Phillies Beat Mets 5-2 Behind Hellickson To Take 2 Of 3
NEW YORK (AP) — Odubel Herrera hit a two-run homer off Matt Harvey in the first appearance at Citi Field for the Mets ace since he failed to close out Game 5 of last year's World Series, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat New York 5-2 Sunday.
Philadelphia won the last two games of the three-game series after an 0-4 start. The Phillies already have more wins at Citi Field this season than last year, when they went 1-8.
Jeremy Hellickson (1-0) held the Mets hitless until Yoenis Cespedes lined an opposite-field single to right in the fourth and kept them scoreless until Cespedes chased him with a two-run homer in the sixth that cut Philadelphia's lead to 3-2.
The Mets wore replicas of the uniforms used by their 1986 World Series champions, with royal blue and orange racing stripes, outfits that will be sported for Sunday home games this year.
But they hit more like their offensively challenged early 1960s version, entering with a .192 batting average that ranked 28th among the 30 big league teams.
A day after getting just three hits in a 1-0 loss, New York was held to four hits by Hellickson and three relievers, and the NL champions dropped to 2-3 — their record before 11-game winning streaks in 1986 and last year.
New York's scoreless stretch had reached 15 innings when Cespedes, 2 for 16 coming in, homered on the 11th pitch of an at-bat, sending a changeup over the left-field wall. That finished Hellickson, who allowed three hits in 5 2/3 innings with five strikeouts and one walk.
James Russell, Hector Neris and Jeanmar Gomez combined for one-hit relief, with Gomez getting his second save in a span of about 18 hours.
Pitching on the Citi Field mound for the first time since manager Terry Collins allowed him to try to finish a shutout against Kansas City, Harvey (0-2) repeatedly reached 97 mph with his fastball and started 19 of 25 hitters for strikes. He gave up three runs and six hits in six innings.
Harvey fell behind in the third when Peter Bourjos reached on an infield hit by beating David Wright's slightly offline throw on a slow roller to third and then scored on Freddy Galvis' sacrifice fly. Harvey retired 10 straight batters before Cesar Hernandez singled in the sixth for his sixth hit of the series.
Herrera homered on a low slider with little break, the ball landing between the new fence in right-center that was erected for the 2015 season and the original wall.
SCUFFLING
Mets leadoff man Curtis Granderson went 0 for 4 and is 1 for 20 this season
MISTAKE OF THE DAY
A day after missing a hit-and-run sign, Herrera nearly cost the Phillies a run in the eighth. Ryan Howard hit a bases-loaded fly to right off Addison Reed, and as Galvis headed home from third, Herrera nearly was doubled up at second by Granderson. The call by second base umpire Paul Nauert was upheld on replay, but if Herrera had been out, the run would not have counted because Galvis had not crossed home plate at the time of the tag.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mets: RHP Jacob deGrom will miss his scheduled start against Miami on Wednesday because of a sore muscle in his right side. He will be replaced by Logan Verrett, who allowed pinch hitter Andres Blanco's RBI double in the ninth ... LHP Josh Edgin made his first injury rehabilitation appearance following Tommy John surgery in March 2015, starting and throwing 27 pitches while getting two outs for Class A St. Lucie. He allowed one run and one hit.
UP NEXT
Phillies: RHP Aaron Nola is to start the Phillies' home opener Monday against San Diego. He didn't get a decision at Cincinnati in his first start, when he allowed one run and four hits in seven innings.
Mets: LHP Steven Matz is scheduled for his season debut Monday in a series opener against Miami. He was 4-0 as a rookie last year.
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