The New York Mets got help from their unsung clutch player to pull out an exciting 6-4 comeback win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Shea Stadium. Backup catcher Ramon Castro knocked a three-run home run in the eighth inning to put the Mets on top to stay and to pull them to within one-half game of the Phillies in the NL wild card race.
The Mets trailed 3-0 in the first inning after the Phillies tagged Mets starter Jae Seo with two home runs, one by leadoff man Kenny Lofton which was later followed by a two-run shot by Pat Burrell.
New York got a run back on a solo homer by Carlos Beltran in the bottom of the first but the Phils quickly added another run off Seo to take a 4-1 lead.
The Mets patiently reduced the Phillies lead. An RBI single by Beltran in the fifth inning pulled the hosts to within 4-2. Another run scored in the seventh on a wild pitch by reliever Ryan Madson.
The Mets took the lead in the eighth after reliever Ugueth Urbina walked both David Wright and Victor Diaz before yielding the game winning home run to Castro who is only playing regularly due to an injury to starting catcher Mike Piazza.
The crowd of 36,505 at Shea Stadium demanded a curtain call from Castro before watching closer Braden Looper earn his 28th save of the year to seal the victory for the Mets.
Juan Padilla (1-0) earned his first win of the season for the Mets while Urbina took the loss and fell to 3-2 on the year.
The NL wild card is now truly a wide open race. The Phillies and Florida Marlins are tied for the lead with 70-62 records while the Houston Astros and the Mets are a half game behind and even in the loss column with the co-leaders.
The Mets and Phillies meet again at Shea Stadium on Wednesday with Mets ace Pedro Martinez opposing Brett Myers.
