Phillies Recap: September 12, 2009

New York Mets 10, Philadelphia Phillies 9
W - Feliciano (6-4), L - Madson (5-5), S - Rodriguez (31)

Jamie Moyer came out flat against the Mets and put the Phillies in a quick hole. However, he battled back to hold down the scoring and enabled the Phillies' offense to spring alive and get back in the game off of Mike Pelfrey. However, after taking a commanding lead late into the game, the Mets clawed back against the Phils' bullpen and stunned the Phillies by a final score of 10-9.

For the Phillies, Jamie Moyer gave up four runs before he even retired a batter. It was a horrendous start for Moyer, but he gutted out a decent performance and shut the Mets' offense down after their initial outburst. Moyer went seven innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and he did not walk or strike out a batter. However, trouble found the Phillies as their closer situation got more hairy. Ryan Madson came on with a one run lead and gave up the go-ahead homer to David Wright after getting two quick outs in the inning. It was Madson's sixth blown save of the season and ultimately earned him his fifth loss.

Mike Pelfrey started strong against the Phillies, but after a few innings, their big hitters got to him. Pedro Feliz hit a ringing two-run homer, before Chase Utley swatted a solo shot and Raul Ibanez hit a two-run homer. Pelfrey went six innings on the day, surrendering eight earned runs and 10 hits. He walked one and struck out three, and looked shaky for most of the afternoon. However, the Mets' bullpen came in and did a very good job keeping the Phillies from expanding their lead further.

This was a tough loss for the Phillies, who looked like they were going to run away with the game, after getting off to a slow start. However, the bigger concern here is their bullpen, which has been erratic and inconsistent, especially in the second half of the season. With yet another blown save, the team must decide how to handle close, late-inning situations. The Phillies can still bounce back and sweep tomorrow's double-header to win the series from the Mets.