NEW YORK _ A routine fly ball hovered at Citi Field on Saturday night, and if there was ever a night for it to drop it was this one. Roman Quinn darted in from left field. Freddy Galvis backpedaled from the infield, called for the ball, and waved off Quinn.
The outfielder ignored Galvis' directions, reached for the ball and dared it to drop to the turf. It somehow landed in Quinn's glove to end the eighth inning and help the Philadelphia Phillies escape a nightmarish night in Queens as they held back the Mets, 10-8.
The Phillies raced ahead, 10-0, in the fourth inning and spent the final five innings watching their lead get whittled away. The Mets scored four times in the fifth and twice in the sixth. Quinn's catch in the eighth inning came with two runners on base and the tying run at the plate.
The Phillies flirted with disaster again in the ninth, when Michael Mariot served up a one-out homer to Jay Bruce. The righthander then walked Eric Campbell, prompting catcher A.J. Ellis to visit the mound. Mariot walked Michael Conforto, prompting another mound conference. Mariot forced Lucas Duda to pop up to Galvis, and Travis d'Arnaud to sharply ground out to the mound. The threat was quelled and a disaster was averted.
The Mets had struck Alec Asher for four runs in the fourth, none of which were earned after errors by Franco and Galvis. Lefthander Joely Rodriguez gave up two more in the sixth. David Hernandez navigated through the seventh, before Hector Neris allowed a run in the eighth.
The Phillies started their lead with a three-run homer from Maikel Franco, who became the fifth Phillies third baseman age 24 or younger to hit 25 home runs in a season. Franco is ending his season on a strong note as he is batting .310 with an .826 OPS in 19 games this month.
Tommy Joseph added a pair of RBI drives and Darin Ruf blasted a three-run homer by Darin Ruf. Joseph has nine RBIs in his last seven games as he seems to be joining Franco with a strong finish to the season. It was Ruf's second straight day with a homer and his first start since Sept. 11. The Phillies had a 10-run lead. What could go wrong?
