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Moyer leads Phils past Mets in first game

Sep 7, 2008 - 10:39 PM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Jamie Moyer scattered two hits in seven outstanding innings and Greg Dobbs hit a three-run home run as the Phillies defeated the New York Mets, 6-2, in the opener of a day-night doubleheader Sunday at Shea Stadium.

Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Ruiz and Matt Stairs also drove in runs for the Philadelphia (78-64), which is now one game behind the Mets (79-63) in the National League East Division. The Phillies have not had a share of the lead since August 26 but can move into a tie when Cole Hamels opposes Johan Santana in the nightcap.

Hamels will be trying to continue what Brett Myers, and Moyer have done.

"We've gained some ground," Moyer said. "But we have another game tonight. That's the most important game of our season."

Myers scattered three hits over eight innings in Friday's series-opening 3-0 win and turned in a dominating 10-strikeout performance.

Moyer was equally as effective, allowing just an infield bunt single to Robinson Cancel in the third and an infield base hit to Damian Easley in the seventh. The 45-year-old lefthander allowed just three other base runners as he improved to 6-1 in his last 12 starts.

Moyer's only loss in that span was August 5 against Florida but he was rocked for six runs and nine hits in three innings in a game that the Phillies eventually won in 13 innings on August 26. In his sixth start of the season against the Mets, Moyer cruised through a 104-pitch outing.

"He did a good job," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He's done a good job for us all year.

Moyer's biggest at-bat of the game came with two on and two out in the bottom of the third when he faced David Wright. He won his nine-pitch battle by getting Wright on a flyout to right field.

"At that point, I had to bear down and make some good pitches," Moyer said. "Very seldom do I get the ball by him for the third strike. I was well aware of that. I tried to battle him like he was battling me and I was able to win that."

"He's definitely a guy that you don't want to face, coming off an off-day with the adrenaline pumping of a big series," Wright said. "He was aggressive and hitting his spots. It seemed like he got better as the game went on."

Philadelphia managed just four hits off Mike Pelfrey in the series opener but one was Dobbs' two-run home run and in this one, they got plenty off Pedro Martinez, who was pitching with an extra day of rest following Saturday's rainout.

"The arm, it was a lot better today," said Martinez, who turned in his shortest non-injury start of the season. "The results were not what everybody expected, especially me."

The Phillies roughed up Martinez for six runs and seven hits in just four innings. They scored two in the second and then put away the contest with a four-run fourth.

After Stairs lifted a sacrifice fly and Ruiz had an RBI single, the Phils sent eight batters to the plate. They went up 5-0 after Dobbs hit an 0-1 fastball over the right-center field fence and opened a six-run lead when Rollins hit a double that fell in between left fielder Nick Evans and shortstop Jose Reyes.

"It feels good when we're playing the way we're playing, at the time of the season," Dobbs said of hitting his third home run against New York this year. "All these games mean a whole lot, especially coming in here to this environment."

The Mets had just five hits and scored their first run of the series on Wright's two-out double in the eighth off Scott Eyre. They cut it to 6-2 when Carlos Beltran doubled in Wright and took third on a fielding error by center fielder Greg Golson but Eyre recovered and struck out Carlos Delgado.

"We seemed to have picked a bad time not to be swinging the bats well, especially at home," New York manager Jerry Manuel said. "We swung the bats well the last time against Jamie."

Ryan Madson allowed a one-out infield single to Easley in the ninth and Manuel went to lefthander J.C. Romero, who retired pinch hitter Daniel Murphy on a game-ending double play.