Mets use bats to sweep Phils

WHEN THE first run in eight innings crossed the plate, the remnants of the announced crowd of 22,526 at Citizens Bank Park late Thursday night erupted.

A two-run double to end the extra-inning run drought was followed by another run by way of two errors by the pitcher. More rowdy applause.

Yes, it would be impossible in a tie game for the Phillies to score on consecutive at-bats at their own ballpark in extra innings. Yes, it is entirely possible for a National League East rival to travel south down I-95, bring a few thousand fans, and take over your ballpark.

Daniel Murphy, the bat-flipping villain of South Philly and the recipient of a few choice words from an enraged Larry Bowa two nights earlier, ripped a two-run double to leftfield in the top of the 13th inning to lead the Mets to a 9-5 victory.

"I made a little note," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin began in his postgame press conference. "In the four-game series, the Mets scored 40 runs on 55 hits. We scored 21 runs on 34 hits. That's how this series went. That tells the story."

Murphy and the first-place Mets, winners of seven straight, completed a four-game sweep in Philadelphia for the first time since September 2002 . . . also known as the days when the New York team and its not-always-so-friendly faithful regularly invaded Veterans Stadium.

A new ballpark and an influx of talent from the Phillies' minor league system changed that for most of the last decade, as the flags above Ashburn Alley display nightly at the 12-year-old Citizens Bank Park. But not in the last year.

The Phillies have lost nine straight games to the Mets this season. It's their second-longest losing streak to the Mets ever - the Phils lost 10 straight to New York in a skid that spanned the 1971 and '72 seasons.

Beyond the 2015 season, the Phillies have lost eight straight series to the Mets and 23 of their last 28 meetings overall. And they've watched their home ballpark turn into a sea of blue and orange, too.

"The game is cyclical," said Mackanin, whose team will travel to Citi Field for three more with the Mets starting Monday. "Years ago, the Phillies were doing that to the Mets. It reminded me of when I was here in 2009 and 2010, we used to beat up on the Nationals. We'd go in there and we'd have 20,000 people from Philly in Washington. It's cyclical.

"I know we're a young team. Sure, we've got a lot of issues. We've got to improve. But we've got a good start. There are some good players that are developing and showing signs of being pretty good players."

The latest in a long line of defeats to the Mets was mostly the doing of the most veteran member of the Phillies' starting rotation.

Aaron Harang was spotted a 5-0 lead in the third inning, thanks to a two-run single from Jeff Francoeur and a two-run, two-out home run by Darin Ruf. Harang gave all five runs back in the next two innings.

Harang served up a two-run homer to former Phillies prospect Travis d'Arnaud (Roy Halladay trade) in the fourth. In the fifth, Yoenis Cespedes hit a two-run blast and Kelly Johnson tied the game with a solo shot.

It was a recipe for disaster: Harang had surrendered 12 home runs in his last 10 starts and the Mets had slugged 10 in the first three games of the series. (Their 13 for the four games were their most ever for a series of any length, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.)

But after a superb start to the 2015 season, Harang has nearly been a disaster since the summer began.

Harang, 37, who signed a one-year, $5 million free-agent deal this winter, had a 2.02 ERA in 11 starts in April and May. But he has a 7.71 ERA in 12 starts in June, July and August, and the Phillies have won just two of the last 15 games he has started.

"He's not getting the ball down, everything is elevated," Mackanin said. "That's basically all that he's doing wrong. when you elevate your pitches, you're going to get hurt."

Any hopes the Phillies had to trade the pitcher - as they did nearly every other veteran on the roster in the last month - first ended when Harang was placed on the disabled list with a foot injury on July 2. They died again when he returned and managed just one quality start in six games.

Last night, Harang was finished after six innings, which was actually his second-longest outing since June.

"Here we go again with not getting length from our starter," Mackanin said. "In defense of our bullpen, they haven't been good lately, but they were good before hit us. The Mets came out of Colorado real hot . . . Our guys are overworked. They've been used too much."

The bullpen was not only saddled with the loss, which Hector Neris took after serving up Murphy's go-ahead double and then making two errors in the 13th inning, too. It also was dealt an injury.

Lefthander Elvis Araujo came out of the game in the 11th inning with a left groin injury. He will be reevaluated today.

Blog: ph.ly/HighCheese