Strange Days Part 1: Phils

The two Philly teams in action over the weekend had an unusual few days, so this is a two-part tale. We start with the Phillies, who had four games against the New York Mets, a team expected to contend with the Phils but instead find themselves trying to play the spoiler.

Friday's game found Mets' starter Nelson Figueroa giving up 9 hits and 5 walks in 5 1/3 innings, but only allowing 2 runs. The Phils wasted multiple opportunities, going 4-for-19 with runners in scoring position, and managed only a 4-1 lead going into the 9th. Phils' closer-for-the-moment Ryan Madson gave up a couple of hits, but the only run he gave up came on a double play, and the Phils held on for the 4-2 win.

On Saturday the first five Mets' at-bats against Jamie Moyer, starting again in place of J.A. Happ, went like this: double, single, 2-RBI single (David Wright), 2-run homer, single. Moyer settled down, lasting through the 7th and allowing just a 7th-inning run. The Phils' offense came to life, building up a 9-5 lead through 7. Brett Myers came on in the 8th, got an out, gave up a hit and then served up a 2-run homer (Wright again). The Mets got another run off Myers and Chan Ho Park to make it 9-8. Madson came on in the 9th, got two outs, gave up a hit, and got bashed for a 2-run homer (Wright yet again). The Mets went on to finish off the 10-9 win.

Sunday there was a day-night doubleheader. In the first game the Phils got an unexpected bonus: 7 1/3 fine innings from Kyle Kendrick, and took a 5-2 lead into the 9th. Deposed closer Brad Lidge was called upon, and gave up 3 hits and 2 runs, but managed to save the game.

In the nightcap, Charlie Manuel decided to let Pedro Martinez go as long as possible. Pedro ended up throwing an astonishing 130 pitches, the most he's thrown in a game since 2001, but gave the Phils 8 scoreless innings. He had 119 pitches in his last start. The two-game workload is somewhat insane considering his age, his inactivity for much of the year and his injury issues in recent years. Madson, trying again, got the save as the Phils made a first-inning run hold up. Depsite it all, the Phils took three out of four from the Mets.

With Florida losing two over the weekend to Washington and losing tonight at St. Louis, the Phillies' lead stands at 7 games with 20 games left, starting tomorrow against Washington. This is close to the Mets' 7-game-lead-with-17-left standing in 2007 prior to their epic collapse. The Phils of 2007, however, were playing much better than the Marlins of 2009, so a similar flop by the 2009 Phils remains very unlikely.

However, the continuing struggles of the bullpen -- much too similar to those of the Mets' pen in recent years -- do not bode well for the chances of another late October parade down Broad Street.