Philadelphia Baseball Review - Phillies News, Rumors and Analysis
By PATRICK GORDON | Managing Editor
June 1 2014, 5:15PM EDT.
@Philabaseball

PHILADELPHIA – Phillippe Aumont tossed 18 pitches on Sunday, but it was a 93-mph slider to Lucas Duda that he wishes he could have back.

Duda hit a two-out, two-run home run in the 11th inning that snapped a tie and proved to be good enough to lift the Mets over the Phillies, 4-3, at Citizens Bank Park.

“It’s just part of the game,” Aumont said. “I made a pitch in that situation and left it up and he hit it out.”

The 25-year-old right-hander was recalled by the Phillies late Saturday night and joined the team Sunday. He made 40 appearances with the club over the past two seasons.

“I had the jitters a little bit and was excited, but obviously you want to go out there and put zeroes on the board and let the guys hit,” Aumont said. “Unfortunately, this is part of the game.”

Cole Hamels pitched seven innings for the Phillies, surrendering two runs on six hits. He danced in and out of trouble throughout the afternoon, allowing the leadoff man to reach base in five of the seven innings he pitched, but he was able to escape relatively unscathed.

Traditionally, the starting pitcher speaks with the media in the clubhouse following a start, but Hamels made an early exit and did not speak with reporters.

The Phillies seem to not have an answer for the Mets at Citizens Bank Park. Sunday’s loss dropped their record to 1-8 over their last nine home games against New York dating back to June 23rd of last year. The loss also dropped their record to a season-low six games below .500.

“Our best chance came in the seventh with a possible first and third situation,” said Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg.

Sandberg was right. Cesar Hernandez opened the seventh with a single and advanced on a Reid Brignac sacrifice. Domonic Brown followed with a single to left, but made too wide of a turn around first base and got caught in a rundown before being tagged out. Hernandez was unable to score on the play, meaning the Phillies were left with a runner on third with two outs, as opposed to having runners on the corners with just one out.

“I thought the ball was going over his head,” Brown said. “I think I made the right read, only thing is I should have stayed in the rundown a little bit longer, see what can happen with maybe a bad throw or Cesar may score on that.”

Unfortunately, none of Brown's expectations came to fruition and he was caught standing nearly 20 feet off first base.

“We got to be fundamentally sound to be a good ball club,” Brown said. “We need to keep fighting to do the little things on the baseball field.”

Issues with the fundamentals continue to surface for the Phillies. Jimmy Rollins and Brignac both committed errors and Rollins was pulled off second base with a poor toss on a key double-play opportunity in the seventh.

The continued lapses seem to explain why the club sits in the NL East cellar.

"Yeah, that's a frustrating part of it," Sandberg said. "Close games, extra-inning games, oftentimes you can look back at a play here or there just to get the job done. That's frustrating.

"We'll continue to go out there and attempt to correct it. There's a game every day. There's a game to be played to clean it up and to play a solid game. And that's what it's going to take."

Jonathon Niese tossed eight solid frames for the Mets, scattering eight hits and a walk while surrendering two runs and striking out six.

Josh Edgin notched with win with a perfect inning and Jenrry Mejia picked up the save.

Offensively,  Ryan Howard and Marlon Byrd provided the Phillies' runs on the afternoon all via the long ball. Howard with a two-run blast in the fourth and Byrd with a solo home run in the 11th.

- The Philadelphia Baseball Review is the top baseball news source in Philadelphia, providing news coverage and analysis of the 2014 Phillies and baseball in the Philadelphia region.

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Philadelphia Baseball Review - Phillies News, Rumors and Analysis