It was hardly a conventional victory. J.A. Happ pitched well through four innings, giving up zero runs, but then was yanked after 4 2/3, and credited for allowing two runs.
Overall, Happ pitched ok, but the main problem was he wasn't ahead in his counts. But, the Phillies found a way to come back against the Mets' struggling ace Johan Santana, who hasn't won a game in a month, and who has a 7-7 record.
In a league where so much emphasis is placed on wins, Santana sports a .500 record, because he just doesn't get run support. The same goes for Cole Hamels who has 8 wins, but if he had just a little more support he'd be on his way to 12 or 13 wins and he'd be in Cy Young consideration.
The Phils began their 10-game homestand with a huge win and this could mark the beginning of the end for the Mets if the Phillies take 3 out of 4 or sweep them. Shane Victorino ended the night with some real fireworks by hitting the game-winning single to score Pedro Feliz, taking game one in this 4-game series.
Another star on the night was Chad Durbin, who had 6 strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings worth of work. He now sports a 1.50 ERA. The good thing with Durbin is he hasn't had to pitch a whole lot in the past month. He's had just 11 appearances and logged 14 innings since June 2nd.
The Phillies are now 3 1/2 games up on the Marlins, who lost to the Rockies in a game for the ages. The Rockies came back to beat the Marlins 18-17. Yes, you read that right, this was a football score people. It was the first time in Coors Field history that two teams scored 16 runs or more.
Jamie Moyer takes the hill tonight against John Maine.
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