Jonathon Niese, Bobby Parnell on mound in Mets' shutout

PHILADELPHIA -- Placido Polanco ended the suspense early Saturday with his first-inning single off Jonathon Niese. Unlike Niese's previous start, when he took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, Terry Collins had no big decisions looming on this particular afternoon.

No, the manager could pretty much sit back and enjoy the ride as Niese, Bobby Parnell and Jon Rauch combined on the Mets' second shutout in the eight-year history of Citizens Bank Park. Niese (2-0) allowed five hits in 62/3 innings, striking out five, then exited after throwing 102 pitches.

"In both outings, he pitched absolutely great," Collins said. "Today he kept the ball down, kept the ball on the corners, changing speeds. I actually thought his changeup today was very good. He didn't throw a lot of them, but certainly enough to give him a different look."

Niese stayed in control throughout, with only two Phillies even reaching second base. In the first inning, Niese got Hunter Pence to hit into a double play to strand two. In the sixth, David Wright -- back after missing three games with a fractured pinkie finger -- helped bail him out with a spinning grab-and-throw to retire Pence again.

"I felt the ball was coming out of my hand a lot better than the first game," Niese said. "Just the all-around feel of my mechanics."

When Niese tired in the seventh, Collins went to Parnell for the second time in as many days in the setup role. Parnell, cranking up his fastball in the 97-98 range, allowed one hit in his 11/3 innings to trim his ERA to 1.80 in four appearances.

"I've got a lot of confidence now," Parnell said. "These are big games. We need to win as many as we can early. So for [Collins] having the confidence in me to go out there and pitch in these situations is much appreciated."

Aside from closer Frank Francisco, there's no reliever that Collins has more faith in than Parnell, who apparently has shrugged off his issues of last season.

"He's riding high," Collins said. "He's pitching as good as he can pitch. You talk about a guy locating. There's always the distinct possibility he learned a lot from his experience last summer closing. He's very calm, very relaxed. And one of the biggest things I've seen is that he's stayed ahead in counts. That's a big difference."

Beating the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park is difficult enough, but shutting them out is a monumental task. While the Phillies have struggled without Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in the middle of the lineup, it's still no layup to keep them off the scoreboard.

"It is tough, especially with the wind blowing out," Niese said. "It's a small ballpark. We really had to focus on keeping the ball down and keeping them off balance. We had a game plan and stuck with it."