Game 81: Mets vs. Phillies @ Citizens Bank Park

Time for a sweep.

The Good: Jose Reyes scored an early first inning run after stealing his 39th base and scoring on a Paul Lo Duca single. In the second inning, Carlos Delgado showed signs of busting out by hitting a two strike outside curve ball down the left field line for a double. However, he would be prevented from scoring when Greg Dobbs robbed Shawn Green of a hit down the line by making a full extension leap to pick the ball out of the air. In his next at-bat, Delgado would guarantee himself of scoring a run when he crushed a first-pitch fastball into the right field bleachers. After Mike Pelfrey threw a scoreless fourth inning, he came right back to lead the fifth inning off with a hit. Jose Reyes couldn't keep the good vibe going though as he grounded into the third Met double play of the game. During the sixth inning, Carlos Gomez made a splendid diving catch on a Chase Utley liner to record the first out of the inning. The Mets would be held down until the ninth inning, where they made it interesting, but could not dig themselves out of Aaron Heilman's hole.

The Bad: After starting off well, Mike Pelfrey struggled a bit in the second and third innings but bounced back to pitch five innings. Aaron Heilman continues to suck.

Overall: A sweep would have been nice, but three out of four is still pleasing. The Mets take the series and gain a few games in the standings.

Notes: With the bases loaded in the third inning, Greg Dobbs may have helped the Mets out when he lined out to Beltran on a 2-0 pitch; that limited the damage to only two runs. Even with that outcome, the Mets couldn't battle back. Guillermo Mota looked good in his lone inning of work.

2 Cents: Early on, Mike Pelfrey was attacking the zone and looked great. Leading off the second inning, he blew Ryan Howard away on a 96 mph high fastball. Although he allowed a run during that inning, it's more acceptable to give up a run on a 96 mph 3-2 fastball (rather than a walk).

Final Score: Mets 2, Phillies 5. Record: 46-34.