Chase Utley tied a major league record in today's game with the Mets and the Phillies did what they never seem able to do at CBP---win on opening day. As for Utley, he was plunked 3x at the plate. It was #4, though, when he put himself in the way of an errant throw to second by first baseman Delgado that allowed the tying runs to score and started the boos raining down from the sellout crowd at Shea. Through six the Mets had nursed a 2-0 lead, but starter Jamie Moyer never broke. And he got the win. Yay, Jamie!
In the 7th, the Phillies scored three times on the Mets' bullpen, taking a 3-2 lead on a Jayson Werth single. In the 8th, they added 2 more. The boos continued. Gotta love it. Utley had a fabulous at-bat where the Mets tried to distract him mightily by coming in behind Rollins at second. Over and over and over. Utley, though, hung in and hit a ball to the base of the wall, and Rollins was able to waltz home. That, it turned out, was the only way Rollins was going to make it home. He had sprained his left ankle on one of his scrambles back to second. Shane Victorino, struggling at the plate, was a dervish in the outfield, running down ball after ball. As Pat Gillick said the other day, Rowand takes better routes to the ball but Victorino goes where Rowand cannot.
By the 9th, the Mets faithful were streaming from the park. What we learned today, perhaps, is that so far the Mets are playing the same mediocre ball that they played for most of last season.
J-Roll had better be OK.
