The Phillies needed a strong performance out of their starting pitcher last night if they hoped to avoid losing three straight to the Mets, and Adam Eaton was the first to admit that he did not provide it.

"I sucked," Eaton said after he allowed eight runs (six earned) in just 2 2/3 innings of a 10-9 loss that even a ferocious late-inning rally couldn't prevent.

In the end, the game was much closer than anyone would have thought, particularly after Eaton exited with two outs in the third inning and an 8-0 deficit on the scoreboard.

Geoff Jenkins hit a two-run home run in the seventh, Ryan Howard hit a two-run homer in the eighth, and Pedro Feliz singled up the middle in the ninth, resulting in two runs, one on a throwing error, and the tying run on second.

But Jayson Werth, who hit a game-tying two-run home run in the ninth on Sunday, couldn't do it again off Mets closer Billy Wagner, flying out to rightfield to end the game.

It all made for interesting theater, but the fact remained that the Phillies were playing on borrowed time. Even manager Charlie Manuel had penciled in a loss, removing All-Star second baseman Chase Utley from the game in the seventh inning and replacing him with Eric Bruntlett, who walked in the ninth and scored on Feliz' base hit.

"We're losing 10-2, Chase is banged up a little bit, and I felt like I wanted to give him a break," Manuel said. "If I knew we were going to make a big run at it, I definitely would have left him in the game, but at the same time, Bruntlett got a big walk in the ninth inning."

For all the turmoil the Mets have endured this season, the National League East standings suddenly bear a vague resemblance to many preseason projections. After heading into the series 4 1/2 games behind, the Mets are now just 2 1/2 back. The Phillies, meanwhile, continue to try to figure out how to win a series against a team not named the Braves.

Eaton (3-7, 5.20 ERA) retired just seven of the 20 batters he faced, allowing 10 hits and walking one. An error on third baseman Greg Dobbs - a grounder by Mets starter Pedro Martinez (3-2, 6.86) rolled through his legs - led to a couple of runs in the third, but by that point Eaton had already given up six runs on his own.

The 2 2/3 innings made for Eaton's shortest outing of the season.

"He had a tough game," Manuel said. "He was throwing a lot of balls it looked like in the middle of the plate and they were hitting the ball pretty hard, and everything they hit was finding holes. He had a tough outing."

Rookie reliever R.J. Swindle, called up after yesterday's game, actually threw more innings than any of the four Phillies pitchers. He allowed two runs on four hits and struck out three in three innings while throwing two curveballs that registered at 54 and 55 mph.

Howard's two-run home run was his 24th of the season and probably his most controversial.

Umpires first ruled it a ground-rule double because it bounced off the arms of a fan and onto the field. But after a conference among the four umpires - prompted in part by a visit from the dugout from Manuel - it was ruled a home run. Television replays were inconclusive as to whether the ball would have landed in the stands had it not hit the fan, although the fan's arms appeared to be hanging over the fence.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel was then ejected for arguing the modified call, which trimmed the Phillies' deficit to 10-5.

Utley hit his 25th home run of the season in the fourth inning and Pat Burrell hit his 22nd in the sixth. But the Phillies fell to 48-42, the Mets improved to 45-44, and the National League East race became a whole lot tighter. *

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.