninth before notching his 22nd save of the year for the Phillies (54-46), who moved one game ahead of the Mets (53-47) in the NL East. The Florida Marlins (53-47) also are one game back.

"We're still in there," said Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel, who was ejected in the third inning. "We know we can beat the Mets. We know they feel the same way."

Carlos Delgado and Ramon Castro each belted a two-run homer for the Mets, who lost to the Phillies for just the fourth time in 11 meetings this season.

It was New York's inability to pad its lead that ultimately cost it a win. Chavez twice was thrown out at home while trying to score on hits by David Wright.

After Chavez - who led off with a double - was thrown out for the second time in the seventh, the Mets went on to load the bases later in the frame before second baseman Chase Utley made a diving catch of a line drive by pinch hitter Fernando Tatis for the final out, keeping the Phillies' deficit at 5-2.

Philadelphia's Joe Blanton, acquired from the Oakland Athletics last week for three minor leaguers, lasted six innings in his National League debut. The righthander allowed five runs and eight hits, walking three and striking out one.

"I was thrown right in there, into a hostile environment," said Blanton, who was pitching for the first time since July 9. "Thrown to the wolves. I enjoyed that."

The Phillies took advantage of a shaky start by Santana, delivering three straight two-out singles in the first inning, including one by Jayson Werth that plated Pat Burrell with the game's first run. But the Mets moved ahead in the third, when Delgado followed Wright's RBI double with his 19th homer of the season.

Castro made it 5-1 in the sixth with his fifth blast of the campaign and second in as many games. Victorino got back a run in the seventh with a solo shot off Santana, who has yielded a team-high 17 homers this year.