On the Mets beat

Pregame chatter
6:19 p.m.: Ok, let's everyone take a deep breath, step away from the sharp objects and brace yourselves for another maddening night of Mets baseball. I'll be your liveblog host for this evening, the guy in the photo to your upper left, and we'll all try to get through this together, one inning at a time.

Repeat after me: 156 games to go, 156 games to go, 156 games to go.

And how about this for some good news -- No Jimmy Rollins! That's right, Mr. Team to Beat himself is on the bench tonight because of a sprained left ankle suffered in Tuesday's game. You're feeling better already, aren't you?

Now that I've convinced you to stick around, here's the lineup for tonight:

PHILLIES

Shane Victorino (CF)
Eric Bruntlett (SS)
Chase Utley (2B)
Ryan Howard (1B)
Pat Burrell (LF)
Geoff Jenkins (RF)
Pedro Feliz (3B)
Carlos Ruiz (C)
Kyle Kendrick (RHP)

METS
Jose Reyes (SS)
Angel Pagan (LF)
David Wright (3B)
Carlos Beltran (CF)
Carlos Delgado (1B)
Ryan Church (RF)
Damion Easley (2B)
Brian Schneider (C)
Mike Pelfrey (RHP)

Now for some bad news. Orlando Hernandez, who was checked out yesterday in New York, has been fitted with a boot for his right foot after he was diagnosed with a tendon problem. Hernandez must wear the boot for the next two weeks before he is re-evaluated, so don't expect him any time soon. El Duque was scheduled to come off on the DL on April 13, but now you can probably add another month to that.

Also, no Luis Castillo, who is still bothered by the sore right knee that knocked him out of Tuesday's game in the fourth inning. Castillo anticipates sitting for another day or two.

Top 1st --It's over already? Mike Pelfrey just retired the side in order? If you lingered over dinner, you just missed Pelfrey whiff Shane Victorino, get Eric Bruntlett on a soft tapper in front of the plate and Chase Ultey pop up to center. It was even easier that it sounds. The Phillies don't look so tough without Jimmy Rollins in that leadoff spot.

Bottom 1st -- Does anybody else despise that stupid Kevin James' "Let's Go Mets!" video they insist on showing at Shea during a rally? What next? Blasting fans with ABBA tunes or Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up?" Anyway, I digress. Before James' annoying blather, the Mets actually scored a run -- and Jose Reyes was the one who touched the plate. Reyes worked a leadoff walk, the first of three for the Mets that inning, and Angel Pagan moved him to second on a bunt that was not scored a sacrifice. David Wright smoked a hard grounder off the glove of Chase Utley and Reyes hustled around on the error. Wright did scorch that ball, but it definitely was an error. Utley only needed one step to his left and still allowed it to carom off the heel of his glove. With the bases full, Damion Easley grounded to short to end the inning. Mets, 1-0.

Top 2nd -- Can somebody wake up Reyes? Pelfrey should have been out of the inning with no damage, but Reyes botched what looked to be a routine double play. With runners at first and second, Pedro Feliz smacked a grounder right at Reyes, but he couldn't get the ball out of his glove as he tried to flip to Damion Easley. As a result, it went behind Easley, who already was on top of the base, and that allowed the Phillies to load 'em up. Carlos Ruiz then made it hurt with an RBI-single to rightfield. Fortunately for the Mets, Carlos Delgado actually finished off a nifty forceout at the plate by scooping up Kyle Kendricks' grounder and throwing on the run. Still provided a few anxious moments though. Pelfrey sawed Shane Victorino's bat in half to get the third out on a bouncer to David Wright. Tied, 1-1.

Bottom 2nd --Kendrick refuses to throw the ball over the plate and the Mets can't take advantage. Pelfrey bunted Schnieder to second after his leadoff walk, but the best Reyes could do was a broken-bat grounder to first. Kendrick followed with walks to Pagan and Wright to load the bases, but Beltran fell behind in the count 0-and-2 before grounding to second. Yes, Ultley caught this one. There was a light drizzle falling here, but nothing to be concerned about. More worrisome is the fact that the Mets already have left the bases loaded twice in two innings. Tied, 1-1.

Top 3rd --This ... game ... is ... moving ... very ... slowly. Another strikeout for Pelfrey when Utley couldn't check his swing. Howard squeezed a two-out single through the shift, but Pat Burrell popped up in foul territory. They just showed a guy in a Rangers jersey on the DiamondVision. Wonder why. Is there a hockey game tonight? Still tied, 1-1.

Bottom 3rd -- Nothing like five unearned runs to lift a team's spirits. This inning was plain ugly. The Phillies committed three errors and two by Bruntlett -- Rollins' replacement. With the bases loaded, Bruntlett kicked a sure double-play grounder hit by Reyes to keep the inning alive. He also let David Wright's grounder skip right past him for the second error and another run. The third error came when catcher Carlos Ruiz threw wide of third base on Pelfrey's bunt. It appeared that Phillies manager Charlie Manuel wanted interference on that play, but the not-so-nimble Pelfrey tried his best to get his 6-foot-7 frame out of the way. He even jumped. Easley drove in the only earned run with his RBI single. Pagan added a two-run double. Want a laugh? Here's Kendricks' line: 2 1/3 innings, 4 hits, 7 runs, 1 earned, 6 walks, 0 Ks. Mets, 7-1.

Bottom 5th --Oops. Sorry for the gap in blog coverage. Had to deal with a little breaking news. It looks like the Mets, after yesterday's setback to Orlando Hernandez, are closing in fast on Claudio Vargas and could have a deal done as soon as tomorrow, his agent confirmed a few minutes ago. General manager Omar Minaya first contacted Vargas' agent, Bean Stringfellow, a week ago and said that he was going to wait. But with Hernandez now in a walking boot for the next two weeks, and no end in sight to his foot problems, Minaya contacted Stringfellow again today, as first reported by the New York Post. Mets still up, 7-2.

Bottom 6th --Mets go in order, and Jorge Sosa has taken over for Pelfrey, who turned in a respectable performance. Pelfrey allowed five hits and two earned runs in five innings. He walked two and struck out three. Let's call it one to build on. Mets up, 7-2.

Top 7th --No bullpen meltdown here. Sosa just completed his second scoreless inning and it's looking like the Mets might actually end their nine-game losing streak to the Phillies. Mets still rolling, 7-2.

Top 8th --We had a Pedro Feliciano sighting. It just came a day too late. Feliciano was unavailable on Tuesday because he was late returning from Puerto Rico, where he was attending to a family emergency on the off day. In this cameo, Feliciano allowed a leadoff single, got the next two hitters, and then loaded the bases on Pat Burrell's single and a walk to Geoff Jenkins. Fortunately for him, Feliciano retired Pedro Feliz on a pop-up to second base that ended the inning. Mets still ahead, 8-2.

Top 9th --The long Mets' nightmare is finally over. When Brian Schneider nestled under Eric Bruntlett's foul pop, the nine-game losing streak to the Phillies came to a close. Mets win, 8-2.