11-0...

The season is long and the season is difficult, and the season contains afternoons like this. In the den of their arch rivals, the Mets thudded back to earth to the sound of bats clapping, to the sight of baseballs spraying to all fields, to the reality of a bludgeoning at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies.

After sputtering in the first game of this series, Philadelphia reasserted itself by hammering Mets starting pitchers on consecutive days. LikeMike Pelfrey on Wednesday night, Mets starter Jon Niese faltered today. Unlike Wednesday night, there was no comeback, just an 11-0 defeat in front of 45,468 fans at Citizens Bank Park, a less-than-optimal precursor to Friday’s Mets home opener.

“Certainly,” Mets manager Terry Collins said, “not the way you want to go home to start the season.”

Yet Collins took heart. Now his team heads home to Citi Field where “the energy will be rekindled,” he said. His club impressed during the season’s first week.

After six games, three in Florida and three in Philadelphia, how much do we know about this squad? Only snapshots emerged. The offense showed life (31 runs), but was also subdued by a pair of elite pitchers. The bullpen sprung leaks. Returns on the starting staff remain inconclusive. “A .500 road trip to start the season,” first baseman Ike Davis said, “we’re not too down in the dumps right now.”

This afternoon, Niese (0-1, 6.55 ERA) lasted longer than Pelfrey. But he still yielded six runs over his four innings and could not stem the momentum of the Phillies. The relief trio of Pedro Beato, Tim Byrdak and D.J. Carrasco allowed five more runs. Philadelphia batters cracked 16 hits in all.

The opposing starter, reigning Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay, required little assistance from his offense. He blanked the Mets for seven innings and struck out seven.

It was easy to outshine Niese on a day like this. Though his arsenal appeared sharp — he struck out seven — Niese’s location was off. The Phillies first struck in the third inning. Leadoff hitter Shane Victorino plated a run with a single, and third baseman Placido Polanco followed with an RBI double off the left-field wall.

Niese’s day disintegrated in the fourth. Ben Francisco opened the proceedings with a single. Niese then lost control of a curveball and plunked outfielder Raul Ibanez.

That was a harbinger. Niese relies on precision, not wildness. He hit nine batters in seven games last season. He gave up an average of 4.4 runs in those games.

The next two batters each drove in runs: Catcher Carlos Ruiz lined a single to left. Former Met Wilson Valdez flicked a first-pitch fastball for an opposite-field double. Even after a pair of strikeouts, Niese was not out of trouble. Placido Polanco punished a 2-1 cutter for a two-run single.

“I didn’t throw the ball necessarily where I wanted it to,” Niese said. “They hit it where our guys weren’t.”

After the game, Collins remained calm. There was disappointment over the missed opportunities, the cavalcade of hits, the consecutive losses. But the results will bear out over the course of the year. One laugher is just one loss.

“I was very pleased with the way we played,” Collins said. “And today, we just couldn’t stop them. And when you’ve got Roy Halladay on the mound, if you can’t stop them, you’re going to get your rear end handed to you.” (NJ.com)