Mets' quest for 90 wins is over
Bartolo Colon of the Mets leaves a game in the sixth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Bartolo Colon heard boos. Terry Collins heard cheers. It was not what either man wanted to hear.
Colon was jeered by some in the crowd of 28,053 at Citi Field Saturday night after giving up six hits in a seven-batter span in the sixth inning. Collins was cheered when he came out to remove him.
By then, the Mets were down by five runs in what became a 7-2 loss to the Phillies.
That left the Mets at 63-73. Even if they win all of their 26 remaining games, they no longer can reach general manager Sandy Alderson's preseason suggestion of a 90-win season.
"My perspective on it is obviously the season hasn't gone the way we would have liked it to," David Wright said. "We all look for expectations for ourselves, whether it's individual or as a team. When you don't meet those expectations, of course it's disappointing."
Second baseman Dilson Herrera (1-for-3, walk), playing in his second big-league game, picked up his first hit, a ground single to left in the seventh.
"I'm so happy," Herrera said through a translator. "So excited. I can't believe it happened."
Trailing 6-0 and with one hit in the first six innings, the Mets scored twice in the seventh on Wilmer Flores' RBI single off starter Jerome Williams (5-5) and Juan Lagares' bases-loaded walk against Justin De Fratus.
Curtis Granderson then came to the plate as the tying run on his bobblehead night. But he struck out against Antonio Bastardo to end the threat.
Granderson was hitless in three at-bats before getting double-switched out of the game in the eighth.
Former Met Marlon Byrd's career-best 25th home run in the fifth was the only run off Colon (12-11) entering the sixth.
But then the Phillies loaded the bases with three singles before Ryan Howard lined a two-run single to rightfield to make it 3-0. After Byrd struck out, Domonic Brown and Carlos Ruiz had RBI singles to knock out Colon. Cody Asche greeted Buddy Carlyle with another run-scoring single to give the Phillies a 6-0 lead.
Colon was charged with six runs and nine hits in 51/3 innings. He walked none and struck out two.
Colon reportedly has cleared waivers and is eligible to be traded before Sunday's deadline for postseason roster eligibility. But with his guaranteed $11-million contract for next season, no contender has bowled over the Mets with an offer for the 41-year-old.
It was Colon's first start since pitching against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Sunday and then flying to the Dominican Republic for his mother's funeral. He denied that all the traveling might have affected his pitching.
"Not really," he said through a translator. "Didn't affect anything at all. Feel a little tired, but it didn't affect my performance in the game."
It was Terry Collins' 1,500th game as a major-league manager. He dropped to 732-768 overall and 288-334 with the Mets.
The win brought the Phillies to within a half-game of the Mets for fourth place in the NL East. The loser of Sunday's rubber match will own last place in the division.
