Duckworth Shines but Phils Drop Tough One to Mets, 1-0

Baseball truly is a game of inches. Need proof? Try the Phillies' hard-luck, 1-0 loss to the Mets on Thursday afternoon at the Vet.

Had Jimmy Rollins' long triple off the top of the right field fence been a few inches higher, Jose Mesa would have been pitching in the ninth for a save instead of trying to preserve a 0-0 tie. And had Bobby Abreu realized that he had a few more feet once he stepped on the right field warning track, perhaps he would have been able to catch Mark Johnson's pinch, RBI double in the ninth and the game would still be going on.

	Larry Bowa asks for an explaination from the umps during the 1-0 loss, Thursday. (AP)

Instead, Abreu couldn't quite make the grab when he felt himself getting closer to fence.

Yes, it's a game of inches.

But after the game, there was very little talk of how the Mets were able to squeak it out or why the Phillies couldn't muster one run against starter Steve Trachsel and relievers Scott Strickland and Armando Benitez. Instead, manager Larry Bowa and a few players opted to sound off about his three-game suspension that was handed down just prior to the game's first pitch.

After a cantankerous post-game press conference, Bowa's wallet could take another hit..

But it was the inches that decided Thursday's fete.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Rollins stroked a deep shot off Strickland and into the teeth of a wind that missed going out by a foot at the most. The blast ended up going for a triple and was just the second Phillie to make it past second all game.

But the Phillies needed the homer because Rollins was left stranded when Marlon Anderson flew out to right out end the threat.

The next time up for the Mets, Johnson smashed a double just beyond Abreu's shuffle-stepped reach to drive home Joe McEwing who had singled with one out. The hit by Johnson ended up being all the runs the game would see.

"I was lucky to come in that situation and fortunately get a pitch to hit and get it over Bobby's head," Johnson said. "I knew he had a bead on it, I was just hoping that it got over his head."

But it appeared to be a catchable ball. Fighting wind and the sun, Abreu looked like he misread the fly off the bat but quickly recovered. However, once he felt the warning track under his spikes, it looked like he pulled up ever so slightly and the ball bounced in for the game-winner.

"Bobby missed it by that much, and me too," Rollins said, holding his out a few inches apart. "It's a game of inches."

Meanwhile, it looked like the golden opportunity with Rollins on third... then again, maybe not.

"With two outs it doesn't matter if I hit a triple or a single," Rollins said. "Someone has to bring me in."

Lost in the all of the acrimony was a pair of gems dealt by Trachsel and Brandon Duckworth — neither of whom were able to figure in the decision.

And that's a shame.

Bobby Valentine pulled Trachsel after six innings where he held the Phils to just three hits, one walk and registered four strikeouts. He turned it over to Strickland, who pitched two innings and Benitez, who faced four batters in the ninth for his ninth save.

Scoring just three runs during the three-game set with the Phils, Valentine says his club needed the outing from his staff.

"We haven't been hitting," Valentine said. "We needed a shutout."

Worse than Traschel not getting the reward for his outing — Strickland (3-2) was the winner — was the big pile of nothing Duckworth gets next to his name on the boxscore of Thursday's gem. The young right-hander threw eight innings of goose eggs and scattered just five hits. In the ninth, Mesa couldn't keep it even and was victimized by Johnson.

"I would've liked the club to have gotten a win out of it, but that's the way it goes," Duckworth said. "Both sides pitched very well. A 1-0 game, you've just got to tip your hat."

Using a four-seam fastball, a change up and a cutter, Duckworth kept running the ball in on the Mets' hitters, which kept them from getting their arms extended. He also minimized the damage big guns Mike Piazza and Mo Vaughn could do by limiting his walks and keeping the hitters before them off base.

"When you're changing speeds and mixing it up, the hitters can't focus on certain things," Duckworth said. "I was able to make good, quality pitches. I wasn't making any dumb pitches."

During one stretch, Duckworth retired 14 of 16 hitters and forced the Mets to leave four runners in scoring position.

"Holding them to zero runs for eight innings was tough," said Duckworth of his career-high eight innings outing. "We knew one run was going to win the game, whether it was in the ninth, 10th, 12th whatever."

But the Phillies didn't threaten too often. In the first, Abreu lined one toward the right field corner with Anderson on first and two outs but the ball skipped into the seats for a ground-rule double. Pat Burrell flew out to end the threat.

From that point, Trachsel retired 16 of his last 18 before turning it over to his 'pen, which retired nine of its last 11.

	Todd Pratt tags out Jeromy Burnitz when he tried to tag from third on a fly ball to left, Thursday. (AP)

"He seems to pitch his best games against us," said Bowa of Trachsel, who improved to 4-1 with a 2.97 ERA in six career starts at the Vet . "You don't score, you're not gonna win."

After the game, the Phils and Bowa took off for Montreal where they will play three games against the Expos starting Friday. Randy Wolf (3-2, 5.01) will face Tomo Ohka (3-3, 3.97) in the opener in the southpaw's first trip out since notching a win against the Diamondbacks last Sunday in Phoenix.

In that win, Wolf allowed two runs, six hits and five walks with six strikeouts in six innings to push his quality starts string to three. In four career starts at Olympic Stadium, the lefty is 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA.

Ohka's last three starts have resulted in losses for the Expos although the pitcher is 0-1 with a 4.58 ERA. Last Thursday, Ohka allowed 11 hits and four runs in 7 2/3 during a 4-3 loss in Los Angeles.

Notes: Bowa says he is allowed to be with the team until the first pitch is thrown and then he will have watch from the press box. ... Former Phillie Greg Luzinski threw out the first pitch. ... Burrell threw out Jeromy Burnitz at home when the Mets' right fielder was trying to score from third on a fly out by Roberto Alomar. Burrell made a perfect throw and nailed Burnitz by three steps for his fourth assist of the season. ... Todd Pratt's eight-game hitting streak was snapped with an 0-for-3. ... The Phils were shutout for the first time since Aug. 19, 2001 in a 9-0 loss in St. Louis. ... Johnson's double snapped an 0-for-16 skid.

John R. Finger
ComcastSportsNet.com