Phillies-Mets Play At Noon For Some Reason

The Phillies may have lost to “Dancin’” Jose Reyes and the Mets last night, but they can still take the series with a win today at Shea Stadium. The game begins at 12:10, so the place will be empty since all the fans are still hung over from last night.

I’m going to try to liveblog it assuming nothing blows up tech-wise. After the jump.

11:55 — Here’s a clip from last night’s game, via The Fightins:

It’s kind of a shame there are no longer Veterans Stadium cats. I bet they could have split off into their own breed if they didn’t knock down the place.

Noon — In an intro, Tom McCarthy lets us know that each win in this series counts twice as much. Still no Harry the K announcing for the Phillies, which has showed fans just how much we are going to miss Harry Kalas when he’s gone.

12:13 — The Phillies lead off with Eric Bruntlett. Surprisingly, they don’t get any runs off Mets pitcher Oliver Perez in the top of the first.

12:17 — Jamie Moyer is going for the Phillies today; the World’s Oldest Pitcher is actually 9-6 with a 3.90 ERA this year. He’s doing much better than last year, with an ERA+ of 114 this year compared to 92 in 2007.

12:25 — Woo-hoo, Moyer puts them down 1-2-3, which means the ump is giving him the calls he needs to pitch well today. Bodes well for the Phillies!

12:36 — Moyer is mowing them down, helped along with some favorable pitch calls. He retires the first five, getting the Mets bench to yell at the umpire a bit.

12:39 — Fernando Tatis, retired from baseball since around 1890 or so, is back in the majors and playing for the Mets this season. Naturally, he singles.

12:47 — Hey, Eric Bruntlett got a hit! His average is now over .230!

12:57 — After hitting a three-run homer last night, Jose Reyes put his finger up as he went around the bases and celebrated wildly in the dugout afterward. Right: Who cares? But the Phillies announcers care, and so we have to see it again and again and again. With two outs, Reyes walks.

1:03 — And it’s 1-0 as David Wright (the real best position player on the Mets) singles home Reyes. Moyer gets Carlos Delgado to ground out next. Another deficit against the Mets for our local baseball nine.

1:09 — In the middle of the fourth inning, the Phillies have whiffed seven times against Oliver Perez, he of the 4.42 career ERA. Strikeouts aren’t really all that worse than any other kind of out, but it’s just kind of embarrassing.

1:21 — Nine strikeouts. Still 1-0. Argh.

1:27 — Jamie Moyer has retired seven straight now, however, and is keeping the Phillies in it. All in all this season, he’s been a pleasant surprise.

1:31 — Eric Bruntlett got a leadoff double — !! — but didn’t try to score from third on Pat Burrell’s pop out to left. The perils of trying to manufacture runs.

1:39 — Moyer goes 1-2-3 after Howard strikes out to end the top of the sixth. Yes, the Phillies and Mets are somehow playing a 1-0 pitchers’ duel.

1:42 — Jayson Werth with a solo homer to tie the score! He got ahead 2-0 and ended up hammering it to dead center. Comcast SportsNet’s feed was going haywire during the homer; who knows who actually saw it. (I saw about half of it.)

1:49 — The Phillies announcers speculate on to why Rollins was scratched from today’s lineup; they say it’s not due to injury. Of course, the Phillies announcers work for the Phillies, so there’s really no need for them to speculate.

1:54 — Jamie Moyer retires the side in the bottom of the seventh, the last out on a nice sliding catch by Jayson Werth. McCarthy showers Moyer with praise like he’s won the Cy Young, like he’s done in every one of Moyer’s starts this season, it seems.

1:58 — How ’bout that? Eric Bruntlett shows me up again with his second double of the game. Chase Utley and Pat Burrell are up and on deck.

2:04 — Ryan Howard actually got hit after working a 3-2 count after falling behind 0-2. That loaded the bases; the Mets finally pull out Oliver Perez for a reliever. Not that it needs to be said, but: Big at-bat coming up.

2:08 — Jayson Werth starts 0-2; he eventually hits it to center for an easy flyout. HOW DO WE FANS LIVE THROUGH THIS?!

2:14 — And someone named Robinson Cancel led off the bottom of the eighth with a single. Reyes sacrificed him over.

2:19 — Carlos Delgado doubles home a pair of runs before getting tug out on his way to third. It’s 3-1 going into the ninth inning. See previous all-caps sentence a few lines above.

2:26 — Just like that: Two away. It’s all up to the rapidly-declining Chris Coste.

2:28 — Coste singles, just to drag it out a little more, but pinch hitter Jimmy Rollins grounds out and the Phillies are out of first place.