CLOSING IN ON CLINCHING

ONE OF THE TEAMS that took the field last night is now two games away from clinching its fourth straight division title, and the other is getting ready for an offseason that will likely include a regime change. But it was still the Phillies and the Mets, and, despite their disparate circumstances, the rivals left little doubt that the bad blood between them still boils.

By the end of the Phillies' 3-2 victory, which kept alive their hope of clinching the National League East today, both managers found plenty of reason to be hot and bothered by something besides the final score.

Charlie Manuel blasted a curious Mets timeout that occurred a split second before Brad Lidge delivered what would have been the final pitch of the game. Jerry Manuel, his Mets counterpart, took umbrage with a hard takeout slide by Chase Utley on a fifth-inning doubleplay.

"I think that was terrible," Charlie Manuel said of the late timeout, which became evident only after Lidge got Jesus Feliciano to hit a grounder to the mound for what appeared to be a game-ending out with the tying run on third. "That's what I think."

"We'll take care of it somehow," Jerry Manuel said of Utley's slide, which upended second baseman Ruben Tejada as he delivered the relay to first base for an inning-ending doubleplay. "We'll slide hard, do stuff like that."

While Utley's hard slide at least came within the flow of the game, Charlie Manuel saw little sense in both the Mets' decision to substitute a pinch-runner one pitch into an at-bat and third-base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt's decision to award it by waving his hands as Lidge began his delivery.

The Phillies got their three runs on a leadoff homer in the first and RBI double in the second by Shane Victorino and an RBI single in the fourth by Carlos Ruiz. Lidge gave up three hard-hit balls to start the ninth - a groundout by David Wright, a near-home run by Ike Davis that went off the leftfield wall for a double, and a flyout by Angel Pagan to deep left-center that moved the runner to third. He then walked Josh Thole before throwing a first-pitch strike to Feliciano. At that point, the Mets decided to insert Luis Castillo as a pinch-runner at first. Television replays showed Wendelstedt waving his arms to signal the timeout a split second before Lidge began his delivery.

"It was terrible it was allowed, and when it was done," Manuel said. "He's in his stretch, he's in the process of throwing the ball, and they're over there screaming timeout."

If the Mets were trying to ice the pitcher, it didn't work. Two pitches later, Feliciano swung and missed at a slider in the dirt. After Ruiz threw to first to complete the strikeout, he and Lidge exchanged an emphatic hug/chest bump.

"It's a little ridiculous, I think, but it worked, if that's what they were trying to do - get a timeout right before that play," said Lidge, who saved his fourth game of the week and his 27th of the season. "That's where, as a pitcher, you just have to stay focused . . . That's an interesting freeze-the-kicker-type move, I guess. Actually, I haven't really seen that in baseball. Hopefully, it won't be a trend."

The biggest trend right now is the Phillies' winning streak, which now sits at 11 games. Thanks to the Braves' 8-3 loss to the Nationals last night, the Phils have a seven-game lead with eight to play. They can clinch the division title with any combination of Phillies wins and Braves losses totaling two.

They also are closing in on clinching homefield advantage in the playoffs. They lead the Giants by six games with eight to play in that department, meaning they could clinch the top seed in the National League by the end of this final home series of the season, which ends tomorrow.

Righthander Joe Blanton, who allowed two runs in seven innings and made a spectacular defensive play in the second inning to get the lead runner at second, said the Phillies are not "overly concerned" about clinching at home.

"We just try to keep what we've got going and stay on a roll," Blanton said, "but, at the same time, the past couple of years, we've been able to do it when I've been here, and it's always nice to do it in front of the home crowd, give them a little piece of the celebration at home."

If yesterday was any indication, fireworks and champagne could be popping today.

Charlie Manuel said shortstop Jimmy Rollins should be in the starting lineup tomorrow, his first action since straining a hamstring on Sept. 8 . . . Joe Blanton is 7-1 with a 4.02 ERA in his last 19 starts. *

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese. Follow him on Twitter at

http://twitter.com/HighCheese.