I was at the thrilling Phillies victory over the hated Mets Thursday afternoon at an almost full citizens Bank Park. The home team came from behind with a walk-off win ( for the second night in a row, after not having a walk-off win all season), 6-3 over New York.
It was a beautiful day for a ballgame and over 39,000 fans packed the stadium on a hot, breezy afternoon. There was a sprinkling of Met fans in the crowd, but not as many as in previous years. The Mets are having a down year, especially now, getting swept by their rival Phillies. In the past, chants of annoying Met fans "Let's Go Mets!" would pour salt in the wounds of Phils' fans, as the new Yorkers attempted to take over CBP.
Not this year.
Aaron Nola pitched great for the second consecutive game, tossing seven shut-out innings and giving up only one hit, that to Mets' pitcher Zach Wheeler. Nola has cut down on his walks, striking out 10 for the second game in a row. He looks like the Nola of old, and loves to pitch in the heat and humidity of summer, like back in his home of Louisiana.
After Hector Neris blew the 1-0 save in the ninth, ( he was pitching his third consecutive outing), the hot Maikel Franco tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a clutch two-run homer to center field.
Jean Segura blasted a three-run shot to win it for the Phils, giving them a four-game winning streak. Credit Cesar Hernandez, Sean Rodriguez and Scott Kingery for getting on base in the dramatic bottom of the ninth to set up the win.
Bryce Harper crushed a titanic home run in the sixth, a shot to left-center field which bounced onto a crowded Ashburn Alley. It was Harper's 14th homer of the season.
I predicted the Phillies would sweep the awful Mets then pay back the Marlins in Miami this weekend, returning the sweep. That would give Philly a seven-game winning streak after losing seven straight. They travel next to Atlanta for more revenge before ending the first half of the year in New York,
Right now the re surging Phils are 4 1/2 games out of first place in NL East behind the braves. While the Phils are in Miami the braves take on those same mets in New York over the weekend. Time to make up even more ground before the big series in Atlanta.
Sure the Mets are awful but the real reason why the Phillies are playing better is the line-up. Since Manager Gabe Kapler finally put Scott Kingery in the lead-off spot the team has taken off. Other than the hot Kingery banging out hits and using his speed at the top of the line-up, this batting order allows guys to ease back into familiar and comfortable positions. Segura moves back to second, Harper to third and Franco to eighth, for instance.
Since reserve Brad Miller got his own lucky Bamboo plant, and a bigger one for the clubhouse, the team hasn't lost. Is it superstition or luck or just coincidence? Whatever, the Phillies store will be selling Bamboo plants soon for $35 a pop.
Bamboo is become a legend as long as the Phillies keep winning.
No comments:
Post a Comment