This is for personal, noncommercial use only.
PHILADELPHIA - Rodrigo Lopez walked off the mound to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd in the home of the defending World Series champions.
Not bad for a guy who hadn't pitched in the majors in two years.
Lopez took a three-hitter into the seventh inning, helping the Philadelphia Phillies snap a six-game home losing streak with a 7-2 victory over the New York Mets on Friday night.
"I'm pretty happy, pretty excited," Lopez said. "Being out for two years, it was a long way to go, a long battle. I didn't know it would take this long."
Lopez (1-0) allowed two runs and six hits in 6 innings to earn his first win since beating the Phillies on July 7, 2007, when he played for Colorado. The right-hander had been sidelined since having elbow ligament replacement surgery 23 months ago.
The National League East-leading Phillies were swept by Toronto and Baltimore in consecutive three-game series at Citizens Bank Park last month. They won for just the fifth time in 19 games.
Mets starter Livan Hernandez (5-4) lasted three-plus innings, allowing seven runs and 10 hits. It was his shortest outing since he gave up seven runs in three innings against Cleveland while pitching for Minnesota last June 12.
"We lost the game because I pitched bad," Hernandez said.
Jayson Werth hit a solo homer and Jimmy Rollins had two hits and two RBIs for the Phillies.
Rollins, mired in a season-long slump, had his second straight multihit game. The 2007 NL MVP was benched four games during the team's recent road trip and snapped an 0-for-28 slump against Atlanta on Thursday.
"It seems like we got to the clubhouse excited to be home," Rollins said.
Lopez was a two-time 15-game winner with Baltimore, but inconsistency and a major injury derailed his career. He filled in for injured rookie Antonio Bastardo, who replaced Brett Myers when he had hip surgery.
"He's the same guy I saw in the American League," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He knows how to pitch."
Consecutive RBI doubles by Nick Evans and Brian Schneider chased Lopez in the seventh. He got a nice ovation from the fans.
"It's been a while since I've been in this kind of environment," Lopez said. "The most people I see is like 10,000. It was very exciting, pretty emotional.
Notes: Phillies LF Raul Ibanez had his rehab assignment postponed for the third straight day. Ibanez, sidelined by a groin injury, was eligible to come off the disabled list Friday. It's uncertain when he'll return. "I like the way I'm feeling," he said before the game. "I like the way I'm improving. I'm feeling way better." Ibanez leads the Phillies with a .312 average and 22 homers. His 59 RBIs are second to Howard's 60.
New York AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Cora ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 .250
Dan.Murphy 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .245
D.Wright 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .333
Sheffield rf 3 0 1 0 1 0 .289
Church cf 4 1 3 0 0 0 .300
Tatis 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .261
Evans lf 4 1 1 1 0 2 .321
Schneider c 3 0 1 1 1 0 .243
Li.Hernandez p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .107
Misch p 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000
a-Reed ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .278
Parnell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Dessens p 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
c-F.Martinez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .176
Totals 34 2 8 2 2 7
Philadelphia AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Rollins ss 5 1 2 2 0 0 .212
Victorino cf 5 2 3 0 0 0 .299
Utley 2b 4 1 2 2 0 1 .303
Howard 1b 2 0 0 0 2 0 .254
Werth rf 3 1 1 1 1 2 .264
Dobbs lf 4 0 1 2 0 1 .244
Mayberry lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .225
Feliz 3b 2 1 1 0 2 0 .289
Bako c 4 1 1 0 0 1 .250
R.Lopez p 3 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Park p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .083
b-Stairs ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .281
Madson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Totals 33 7 11 7 5 6
New York 000 000 200-2 8 1
Philadelphia 313 000 00x-7 11 0
a-struck out for Misch in the 7th. b-flied out for Park in the 8th. c-grounded out for Dessens in the 9th.
E-Dan.Murphy (7). LOB-New York 7, Philadelphia 8. 2B-Church (16), Evans (4), Schneider (7), Rollins 2 (17), Bako (1). 3B-Victorino (6). HR-Werth (16), off Li.Hernandez. RBIs-Evans (6), Schneider (18), Rollins 2 (29), Utley 2 (54), Werth (44), Dobbs 2 (13). SB-Utley (8). SF-Utley.
Runners left in scoring position-New York 4 (Dan.Murphy, Evans, Cora, Tatis); Philadelphia 6 (R.Lopez 2, Victorino, Bako 2, Utley).
Runners moved up-Li.Hernandez. GIDP-D.Wright, Dobbs.
DP-New York 1 (Misch, Schneider, Dan.Murphy); Philadelphia 1 (Rollins, Utley, Howard).
New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Li.Hernandez L, 5-4 3 10 7 7 4 2 81 4.56
Misch 3 0 0 0 1 3 30 3.97
Parnell 1 0 0 0 0 1 15 5.04
Dessens 1 1 0 0 0 0 19 3.38
Philadelphia IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
R.Lopez W, 1-0 61/3 6 2 2 1 4 96 2.84
Park 12/3 2 0 0 1 2 27 5.86
Madson 1 0 0 0 0 1 10 3.38
Li.Hernandez pitched to 3 batters in the 4th.
Inherited runners-scored-Misch 3-0, Park 1-0. IBB-off Misch (Feliz).
Umpires-Home, Jim Joyce; First, Bill Miller; Second, Ed Rapuano; Third, Adrian Johnson.
T-2:38. A-45,231 (43,647).
Posted in Sports, Breaking_news, Phillies on Saturday, July 4, 2009 12:05 am Updated: 12:58 am.
No comments have been posted. Be the first poster!
Click here to report a comment as abusive.