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 On Sunday, in yet another extra innings matchup, Lucas Duda had
enough.
Against Phillies relief pitcher Phillippe Aumont, first baseman Duda
hit a two-run home run in the 11th inning to propel the Mets to a
4-3 victory, their second extra-innings win in as many days.
After Aumont walked Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud, Duda sent a
two-out shot to left-center field to take the permanent lead.
"Travis got on base and I was lucky enough to square the ball up and
go yard," Duda said.
"That's the Lucas Duda that I saw," said Mets manager Terry Collins.
"That kind of juice to left-center field is what got him in the big
leagues."
Pitcher Josh Edgin (1-0) earned the victory for the Mets, striking
out the side in his one inning of work while Jenrry Majia got his
sixth save. Aumont (0-1) was credited with the loss after giving up
the decisive home run.
Phillies starter Cole Hamels got into some trouble in the top of the
second inning, allowing the first two hitters he faced on base with
singles. An outfield popup moved outfielder Chris Young to third
with one out, but Hamels was able to force a double play to keep the
game scoreless.
The Mets struck first in the top of the fourth. Third baseman David
Wright led the inning off with a double, which was followed by an
infield single that hugged the third-base line that moved Wright to
third. Young popped up in foul territory, but it was deep enough for
Wright to tag up and score the game's first run.
First baseman Ryan Howard immediately took the lead away from the
Mets in the bottom of the inning. After catcher Carlos Ruiz hit a
one-out double, Howard connected on a 1-0 pitch that was sent to
center field for his 11th home run of the season to give the
Phillies a 2-1 lead for their only runs of the game.
Thanks to a couple of miscues in the sixth inning on the Phillies'
part, the Mets were able to tie the game after right fielder Curtis
Granderson hit a sacrifice fly to score first baseman Eric Campbell.
Hamels would make it to the end of the seventh inning, allowing six
hits and one earned run while striking out eight batters on 125
pitches. The Mets' Jonathon Niese would allow eight hits and two
earned runs in eight innings on 91 pitches as both starters earned
no decisions.
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"(Hamels) gives us the opportunity, no question about it,"
Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "We came up short on the
offensive side, he pitched well with the wind today."
After playing so many innings in just three games, Collins has tried
to keep the bullpen from encountering injury. Down to one of their
last relievers, Duda's home run saved his manager from making some
tough decisions if the game continued.
"The main thought was, how are we going to get to (relief pitcher
Dana) Eveland, because he was our last line," Collins said. "We had
a couple guys that we knew could give us a couple of innings, but we
just took a flying shot and thankfully Luke hit the homer."
Trailing by two runs, Phillies right fielder Marlon Byrd made it
interesting with a solo home run in the bottom of the 11th inning,
but Majia was able to retire the next two batters with ease.
NOTES: With Sunday's loss, the Phillies snap a streak of alternating
wins and losses. They had done so in the previous nine games. ...
Not including Sunday, Mets pitchers have earned 41 strikeouts over
its last three games, the most in team history over any three-game
stretch in a single season. ... In the past, June has not been the
Phillies' best month. Philadelphia has had a winning record in the
month of June once in the past six seasons and four times in the
last 11.
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