The Philadelphia Phillies pulled back to .500 on Monday night with a series-opening 3-1 win over the Mets. Cliff Lee went pitch-for-pitch with R.A. Dickey and outlasted the Mets knuckleballer.
Lee pitched eight innings and was in vintage form, striking out 10 and walking just one. New York manufactured a run in the fifth, the only blemish on the evening for Lee. Jonathan Papelbon came on in the ninth and retired the Mets in order for his 35th save of the season.
The Phillies took advantage of a Mets throwing error in the first to strike quickly against Dickey, as Chase Utley brought home Jimmy Rollins on a sac fly to center. Rollins took a Dickey offering over the right-field wall in the top of the fifth for what would prove to be the winning run. The solo shot put the Phils ahead for good, but Domonic Brown added an insurance run in the seventh when he hammered his fourth homer of the season.
The Phillies are now 3½ games out in the Wild Card. Rookie Tyler Cloyd will take the mound in the second game of the series, while the Mets will counter with fellow rookie Matt Harvey.
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