Dobbs' sac fly lifts Phils over Mets in 10th inning

Sep 15, 2007, 2:24 GMT

Flushing, NY - Greg Dobbs' pinch-hit sacrifice fly scored Jayson Werth with the go-ahead run and the Philadelphia Phillies held on to defeat the New York Mets 3-2 in 10 innings at Shea Stadium.

Werth ended 2-for-4 and Chase Utley hit a game-tying two-run homer in the sixth inning for the Phillies, who continue to have the Mets' number this season. Philadelphia swept New York in a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park to end August, and have now won five straight and 10 of the 16 games against its division rival this season.

The Phillies also cut the Mets' lead in the NL East to 5 1/2 games, but remained 1 1/2 games behind San Diego in the wild card race. The Padres rallied to beat the Giants, 5-4, in 10 innings Friday night.

'It's worked out for us,' Dobbs said about the Phillies' play against the Mets. 'I don't know why we play them so well. It's a pretty big rivalry. They're on top and we've been the underdog all season. We're starting to catch up to them. Maybe the motivation is to show we can play well, play our best baseball against the best team in our division.'

David Wright homered and Moises Alou drove in a run, ending 1-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 18 games, for the Mets, who had gone 10-2 since being swept in Philadelphia.

Werth started the 10th with a single to left off New York's Aaron Heilman, who then contributed to the demise. Carlos Ruiz followed with a sacrifice bunt attempt. Heilman fielded the ball and threw it into center field allowing both runners to reach safely.

'I just kind of rushed a little bit,' said Heilman. 'I didn't get it close enough to the bag for Jose make a play on it. It's a play I have to make.'

Also, earlier in the at-bat, catcher Mike DeFelice, who entered the game because Paul Lo Duca was tossed by home plate umpire Paul Emmel for arguing balls and strikes to end the ninth, dropped a foul pop by Ruiz, going for an error.

'It's not he last time I'm going to get thrown out,' said Lo Duca. 'If you're going to throw me out do it when I'm facing you, not when I'm walking away from you.'

Abraham Nunez followed with a successful sacrifice bunt attempt that advanced the runners 90 feet, setting the table for Dobbs, whose drive to deep center easily plated Werth.

Heilman (7-7) was hit with the loss, while Tom Gordon (3-2) got the win. Brett Myers worked the ninth for his 16th save of the season.

New York starter Tom Glavine tossed 7 2/3 strong innings. The left-hander, who last lost 14 starts ago on July 2, yielded just two runs on five hits with two walks in the no-decision.

Philadelphia starter Jamie Moyer also avoided the decision, surrendering two runs on four hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts.

Wright got the Mets going with a solo homer in the first. Alou then singled home Luis Castillo in the fourth to extend the lead to two runs. Castillo singled to lead off the inning and later stole both second and third.

Utley tied the game with one swing of the bat in the sixth. With one on and one out and the count 3-2, Utley drove a Glavine offering into the bullpen in right field.

The Phillies wasted an opportunity in the eighth. After Nunez started the inning with a single, Moyer attempted to sacrifice him to second, but the bunt stayed in the air long enough for Wright to catch it and throw to first to double off Nunez. The double play proved costly, as Jimmy Rollins followed with a single to force Glavine from the game in favor of Pedro Feliciano, who got Utley to ground out to short to end the inning.

New York also wasted a scoring opportunity in the bottom half of the inning. With two on and two outs, Gordon's first pitch hit Wright to load the bases. However, the reliever came back to strike out Carlos Beltran to end the inning.

Game Notes

Alou's hitting streak is the longest for the Mets this season, surpassing Wright's 17-gamer that started the season...Philadelphia's Antonio Alfonseca learned before the game he was hit with a four-game suspension by the league for intentionally hitting Colorado's Todd Helton with a pitch on Thursday night...Wright has 29 HRs this season...Utley has 20 HRs.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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