Phillies Sweep Mets

These Phillies think they are the real deal. Everything they did in New York this week suggested they just might be right.

First-place Philadelphia completed a three-game sweep of the New York Mets with a 6-3 victory Wednesday that put the Phillies 15 games over .500 for the first time since July 2, 1995. In each of the games, the Phillies responded immediately to adversity, twice shaking off dramatic home runs by Mike Piazza in the first two games and then coming from behind in the third.

"They haven`t quit, not one game," manager Larry Bowa said. "They beat a good team, a team that went to the World Series. That has to help their confidence."

Bobby Abreu and Doug Glanville hit a pair of 400-foot homers, and rookie Marlon Anderson`s two-out single broke an eighth-inning tie. For Glanville, who has never had more than 11 homers in a season, it was his ninth of the season and came in the team`s 53rd game.

He connected in the seventh after the Mets had come from behind to take a 3-2 lead.

"When we get behind, there`s no panicking," Glanville said. "We feel like we can come back. It`s a good characteristic to have. You`re going to get beat a lot in this game. You`re going to make mistakes. You`ll have the opportunity to rectify those mistakes. So far, we`ve done that real well."

Glanville made a mistake in the sixth inning, losing Mike Piazza`s drive to center and letting it fall for a double that touched off a two-run New York rally. An inning later, he made up for it with a 403-foot homer that tied the game.

Then, in the eighth, Anderson made up for a mistake from the night before when he dropped a popup that gave Pizza an extra swing, which led to a game-tying home run.

This time, the Phillies seemed like they would blow a bases-loaded, no-outs situation against John Franco (1-1).

Franco got Johnny Estrada to hit into a double play but Anderson hit his next pitch for a two-run single that put the Phillies on top to stay.

Bowa thought Anderson had left the mistake from the night before behind him.

"We won," the manager said. "The team picked him up. If we`d have lost there would have been a carryover. The bottom line is that column on the left. That was a huge two-out hit."

With the sweep, Philadelphia (33-18) dropped the defending NL champions to 22-31 and 12 games back in the NL East. The Mets had won seven of 10 games before losing the three straight.

"It`s frustrating because it seems like it`s a step forward and two back with us," Piazza said. "It`s not early anymore."

The Phillies eighth-inning rally began when Scott Rolen opened with a walk, Travis Lee singled and Pat Burrell, who beat the Mets in the first two games of the series with home runs, hit a high fly ball to left that fell for a single as Darren Bragg lost it in the sun.

"That`s the first time I`ve ever lost a ball and not caught it," Bragg said. "Usually, you recover in time."

The Mets almost recovered.

With the bases loaded and the Mets` infield drawn in, Estrada hit a bouncer to third. Robin Ventura forced Rolen at home and Piazza`s relay to first completed the double play.

But Anderson hit Franco`s next pitch for a two-run single. Philadelphia added a run in the ninth when Jerrod Riggan walked Burrell with the bases loaded.

Vicente Padilla (2-1), activated from the disabled list before the game, pitched a hitless inning. Jose Mesa got three outs for his 15th in 17 chances.

The Phillies nicked Rick Reed for a run in the fifth. Estrada singled with one out and then pitcher Robert Person hit a soft liner to left for his second hit of the season. Glanville`s two-out single scored Estrada.

The Mets responded in the bottom half. Timo Perez led off with a walk and raced to third on a double by Rey Ordonez. Then Reed`s sacrifice fly scored Perez with the tying run.

Abreu`s 418-foot leadoff home run put Philadelphia on top again in the sixth.

Piazza opened the bottom of the sixth with the double that Glanville lost. Then Todd Zeile extended his hitting streak to 11 games with an RBI single.

When Burrell let the hit get by for an error, Zeile advanced to second base. It was a crucial mistake. Perez` two-out single scored Zeile with the go-ahead run.

Then came Glanville`s tying homer and Anderson`s rally-saving hit.

Notes:
Piazza, riding a string of three straight games with home runs, made a rare start in a day game after a night game. He went 1-for-4 ... Phillies placed RHP Wayne Gomes on DL with strained tendon in his right knee. He was injured on an attempted pickoff play Tuesday night .... Padilla was activated from DL to replace Gomes ... Manager Larry Bowa was unsure how long Phillies would be without Gomes. "The best case, he could be out four or five weeks. The worst case he could be out for the season," he said. ... Mets 2B Edgardo Alfonzo sat out with back spasms. He remains day-to-day ... Ordonez had two hits ending an 0-for-25 slide.

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: 6 ABC - Action News