On the broadcast prior to the game, Comcast SportsNet pointed out that the Phillies had a chance Wednesday to even their record to 10-10 over a span of 20 games in 20 days. That wasn’t to be, as the New York Mets completed the three-game sweep with a dominant 7-0 win at Citi Field.
After a 10-game road trip, the Phillies will now get a much-needed day off and return to the friendlier surroundings of Citizens Bank Park. Here’s what I saw:
Starting pitcher
1. Heading into this afternoon’s ballgame with a respectable 3.54 ERA, Sean O’Sullivan turned back into a pumpkin. The Metsies’ lineup came out with an aggressive approach against the journeyman and it sure paid off. Please shield your eyes if ugly pitching lines frighten you: 5.2 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 4 HR, 1 BB, 2 K.
2. Yup, you read that correctly. The Mets, a team that doesn’t hit a ton of homers, went yard four times in their cavernous ballpark. None of these were cheapies, either. Three-hole hitter Lucas Duda, who combined to go 6-8 with cleanup man Daniel Murphy, took O’Sullivan deep twice. In the first inning, Duda crushed an 89-MPH offering over the heart of the plate to deep center. Later in the game, he took O’Sullivan out to right field.
3. The other two homers also traveled a long way. First, Michael Cuddyer hit a ball into the second deck in left field for the second time this series. Then, the man known as Thor swung his hammer and put a major charge into a baseball:
Offense
1. The Mets are going with a six-man rotation, which is why Terry Collins had no problem stretching his hyped pitching prospect out to 101 pitches. Even if O’Sullivan delivered a better performance, the Phillies’ offense had nothing against Noah "Thor" Syndergaard. No need to shield your eyes here (well, unless you’re a Phil— nevermind, shield away!): 7.1 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K.
2. In one of the rare times he faced any trouble, Syndergaard induced a lazy fly ball off the bat of Chase Utley by getting away from his 98 mph fastball and throwing an off-speed pitch. The Phils stranded two runners in the third inning.
3. FRANCO WATCH: The youngster only went 1-4, but his seventh-inning single off Syndergaard was an excellent at-bat where he worked the count and showed the type of patience that has often eluded him. In the ninth inning, he whiffed on a nasty splitter by Mets reliever Erik Goeddel.
Bullpen
1. Jonathan Papelbon hadn’t toed the rubber in six days, so he worked a meaningless eighth inning. Especially after taking his team’s poor record into account, Ryne Sandberg probably needs to be more willing to use his closer in non-save situations like last night if the game is close.
2. Speaking of Papelbon, that vesting option (which he’ll get with 48 “games finished”) should be an interesting storyline. By my math, he’s currently on pace for 49 games finished. The Phillies don’t seem to be hiding from that vesting option, but the team’s lack of quality might just help them save some coin:
Defense
1. Jake Diekman committed a throwing error, but he was able to regroup and throw 1.1 scoreless innings.
Up Next
As previously mentioned, the Phillies get a day off before facing the Colorado Rockies on Friday at home behind their red-hot ace Cole Hamels (5-3, 2.98 ERA). He’ll be opposed by Chad “The Bus” Bettis (1-0, 4.19 ERA).
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann