PHILADELPHIA — The New York Mets took advantage of every mistake the reeling Philadelphia Phillies made and finished off a surprising sweep.
Ike Davis hit a three-run homer, Andres Torres also connected and the Mets beat the Phillies 10-6 Wednesday night to complete their first three-game sweep in Philadelphia in six years.
The Mets rallied to win all three against slumping Philadelphia. They trailed after five innings against Roy Halladay on Monday, after six against Joe Blanton on Tuesday and after six against Cliff Lee in the series finale.
“It’s nice to come from behind and steal a few and we stole three in this series,” David Wright said.
The five-time defending NL East champions are a season-worst four games under .500 at 14-18. The Mets (18-13) are five games above .500 for the first time since July 19, 2010.
The loss prompted manager Charlie Manuel to address his team after the game. Clearly, he wasn’t happy.
“When I watched the game tonight, the upset part got me,” Manuel said. “Usually, I stay pretty cool. But tonight, I felt I needed to talk to the guys.”
Making his first start since straining his left oblique in the 10th inning of a gem against San Francisco on April 18, Lee allowed two runs and five hits, striking out six.
Lee left with a 4-2 lead, but Kyle Kendrick (0-3) quickly gave that up.
“We got them at the right time,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “We played hard and capitalized on their mistakes.”
An RBI double by Justin Turner cut it to 4-3 in the seventh. Kendrick forced in a run by hitting pinch-hitter Lucas Duda with a pitch with the bases loaded. An RBI groundout by Torres made it 5-4.
Kendrick, booed loudly in the seventh, stayed in to start the eighth. He gave up a double to Wright and a broken-bat RBI double to Scott Hairston before exiting. Fans mockingly cheered when Manuel came out to take the ball from Kendrick. He heard more boos on his way to the dugout.
One batter after right fielder Hunter Pence dropped a routine fly ball for an error, Davis hit a towering drive off Jose Contreras that bounced off the facing of the second deck.
Tim Byrdak (2-0) retired the only batter he faced to earn the win.
“We’re playing pretty good baseball right now and getting good results,” Turner said.
Lee threw 10 scoreless innings in a 1-0 loss to the Giants in 11 innings, but landed on the DL a few days later.
“I think there needs to be more urgency than there’s been,” Lee said.
Mets starter Dillon Gee gave up four runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings.
The bottom of the order manufactured all of Philadelphia’s runs, doing most of the damage with two outs.
Brian Schneider hit a two-out single in the sixth. Freddy Galvis followed with a high drive off the wall in left-center that scored Schneider to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead. Pinch-hitter Laynce Nix followed with an RBI single to center to make it 4-2.
Galvis had an RBI groundout in the fourth that gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead. Lee helped himself at the plate, driving in a run with an infield single to make it 1-0 in the second.
Daniel Murphy’s RBI double with two outs in the third tied it at 1. Wright’s bloop single to center drove in Torres to tie it at 2 in the sixth. Torres led off with a liner to center that Shane Victorino played into a triple. Victorino tried to make a sliding catch and the ball skipped past him.
NOTES: The Mets last swept the Phillies in a three-game series in Philadelphia on June 13-15, 2006. … The Phillies sent RHP Michael Schwimer to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make room for Lee. … Nix (calf), Ty Wigginton (side) and Carlos Ruiz (hand) were unavailable to start for Philadelphia. … RHP Jenrry Mejia, once considered the Mets’ top prospect, made his first appearance since having Tommy John surgery on his right elbow last May. He gave up two runs in five innings for Class A St. Lucie. … Mets SS Ronny Cedeno may not be activated from the disabled list on Friday, as originally expected. Manager Terry Collins indicated Cedeno might need a rehab assignment. He’s been sidelined with strained chest. … A crowd of 43,840 was the 233rd straight sellout at Citizens Bank Park, including postseason play. … Vance Worley (2-2, 2.84) pitches for the Phillies against San Diego when they open a three-game series on Friday. … Johan Santana (1-2, 2.61) starts for the Mets in the opener of a three-game set vs. Miami on Friday.
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