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Hernandez shuts down Phillies in opener of doubleheader

Jun 29, 2007 - 10:43 PM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- All Orlando Hernandez had to do on Friday was pass a pregame inspection. Once he did that, he pitched with flying colors.

Hernandez allowed just two runs in six innings and Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes both homered as the New York Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-5, in the first game of a day-night doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park.

There was controversy when Hernandez took the mound as Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel asked the umpires to check the veteran righthander's cap. Hernandez was visibly upset but, after a brief delay, was allowed to keep it.

"I guess Charlie thought he had too much rosin in the back of his hat," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "I was kind of glad (Manuel) did that actually. Anytime you get (Hernandez) lathered up a little bit, it's always good."

Hernandez became agitated again in the clubhouse afterward when asked about the incident.

"I don't know," Hernandez said. "I don't understand. I concentrate on my game. Go to Manuel, ask him."

"You could tell that there was something on the back of his hat," Manuel said. "I was wondering what it was. I had nothing to lose. I wanted to know what it was. It was rosin and dirt. The umpire said it was OK."

Once cleared, Hernandez (4-3) kept the Phillies' hitters off-balance with a steady diet of curveballs. The only runs he allowed were on solo home runs to Aaron Rowand and pinch hitter Chris Coste.

"He mixes his pitches good," Manuel said. "He'll throw his changeup right after a breaking ball. It kind of sinks away from you. He kept us off-balance."

Hernandez started the game after his scheduled outing against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday was rained out. He finished with three hits allowed and struck out seven batters for the second straight start.

"When he pitches well, he does exactly what you saw today," Randolph said. "Throwing his curveball anytime he wants and that's what he did today. He loves competing in this environment."

A trio of Mets relievers - Guillermo Mota, Pedro Feliciano and Aaron Heilman - combined to work the seventh and eighth innings and closer Billy Wagner struck out the side in order in the ninth for his 16th save.

"This whole series is important," Wagner said. "To get that first win, to pull this one out, we're headed in the right direction."

Philadelphia had righthander J.D. Durbin (0-1) start the game in place of Jon Lieber, who joined Freddy Garcia on the disabled list on Saturday with a potential season-ending injury with a torn tendon in his foot.

Durbin began strong by striking the side in order in the first inning before David Wright led off the second with a double to right-center field. Delgado drove an 0-1 pitch into the Phillies' bullpen for his 12th homer of the season and a 2-0 lead.

"It was nice to get a lead," Delgado said. "You can't score enough runs in this ballpark, so you've just got to keep adding on.

"I hit that ball pretty good actually. It was a fastball."

Rowand got one back for Philadelphia with his 11th home run leading off the second.

But New York added a single run in the third on Reyes' fourth homer and three more in the fourth to take a 6-1 lead.

With two outs, Ramon Castro hit an RBI double down the left field line. After Ricky Ledee was intentionally walked, Hernandez helped his own cause when with an RBI single to left. A wild pitch by Durbin allowed Ledee to score the third run of the frame.

Wes Helms sliced Philadelphia's deficit to 6-4 with a two-run shot off Mota in the seventh. An RBI single by Pat Burrell in the eighth wrapped up the scoring.

Durbin was making just his second major league appearance of the season. He pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks in April, giving up seven earned runs in two-thirds of an inning to give him a 94.00 ERA.

"I felt pretty comfortable out there," Durbin said. "I struggled to get ahead of guys and that hurt me."

Durbin finished with six runs and eight hits allowed in 4 2/3 innings, throwing exactly 100 pitches.