Phillies mash Mets 9-2; Chase Utley homers in return

"The Real Deal" J.D. Durbin pitched 6 1-3 solid innings and set a career high with six strikeouts, but the night belonged to Chase Utley, who roared off the disabled list with a 3-for-5 performance including a bullet home run to left-center.

In front of a packed house and electric atmosphere, the Phillies took the first of four in first-rate fashion. Not to be outdone by Utley, making his first start since undergoing hand surgery a month ago, Jayson Werth went 4-for-4 and has now hit safely in nine of his last nine at bats, the first Phillie to do so since the 1950s. Pat Burrell continued his hot hitting with a 2-for-4 night including a two-run homer. The Phillies laced 17 hits, including 10 off Mets' starter Brian Lawrence (L, 1-2, 6.31)

Durbin (W, 6-3, 5.14) didn’t allow a base runner until the fifth inning, retiring hitters with a crisp breaking ball and best command of the season. The 25-year-old right-hander, who’s trying to stick in the Phillies' rotation, forced 10 groundouts without surrendering a walk.

Tadahito Iguchi drove the nail in the Mets' coffin with a pinch-hit three-run homer that scored Chris Coste. Besides the home run, Utley also hit his 42nd double, which sets the franchise mark for second basemen. The Phillies pulled to five back of the Mets in the NL East and will try to keep rolling when they hand the ball to Adam Eaton tomorrow night.

Comments

[Chstk of Sffrng]

A triple short of the cycle on your first night back. Not bad, not bad at all!

[control13]

The key part of that post is in the last sentence:

"will try to keep rolling when they hand the ball to Adam Eaton tomorrow night."

Good luck with that.

[J.R. King]

As of this post, Chase Utley is the leading hitter in the National League (.339)

[The Other Kevin]

Hey, if Durban can show up, why not Eaton? You heard it here first: Eaton makes amends and pitches a good game. Or at least good enough to win.

[John]

I was at the game and Durbin did look good -- thought he could have pitched the rest of the 7th although his pitch count was close to 100.

It's also worth noting that Charlie has been using Coste almost exclusively as Durbin's battery mate. The exception was Durbin's first start where Barajas was behind the plate (and he lost badly). It seems that Coste really knows how to handle Durbin. You saw this in the 5th and 6th innings when he spent some extra time talking to Durbin and making sure he wasn't rattled, especially after Lo Duca's bloop two out RBI single.

We can only hope the front office recognizes Coste's value as a catcher and make him a part of next year's team.

[Mike H.]

Znakes 1, Friars 0, top 7. Has all the markings of an Arizona win - they have three hits, struck out 11 times, Livan at 83 pitches.

[Ribbies]

I was at the game tonight and it was an electric atmosphere. Having all those Mets fans there was one reason, and watching them all shut up was one of life's great pleasures.

Some brief thoughts:

- Utley's homerun was one of the best Phillies moments I've seen in person. The crowd went crazy, they were SO glad to see Chase back. His double and single were just a great reminder of how much we missed him.

- Burrell looked great again at the plate and his homer was huge. I am totally against them pulling Burrell in the late innings when he's been hitting like this. Although this one turned into a laugher it still felt too early when they pulled him.

- Werth's 9 for 9 is incredible. He looked like he would have kept hitting if they gave him at bats.

- Howard has now hit the ball well in two straight games, hopefully he's getting hot. His ball off the wall was a bullet.

- Durbin was fine, and my uncle pointed out that his one bad inning came after he ran hard to try to beat out a single to end the inning. This game was a perfect example of how we don't need Cy Young if we're hitting the ball.

- Finally, there was one moment when both the Phillies fans and Mets fans both cheered. It was in the first inning when Manuel was tossed. The Mets fans were cheering because they didn't know any better, and the Phils fans were cheering because we realized that if only for one night, luck was on our side.

Go Phils!

[Mike H.]

Home run, Geoff Blum. Yeah, I just typed that.

2-1, Padres.

[hititonthegroundjroll]

geoff f-cking blum you gotta be kidding me

[Tray]

Well Livan averages a little over a home run a start so you knew one might be coming.

[Ribbies]

I realize as I watch this game that I now hate the Padres.

[hititonthegroundjroll]

how can you not hate a team that features such upstanding people as the giles douchebags, milton bradley, and khalil greene??

[Mike H.]

Does anyone still have a visceral reaction to the Dodgers, or has that rivalry somewhat faded?

[hititonthegroundjroll]

you gotta be kidding me

[Ribbies]

That was a pretty cheap home run. Doesn't it usually have to leave the ballpark?

[Mike H.]

punk@ss biznitch...

[Ribbies]

I also hate the Padres announcers.

[Malcolm]

2 on, 1 out in 9th. 3-1 Pads. Come on Backs!

[Ribbies]

Still 3 back.

[hititonthegroundjroll]

never understood why trevor hoffman was so unhittable... just look for the motherf ing change

[denny b.]

With September 1 coming soon, who will the Phils add to the active roster? And, is there a limit on how many can be added?

Here is who I see being added:

Position Players

Barajas (unfortunately)
Roberson (pinch runner extrordinaire)
Bourn (although he won't be ready for a few weeks)

Jaramillo (extra catcher gives Cholly more opportunity to use Coste as a pinch-hitter)

Branyan (could be back once he clears waivers)

Burnham (give the guy a shot at the bigs; he has had a great year at AAA)

Pitchers:

Mathieson (has been clocked at 97 MPH in Clearwater; we need a hard thrower in that pen).

Happ (despite rocky last start; has had a really strong 2nd half of the season. Could be used in long relief this year).

Mateo (Why not?)

And, of course, Madson should be back in late September (hopefully).

Plus, I think Gillick is going to add another lefty out of the pen before September 1. My guess is either Mike Stanton or Matt Thornton (although he may have not cleared waivers). Why? They play for one of the handful of teams that Gillick does deals with (Reds, White Sox, Mariners and Rangers).

[Jon]

All I can say is that was one awesome game to be at! The atmosphere alone was worth the price of admission! Chase Utley is the heart and soul of this team! He deserved everyone of his curtain calls and MVP chants!

It was also nice to see Manuel actually raise a fuss in the first! J-Roll was clearly safe! Cowboy Joe West seems to have a vendetta against the Phillies.

Before the game, I wasn't sure about keeping Burrell in the three hole, but man it sure worked tonight.

Werth is WHITE HOT right now! 9 for his last 9 is flatout incredible! I half wonder if he has won the job over Victorino. He definitely needs to keep playing until he cools off.

The same can be said about Coste. He needs to play just about every day. He did an awesome job with Durbin tonight. I still cannot believe Durbin had no walks on the night! A very well pitched game by J.D.!

Also, you can't say enough about Iguchi. What a great player to have off the bench! They definitely need to bring this guy back next season.

This team has really put things together the past two days. Hopefully they can keep it going with Glavine, Perez, and El Duckie slated to go the next three. That will be a very good test for this offense.

Well, the Phils aren't dead yet, but I still would like for Gillick to find a way to upgrade the pen somehow before the 31st.

Finally, I never heard the Muts fans so quiet at a game haha! Phillies fans drowned them out the whole game! Awesome win by the Phils!

[Ben Keeler]

I dont think Jarmillo will be up, with Barajas "healing" by Sep 1, I am guessing they will need / go with 3 catchers only.

Eaton has a chance to somewhat make amends tomorrow for his awful season. Lets hope he takes advantage of it. We need it. He has been such a momentum killer this year..we need him tomorrow. Wonder if Helms might actually start at 3rd tomorrow with the lefty Glavine going. I believe he is still on the team........

I hate the Padres and their announcers. But it does draw the DBacks one closer to the pack; they are only 2 up on SD. You never know. We just need to win our games and let whatever happens out west happen. But it looks like our 1-6 rcord against AZ this season could really kill us at the end.

Chase Utley, you are the man.

[Ben Keeler]

And I will add I bashed Werth a ton early this season. He was pretty bad. He is playing great now. Glad to see it and I hope he keeps making me look stupid.

[ajc1]

reposted from previous thread:

Clout: Here's Madson's runs allowed per inning, best as I can figure (I ran these numbers at home by hand going thru old boxscores, so I apologize if they're not 100% accurate):

4-6: 10 IP, 6 R
7-8: 36 IP, 7 R
9-12: 10 IP, 7 R

As you can see, he was mostly effective as a set-up guy, and was least effective when he was brought in very early for long relief or as a long guy in extras. Those are the general trends I saw after sorting thru all the boxscores, anyway.

I don't have the time to run Alfie's breakouts, but an interesting note is that he's been better at CBP (3.05 ERA vs 4.94 on the road), while Madson was better on the road (2.73 ERA vs. 3.42 at CBP).

[GM-Carson]

I'm keeping my comment simple and positive today- I LOVE CHASE UTLEY!!!

[davthom73]

I too dumped on Werth prior to his DL stint, but I now give the guy all credit now. However, those of us who bashed Werth before his wrist injury and minor league rehab stint were not wrong at the time. Werth had been stiking out more than his career 33 % of the time, he had a long swing, and he was bailing out against right-handed pitchers and pulling off the ball, being vulnerable to breaking pitches and gas on the outer part of the plate.

Careerwise, Werth has never hit for high average, but he seems to have changed some things he does at the plate -- including shortening up his swing. he obviously has great hand-to-eye skill, and he seems to have leveled out his previous long, looping swing -- now hitting for less power, but more line drives and for great batting average. I can't remember a hitter being in such a batting zone as Werth has been over the past several games.

If Werth keeps his post-DL change of approach at the plate, he will be a very valuable part of the team for some time.

[GM-Carson]

I too bashed Werth prior to August, and I believe I was justified in doing so. He has been tremendous in Vic's absence and right now he's as hot as a batter can get.

[J. Weitzel]

davthom73: The Coste commercial runs during local broadcasts of the games; what's called the Phillies Television Network. Games typically air on ComcastSportsNet but also a handful on CW Philly, which is what it was on last night. They won't air nationally.

It was the standard highlight montage followed by details on an upcoming series. In this case, I believe they're trying to pump up ticket sales for the Rockies series, which could have huge implications.

I was walking out to the kitchen and only heard it. It starts with a clutch Coste home run, then maybe a Burrell highlight? Not sure. They almost always include J-Roll legging out a triple, so I'll throw that in, too.

[parker]

Eaton: Here's hoping Eaton comes back from the dead against the team he had his best performance of the year against, earlier in the season.

Totally Random:
Look Alikes: I don't know what you guys/gals think but this is what I got:

Kahlil Green: Sean Penn in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Everytime Green gets a hit, I expect him to say: "Whooa Narhleee (I may have misspelled that)."

David Wright: I don't know if any of you have seen the show "Malcolm in the Middle" (Hopefully for your sake, you have not). Wright looks just like the kid Malcolm (not a good thing I might add) in that show.

Not sure what made me think of these, but I had to see if someone else made the same observations. It's early, Phils won, all is good.

[Metsfanmurph]

You guys looked good last night. I am not sure if it was Brian Lawerence and Scott Schoenweiss making your lineup look good or just great hitting. It's probably a mix of both. I expect the Mets lineup to do the same to Adam Eaton tonight. I would love to see the Phillies win the wildcard, well maybe love is a litle strong. A Mets/Phillies NLCS would be alot of fun. If you gave Willie Randolph and Charlie Manuel 7 games to manage against each other you would see 7 games of the most head scratching magagerial moves in baseball history.

[GSL]

Malcolm in the Middle is a good show

[Andy]

Realistically, I'm not sure about Jaramillo; they might want to give him some MLB experience.

They (not I, cause I would) will not bring up Burnham. They're that kind of management.

They will bring up (steel yourself) Fabio Castro, as a left-handed BP guy.

IMO

[Lake Fred]

Utley is the man!

I'll have to change the Werth-less nickname to Werth-something.

Did they win 'cause Cholly got ejected early in the 1st inning? He was not there to mismanage the game.

In closing, I hate the Mets.

[clout]

ajc: Thanks for the stats. If you think Madson can be a stud setup guy, I hope you're right, but the past 2 seasons make me more skeptical than the past 2 months. My impression is that he pitches best when the game ISN'T on the line.

[Mike]

Thank God Chase has returned... and in style. Also Victorino is back, and will hopefully play today as well. I realize they gave Tad the day off yesterday after playing for basically a month striaght, but please someone tell me they will move him to third. We haven't had a real third baseman since Dave Hollins. Tad would be an upgrade to Dobbs, nothing against Dobbs, but I'd rather see Tad's bat in the lineup. Also, I know Jayson Werth is a hitting machine, but once again, #8 brings alot more to the table. I'd like tonight's lineup to be:

Rollins SS
Victorino RF
Utley 2B
Howard 1B
Burrell LF
Rowand CF
Iguchi 3B
Ruiz C
Eaton P

And thank the baseball gods that Pat Burrell remembered how to hit!!! Keep it up, maybe he'll actually be worth the $14 million he's being paid.

[J. Weitzel]

In a good bullpen, Madson would be called on in the spot Condrey pitched last night.

[Todd]

Clout,

"We haven't had a real third baseman since Dave Hollins."

Woah. Though a colossal douchebag, Scott Rolen was a pretty real third baseman.

[Todd]

Clout,

"We haven't had a real third baseman since Dave Hollins."

Woah. Though a colossal douchebag, Scott Rolen was a pretty real third baseman.

[JD]

If they score 10 or more tonight they've got a shot, less than 10 they are screwed

[king myno]

Mike,

The odds on Victorino playing over Werth tonight are about the same as Iguchi playing over Chase. No offense to Shane, when he's healthy he's a stud at the top of the order, but when someone is 9 for their last 9, you usually keep them out there until they miss.

[J. Weitzel]

Durbin is a little like a poor man's Myers. There are a number of similarities. His curveball has the same tight action. He has the same type of delivery to the plate, arm slot, etc. The difference is Myers is a strike-thrower, Durbin is not. Myers also throws harder, but actually runs into problems because he keeps it up in the zone.

What impresses me most about Durbin is that he hasn't been overthrowing. That's going to result in better command and hopefully a lot of groundballs. The problem is he may not have the secondary stuff to last into the later innings, or be able to dial up a fastball late in a game the way Myers could as a starter.

[Andy]

I just remembered. We're all set on having to get double (triple?) digits to cover up for Eaton. But aren't his career numbers against the Muts (unexpectedly, irrationally) good? I seem to remember he has a career ERA under 2 or something.

Anyone? Anyone?

[Andy]

Oh, and on the Durbin-Coste battery, see, Coste keeps this little vial of lithium tucked in his glove and...

[loctastic]

I realize they gave Tad the day off yesterday after playing for basically a month striaght, but please someone tell me they will move him to third.

Not Going To Happen. He had arm surgery a few years ago and had to move from SS to 2B.

[JD]

yeah Eaton is 5-0, 1.89 era against the mets

[Bedrosian's Beard]

The Tad to 3b talk just won't go away...

[loctastic]

The Tad to 3b talk just won't go away...

I know, I'm going to just keep posting the same response until it stops. Of course then people will go back to clamoring for Burrell to go back to third. "Because he played it in college!!"

[JD]

No offense to Dobbs, but i can't figure out why Cholly won't give Iguchi a chance at 3rd. He's earned a place in the lineup, and my hunch is that Iguchi would do fine at 3rd

[Andy]

"yeah Eaton is 5-0, 1.89 era against the mets"

thanks JD

of course, we realize this is descriptive and not predictive, but still, give sus a glimmer of hope.

Even Tommy Hutton was a Met Killah