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Phillies hold off Mets and avert disaster

NEW YORK - A routine fly ball hovered at Citi Field on Saturday night, and if there was ever a night for it to drop, it was this one. Roman Quinn darted in from left field. Freddy Galvis backpedaled from the infield, called for the ball, and waved off Quinn.

NEW YORK - A routine fly ball hovered at Citi Field on Saturday night, and if there was ever a night for it to drop, it was this one. Roman Quinn darted in from left field. Freddy Galvis backpedaled from the infield, called for the ball, and waved off Quinn.

The outfielder ignored Galvis' directions, reached for the ball, and dared it to drop to the turf. It somehow landed in Galvis' glove to end the eighth. One more inning and the Phillies would escape a nightmarish night in Queens as they held back the Mets, 10-8.

The Phillies raced ahead, 10-0, in the fourth inning and spent the final five innings watching their lead get whittled away. The Mets scored four times in the fifth and twice in the sixth. They scored again in the eighth before Galvis' catch, which came with two runners on base and the tying run at the plate.

Manager Pete Mackanin called the win "bittersweet."

"I'm talking myself into being happy," Mackanin said. "Let's put it that way."

The Phillies flirted with disaster again in the ninth, when Michael Mariot - who served as the closer, as Mackanin gave Jeanmar Gomez a rest - gave up a one-out homer to Jay Bruce. The righthander then walked Eric Campbell, prompting catcher A.J. Ellis to visit the mound while the crowd became unglued, clinging to the belief that a Phillies disaster was looming.

Mariot walked Michael Conforto, sending out Ellis for another mound conference, and the crowd roared even more. Mariot said he can usually ignore the fans, but "when they're that loud, it's pretty difficult to." The crowd stood and chanted Lucas Duda's name as the first baseman stepped into the box. The Phillies nightmare was becoming a reality.

"I just told myself to keep throwing strikes and good things will happen," Mariot said.

The pitcher stood his ground, forced Duda to pop up to Galvis, and Travis d'Arnaud to sharply ground out to the mound. The threat was quelled and an embarrassment was averted. A 10-run lead remained safe, barely.

"We won the game," Mackanin said. "And that's the best part."

The Mets had struck Alec Asher for four runs in the fourth, none of which was earned after errors by Maikel Franco and Galvis. Lefthander Joely Rodriguez gave up two more in the sixth. David Hernandez navigated cleanly through the seventh, before Hector Neris allowed a run in the eighth. The bullpen allowed 10 base runners in four innings.

The Phillies began their lead in a five-run first, starting with a three-run homer from Franco, who became the fifth Phillies third baseman age 24 or younger to hit 25 home runs in a season. Franco is ending his season on a strong note, batting .310 with an .826 OPS in 19 games this month.

"When you finish strong, you do everything," Franco said. "The more important part is finishing strong for six or seven more days. That's the only thing you can try to do - go out there and play the game the right way."

Tommy Joseph added a pair of RBI drives and Darin Ruf blasted a three-run homer. Joseph has nine RBIs in his last seven games as he appears to be joining Franco with a strong finish to the season.

It was Ruf's second straight day with a homer and his first start since Sept. 11.

The Phillies had a 10-run lead. What could go wrong?

mbreen@phillynews.com

@matt_breen www.philly.com/

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