We took a trip back in time on Tuesday night at Citi Field. The Phils played in what felt like a nostalgia trip back to the years when the two giants were vying for the National League East Championship. The game was almost as intense as those contested a few years back as well.
Matt Harvey was the man bringing the buzz. Having missed all of last season recovering from elbow surgery he found himself back at the mound for the first time since 2013. However his rustiness didn’t show, his first pitch to Phillies’ leadoff man Odubel Herrera was a 96 mph strike, much to the elation of a nearly 40,000 strong crowd. The fans also left happy following a 6-5 victory over the Phils, who went back to their hotel in a probable daze.
Lucas Duda was the man who controlled the win for the Mets, striking a three-run double off Buchanan in the second. Daniel Murphy increased the Mets’ lead to a 3 run game with a laser-like homer to open the bottom of the seventh, leaving the Phils a mountain they did not have the strength to climb.
The Phils, despite coming up against a Harvey pitching game that seemed better than ever, actually batted extremely well in comparison to their opening seven games. Chase Utley finally got out of bed and hit his first home run of the season before adding a second, whilst Cody Asche homered against Harvey to continue his impressive batting record.But at the end of the three hour game, the result was the same. A loss. The third consecutive one now for the Phils.
On the Phillies side of pitching however, David Buchanan gave up nine hits and five runs in 5 2/3 innings allowing 13 base runners overall. That number stands at 24 for the season…not a great stat. Buchanan is yet to win following his last victory on August 6th.
The main talking point of the game other than Harvey has to be the improvement to batting. With four homers in the game, the Phils have a total of six in their first eight with Francoeur getting two of them.
The Phillies and Mets conclude the series Wednesday night as Jerome Williams returns to the mound for Philly. Can Philly end the series on a high?
