Mets prevent Phillies from clinching NL East title
New York Mets pitcher Manny Acosta reacts after Philadelphia Phillies' Ross Gload flied out to end the sixth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010, in Philadelphia. New York won 7-3. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Credit: AP Photo/Matt Slocum
PHILADELPHIA - The postgame celebration did not go as planned Sundayfor the crowd of 45,302 that showed up at Citizens Bank Park. After the final out, in front of a half-empty stadium, David Wright walked over to exchange high-fives with Ike Davis and the rest of the Mets lined up in the middle of the infield.
For the Phillies, there would be no giddy pileups on the mound, no spraying champagne in the clubhouse. Instead, it was the Mets who got to bask in the dim glow of their 7-3 win before climbing onto a bus for the ride back to New York.
Carlos Beltran swatted two home runs, one from each side of the plate, as the Mets clinched only their fifth road series win - and third against a National League team - on the final trip of the season. Although the Mets could take some consolation from denying their division rival the chance to party at their expense, on their last chance to do so at home, there was no hiding from the reality of the situation.
"They're going to celebrate sooner or later," Beltran said. "I mean, honestly, we're not thinking about that. We wanted to go out and win ballgames, try to finish the season as strong as we can, and with the best record we can."
A few hours later, the Padres' loss to the Reds clinched a wild-card spot for the Phillies.
By winning two straight, the Mets (76-79) improved their chances of getting over .500 before the season ends Sunday. But there's no way to put a positive spin on their 16½-game deficit, which is why any win over the Phillies at this point is hollow.
Wright gave the Mets a 1-0 lead when he opened the second inning with his 27th home run, and they never trailed. Nick Evans, who went 3-for-5, added a two-run double in the fourth, and Beltran ended Cole Hamels' afternoon with a leadoff homer in the fifth.
As for delaying what soon will be a fourth straight NL East crown for the Phillies, Wright didn't get too excited.
"That's kind of looking too much into it," Wright said. "We're here to try to win. If it involves beating these guys and they have to postpone it for another day, so be it. But we're not - at least I'm not - looking at coming in here and getting any revenge from that fact.
"Eventually these guys are going to be the division champions, and you can't take any solace in coming in and beating them two out of three just so they celebrate tomorrow."
As the Mets worked to protect an early 4-0 lead, the Phillies and their fans took notice of the Braves' loss to the Nationals on the rightfield scoreboard. Chase Utley, the weekend's villain for Friday's hard slide, made it 5-3 with a three-run homer off Pat Misch in the fifth. But Beltran drained the game of any remaining suspense with his second homer, a two-run shot off Ryan Madson in the ninth.
It was the seventh time in Beltran's career that he has homered from both sides, and he has seven home runs in 63 games since returning from the disabled list.
Beltran is batting .329 (25-for-76) with five homers and 13 RBIs this month, making the Mets wonder if this season would have been different with him at 100 percent from Opening Day, or even for the start of the second half.
"It would have been," Beltran said. "I think if I was here and I was healthy, I think I would have helped this team. Unfortunately, that's not the case. But at the same time, I feel good. I wanted to finish the season as strong as I can and go into the offseason feeling good about how I finish. I'll work hard to come back healthy and ready to go next year."
