What started as an episode of The Young and the Winless morphed into Cliff Lee vs. Ug-Lee.
The Mets saw their Fourth of July implode over three brutal innings yesterday starting with Chris Young wilting in the seventh, followed by horrid relief in a 9-2 loss to the Phillies at Citi Field.
Lee (1-5) snapped a string of 13 consecutive starts without a win to start the season by holding the Mets to two earned runs on seven hits over eight innings with nine strikeouts and one walk.
“He pretty much dominated us today,” David Wright said. “And [Young] matched him pitch for pitch except for a couple of pitches in the seventh inning, and that was the game.”
It didn’t help that Miguel Batista, Tim Byrdak and Jeremy Hefner combined to allow six earned runs over the final two innings, turning a one-run game into a rout. Hefner was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo after surrendering three earned runs over the final 1 1/3 innings.
Young’s shutout and chance at a victory crumbled in the seventh, when Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz homered in succession to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead. Utley delivered a two-run blast to tie it before Ruiz hit a towering shot into the left-field seats two pitches later.
Young (2-2) took a two-hitter into the seventh before Juan Pierre singled leading off the inning. After the consecutive homers, Young retired the next three batters to complete a final line that included three strikeouts and no walks over 81 pitches.
“It’s one of those things where I would like to execute a little better,” said Young, who has made six starts since undergoing shoulder surgery that cost him most of last season. “My last two home starts I’ve given up runs in the seventh inning that have cost us. I would like to be better at that point in the game, and I think I will be as the season progresses.
“Really, the pitch I wish I had back was to Pierre leading off the inning. That was one that was down that I should have had up.”
Though Young’s troubles have come in the middle to late innings of games, manager Terry Collins said there was no thought of yanking the right-hander in the seventh.
“Chris was in complete command,” Collins said. “When you go into the seventh inning and you’ve got 65 or 66 pitches, he was certainly making pitches. Falling behind Utley, it’s a tough situation when you fall behind in the count and you have to come in and make a pitch.
“I’m sure if you ask him, he wished it was up a little bit higher but it wasn’t and the next guy is just red hot — Ruiz is hitting everybody. Seven pitches later we’re behind 3-2. I’m not sure we could have done much else except fight back.”
Wright’s RBI single in the fifth gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. Ruben Tejada’s second hit of the game — a two-out single — and Daniel Murphy’s ensuing single started the rally before Wright drove in his 55th run of the season. Scott Hairston’s solo homer in the fourth accounted for the game’s first run.
But Lee appeared to get new life after the Phillies took the lead in the seventh. The lefty ended his outing by retiring the final nine batters he faced.
“We saw a different side of him,” Mike Nickeas said. “You saw a nastiness.”