Philadelphia Phillies drub New York Mets 8-4 as Cole Hamels throws eight innings - MLB Update
Relief pitcher Bobby Parnell allows the Philadelphia Phillies to reach past the New York Mets and win 8-4 at Citi Field, New York, NY on May 28, in first game of the three match series.
Until five innings, the game was tied. As soon as the Phillies broke and surged to two runs lead in the sixth, the Mets blew it in the same inning.
However, when the game came down to relievers, the Mets were unable to keep the Phillies from restoring their lead and maintaining it through the ninth.
How much difference a quality starter can make was evident. Cole Hamels, the Phillies’ starter, stood for eight innings. As a result, he minimised the task for relievers. He proved a critical link in the victory.
On the other hand, the Mets’ starter Jon Niese left after five innings, thrusting a heavy job into the hands of the relievers. As it turned out, the Mets relievers leaked runs and caused the defeat ultimately.
Phillies’ first baseman, Ty Wigginton blossomed on plate. In a best outing of the season, he connected three hits in three at-bats. In addition, he kept base-runners on the move throughout the game, with six RBIs.
Wigginton shredded his poor run of form in a style. As he has improved batting average to .256, his confidence will be high and that in turn can help the Phillies’ offence immensely.
While the Phillies saw one of their batters showing sharp improvement on Monday, the Mets witnessed decline from their third-baseman, David Wright.
Following couple of games without many hits, Wright was even worse on Monday. He missed four at-bats. His batting average, which was at historic level just a week ago, plunged to .373.
Mets’ manager Terry Collins admitted that Wright, just like any player, can struggle on the plate.
"David showed he's human, he can fall into a little funk just like everyone else," Collins said. "He's been so good for so long that you come to expect that he's always going to get a hit and we know that's not going to be the case."
The way starter Hamels is showing consistency in his performance, the Phillies can be hopeful that impact of the injury by ace, Roy Halladay, will be neutralised.
Winning first game of the series is always an advantage. The Phillies will look to carry the momentum in next two games.
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