The Mets left 16 runners on base in tonight’s 5-4 loss.  A stat I heard on the radio tonight given by Howie Rose that really surprised me was that the Mets lead the league in batting with runners in scoring position, batting .282 going into tonight’s game. You couldn’t tell by the way they played.They had multiple opportunities to break the game open but couldn’t  cash in in key situations. The team had sixteen hits but only one extra base hit, a double by Mike Pelfrey. Tonight was the sixth time the Mets have lost a game after leading by three runs or more.

Once again the Phillies battled back. in this game. The Mets had a 4-1 lead in the 7th. Beltran had an opportunity to make two spectacular catches tonight but dropped a ball at the wall going back on a difficult play. David Wright made another error tonight, allowing the Phillies to tie up the game.

Bobby Parnell allowed the first home run of his major league career, it was the game winner by Chase Utley who homered twice tonight. The bullpen of the Phillies shut down the Met offense after the Mets pounded Hamels for four runs in five innings.

Jayson Werth made a tremendous catch in the 10th inning. He made a full extension dive in the gap in right/center on a line drive by David Wright and caught the ball to end the inning. Had the ball gone past him, Fernando Martinez would have easily scored the game winner. The Phillies are the best defensive team in the major league with the fewest errors.

A very disheartening and frustrating loss tonight. The Mets seemed on their way to winning two in a row, especially after Pelfrey was 2-2 at the plate and was cruising through seven before things fell apart. Give credit to the Phillies, but leaving sixteen runners on base is absolutely inexcusable. They left runners on base in every inning except the sixth, you just have to cash in against good teams because you know it will come back to bite you every time. From an outsider looking in  it was a great baseball game. From a pessimet’s perspective it was devestating. Tomorrow already feels like a must-win, with Tim Redding matching up against Jamie Moyer.

Photo: AP