Byrd's Double Lifts Phillies Over Mets 3-2 In 11
NEW YORK (AP) — Marlon Byrd sliced an RBI double just inside the right field line in the 11th inning, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 3-2 Friday night in a game of many squandered opportunities.
Chase Utley had three hits and scored all the Phillies' runs, two on singles by Domonic Brown, to help Philadelphia end a four-game skid and beat the Mets for the first time in six meetings.
Carlos Torres (2-2), the seventh Mets pitcher, gave up a one-out double to Utley and intentionally walked Ryan Howard. Byrd, who played for the Mets last season, reached low and away to send an opposite-field liner inside the foul line.
The Phillies left the bases loaded, only fitting as the teams combined to strand 32 runners in a game that took 4 hours, 39 minutes.
Jonathan Papelbon earned his 10th save. Mario Hollands (1-1) got the win.
The Mets returned home after a 2-6 road trip that ended with a three-game sweep at the hands of the Marlins and a 23-inning scoreless streak. They quickly ended the drought on Curtis Granderson's RBI double in the first but then reverted to their struggling ways until the eighth, when David Wright doubled in the tying run off Antonio Bastardo.
New York loaded the bases in each of the first two innings against Roberto Hernandez. The Mets also put two runners on in three other innings, including the fifth when they had second and third with no outs after shortstop Jimmy Rollins' throwing error on a potential double-play ball.
Still, they mostly came up empty. New York left 15 on base, a season high, and went 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
While the Mets wasted opportunity after opportunity, the Phillies were hardly better in their first game since Toronto swept four from them in a home-and-home interleague series. Philadelphia stranded 17 at Citi Field and couldn't capitalize on 11 walks — three intentional.
Brown and Utley teamed in the third and fifth against Jenrry Mejia to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead.
Utley led off the third with a double and advanced to third on Howard's fly to left field. After a walk to Byrd, Brown fisted a soft liner the opposite way to left to tie it 1-all.
Brown drove in Utley in the fifth with another hit dunked into left field.
Mejia gave up two runs and six hits in 4 2-3 innings. He walked three, hit a batter with a pitch and struck out four.
Hernandez labored through five innings, giving up a run while stranding 10.
Mets fans got excited in the third when Mejia's weak fly to left looked as though it had a chance of dropping. Instead, a charging in Brown made the catch to leave New York pitchers 0 for 59 this season.
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