The Mets came into tonight fresh off of a sloppy loss to Los Angeles, but they righted the ship with an 11-1 throttling of the rival Phillies. While defense was often a problem on the recent seven-game road trip for the Metsies, all was well on that end tonight.
Daniel Murphy and Ruben Tejada each made impressive leaping catches to snag line drives, which helped to back up Jon Niese’s eight solid innings. The only run Niese allowed was a home run by Carlos “Chooch” Ruiz in the top of the second inning. Other than that, Niese just allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out three.
The offensive assault began modestly in the bottom of the first when Daniel Murphy hit a ball down the left field line that ended up going for a triple after John Mayberry Jr. dove for it and missed. The next batter David Wright drove in Murphy with a ground ball to make the score 1-0 New York.
After Ruiz’s home run tied the game at 1-1, the Mets got to work in earnest in the bottom of the second. Andres Torres and Josh Thole each singled off of Philly starter Vance Worley to load the bases with one out. Jon Niese then bounced one up the middle that looked like it could be a double play, but the ball trickled through the infield and two runs came in, with Thole being thrown out trying to take third base. Another run came in when Murphy doubled two batters later. At the end of two, the score was 4-1 New York.
Niese and the New York defense shut down the Phils for the next six innings, and the Mets offense struck again in the fourth with RBI singles by Tejada and Murphy. Things really got out of hand in the sixth when David Wright socked a three-run homer to center off of Philly reliever Brian Sanches. The scoring finally was capped in the eighth when Murphy hit a two-RBI double to give the Mets an 11-1 lead.
Turning Point: As soon as the Mets took the lead for the second time, this one was pretty much over, as New York posted one of its most dominant wins of the season.
Game Ball: Niese was really good, but this one goes to Murphy, who’s really started to turn his game around lately. Murph played good defense and went 4 for 5 with four RBI while falling a home run short of the cycle.
Next Game: The Mets will look to send the Phillies further into the abyss during tomorrow’s Independence Day matinee. Chris Young will take the mound against Cliff Lee starting at 1:10 PM. Lee, of course, is still looking for his first winning decision of the season.
