Opportunity knocked for a fifth straight series win today for the Philadelphia Phillies. Opportunity, that is, in the person of Matt Harvey. The Mets’ starter has enjoyed success in his first full season in the bigs, and has yet to lose the Phillies.
He would continue that string of dominance today.
Cliff Lee opposed him, looking to earn his 11th win of the year in the process. Unfortunately for Lee, he could get off to a tough start that his team would not recover from.
In the bottom of the first inning, he allowed back to back solo home runs to David Wright and Marlon Byrd. Just like that, Harvey was given a lead he would not relinquish.
He went after every hitter he faced with fastballs in the early going, several of them topping out at 99 miles per hour. The Phillies simply had no answer for him.
Lee again ran into trouble in the fourth inning. Wright singled to left field to start the inning, followed by a Byrd strikeout. First baseman Josh Satin then grounded softly to third for an infield single.
After a fly out by John Buck, centerfielder Juan Lagares stepped in and roped a line drive home run to left center field. Though close, it hit just off the railing above the home run line.
That gave the Mets a 5-0 lead with Harvey dealing.
Lee finished going six innings, allowing all five runs on seven hits and one walk. He also allowed three home runs which accounted for all five Met runs.
Harvey turned in seven shutout innings, struck out 10, did not walk a batter and scattered three hits, each one coming in a different inning. The Phils could only manage four hits total on the day.
They struck out a total of 12 times against Mets pitching, with four of those coming from Domonic Brown.
All told, the Phillies lost their first series since before Independence Day, and dropped one game back under .500. They remain in second place, however, as the Nationals were clobbered by the Dodgers today.
The Phillies are off tomorrow before starting a three game series against the Cardinals in St. Louis. That will be followed by an interleague series in Detroit against the Tigers. Both teams lead their respective divisions.
It does not get any easier from here, with every game more crucial than the last.
Stats Courtesy of Phillies.com
Photo Courtesy of NYDailyNews.com
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