Those Mets

METS TAKE SERIES FROM PHILLIES

TAKAHASHI & REYES HIGHLIGHT ANOTHER SHUTOUT

Now the Mets are winning again, beating good teams, even shutting them out. The Phillies fell for the second consecutive time, this one by 5-0 before 33,223 pleasantly surprised witnesses Wednesday night at Citi Field. On Tuesday, the Mets beat the Phillies, the defending National League champions, 8-0. The Mets have won four in a row and five of their last six. They are one game over .500 and within three games of the first-place Phillies in the National League East. The Phillies were shut out for the third time in four games and have scored three runs in 38 innings. The Stanley Cup finalist Flyers have outscored the Phillies, 23-14, over each team’s last seven games. The Mets are doing it in large part with second-line starting pitchers. Hisanori Takahashi, a Japanese veteran who was signed before the season to a minor-league contact, threw six shutout innings to raise his record to 4-1. The night before it was R. A. Dickey, a 35-year-old knuckleballer called up from the minor leagues, who threw six shutout innings. On Saturday in Milwaukee, the Mets plan to give Fernando Nieve his first start of the season after 27 relief appearances, the most recent a clean ninth inning Wednesday night. Who would have thought that injuries to starters Jon Niese and John Maine and the banishment to the bullpen of Oliver Perez would result in the sudden dominance of the starting rotation? The hitters have helped. One of them on Wednesday was catcher Rod Barajas, who drove in three runs but finished with a sore right wrist after blocking a low pitch. Barajas felt unwanted in spring training before signing a free-agent contract. “Now’s the time,” he said. “I have the opportunity. I have the stage.” Another catalyst Wednesday was Jose Reyes, who continued his first torrid stretch of the season with a home run and an R.B.I. single. “I feel good,” Reyes said. “I feel like me.” Reyes also made a running catch in short center with his back to the plate in the fifth inning and ended the game with his arm raised, leaping to spear a line drive, an exclamation point on a hot night. Reyes missed most of last season with leg injuries, but has sparked a group that struggled through early-season streaks that seemed to endanger the job security of Manager Jerry Manuel. “We’re having a blast, we believe in ourselves,” Barajas said. “We’re a very talented club. This is a team to be reckoned with.” His right arm was wrapped in ice. “It’s really sore,” he said. “I don’t want to rest.” He has 27 R.B.I., second on the team to David Wright. The Phillies, who held a clubhouse meeting after the game to discuss their malaise, were unable to reckon with Takahashi, who mixed changeups and curves with occasional fastballs. In the game’s most emotional moment, Takahashi allowed Phillies to reach first and third with one out in the sixth before striking out Ryan Howard and retiring Jayson Werth on a fly ball to right field. Before his final pitches, Takahashi took deep breaths, wiped perspiration from his brow and listened to the roar of the standing fans. “I just wanted to take time and relax and think,” he said through his interpreter. When he reached the dugout, Manuel gave him a little hug. “As usual, he just said, ‘Good job,’ ” Takahashi said. “I could take a deep breath.” He lowered his earned run average to 2.13. Reyes said, “It’s fun to play behind Taki.” Barajas added: “He works both sides of the plate. He changes speed.” The Mets stole four bases and seem to have embraced the small ball that can be effective in a big park like Citi Field. In Tuesday’s game, Reyes stole two and had three hits. In the last six games, he is 11 for 28. “The power’s going to come for sure,” Reyes said. “I’m getting my confidence in my legs back.” Last season, Reyes played in only 36 games, the fewest of his seven-year career, because of knee and hamstring injuries. He was sidelined in spring training this year with a thyroid condition. Jason Bay, the left fielder who arrived as a free agent, noted what Mets fans have long known about Reyes. “He’s a game-changer,” Bay said. “He changes the whole dynamic of our offense. When he’s going well, we look like a completely different team.” Barajas added, “He causes havoc.” (NY Times)