Error, not Park, causes Phillies to lose to Santana, Mets

(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

The result is what we expected: the Mets, who sent Johan Santana to the mound, beat the Phillies, who were starting Chan Ho Park. What wasn't expected was just how well Park would pitch and just how close the Phillies would be to winning this game.

Santana pitched 7 strong innings, struck out 10 batters and gave up only 2 hits as he cruised to a 1-0 victory for the Mets. Surprisingly, Park kept up with Santana, going 6 innings and allowing no runs on two hits. Park probably even should have stayed in the game another inning, considering how well he was pitching and the fact that he had only thrown 91 pitches. Phillies fans (me included, check my tweets earlier in the day) should all apologize to Park for not giving him a chance in this one, he proved that he deserves a few more chances to hold on to the 5th spot in the rotation.

What ended up failing the Phillies in this game was, for once, not the pitching, but instead the defense. The usually excellent fielding of Pedro Feliz failed him for one play, when he made an errant throw to first base, and it was enough for the Mets to squeak out the lone run of the game in the 7th inning.

Chalk this loss up to an anomaly: Pedro Feliz rarely makes errors. The Phillies got a great game from Park, but Johan Santana proved that he is still the best pitcher in baseball. Luckily for the Phils, the Marlins also lost, which keeps Philly in first place.