Phillies look to limit Mets' long-ball attack (Apr 11, 2017)

PHILADELPHIA -- The Mets' power punch against the Philadelphia Phillies continued Monday in New York's 4-3 series-opening win with two more long balls -- both by Jay Bruce.

The Mets improved their record against the Phillies since the start of 2015 to 27-12, and they now have 36 homers in their past 20 games vs. Philadelphia.

In nine games at Citizens Bank Park last season, New York hit 18 home runs. After one game this season they have two. The Mets have returned nearly the same lineup as 2016.

What are the Phillies doing to try to counter New York's dominance?

"We look at what they hit, averages, types of pitches, their percentage of swings," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "Certain guys have a higher swing percentage in certain counts. We look at so many things to try to figure that out."

It almost worked Monday. Philadelphia allowed just four hits but was undone by a late long ball. Three Phillies pitchers combined for eight strikeouts.

A lot of had to do with the continued consistency from right-handed pitcher Jerad Eickhoff, who had his 10th straight start allowing three or fewer runs.

Outside of Bruce, the Mets didn't hit much.

Specifically, leadoff hitter Jose Reyes, who went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts on Monday. Reyes is now 1-for-27 to start the season with eight strikeouts and just two runs.

"I've got the FBI out looking for the real Jose Reyes," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "You have to let him work through it. He's just too good of a player to struggle."

Right-hander Clay Buchholz (0-1, 7.20 ERA) will make his first home start as a Phillie on Tuesday night. Buchholz spent his first 10 seasons playing in Boston before being traded to the Philadelphia during the offseason.

Buchholz has pitched at Citizens Bank Park just once in his career, when he threw seven shutout innings in a win over in 2015.

In his season debut on Thursday, Buchholz lasted just five innings, allowing four runs on eight hits at Cincinnati.

Philadelphia starters have pitched past the fifth inning just three times this season, and Eickhoff has now done it twice. Aaron Nola was the other to do so.

"I threw a lot of strikes, but they found some holes," Buchholz said. "Overall I threw the ball pretty good. I missed with a couple of pitches. It could have gone a lot better. It could have gone a lot worse in a couple of situations."

New York counters Tuesday with right-hander Matt Harvey (1-0, 2.70). Harvey cruised past the Atlanta Braves on Thursday in his first meaningful start since undergoing thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last year, allowing two runs on just three hits over 6 2/3 innings. He needed just 77 pitches to get into the seventh inning.

"The demeanor, even when he ran out to the bullpen, reminded me of a couple years ago," Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud told The New York Times after the game. "It was definitely nice to see."

Harvey, 28, is 6-2 with a 2.65 ERA, 62 strikeouts and 12 walks in nine career starts against the Phillies. Ten Phillies have faced Harvey before -- three of them pitchers -- and while they have hit a respectable .280 against him, they have produced just four runs.

Philadelphia has a new closer. Mackanin said before Monday's game that Jeanmar Gomez was removed from the role and that Joaquin Benoit would assume the ninth-inning duties for now.

Benoit, 39 and in his first season with the Phillies, has been a closer before and has 51 career saves. In 2013, he saved 24 games and posted a 2.01 ERA for the Detroit Tigers. A year later, Benoit saved 11 games for the San Diego Padres. He has thrown two scoreless innings for the Phillies this season, striking out three batters and walking one.

"Here is a guy going on 40 years old and still has velocity, still healthy," Mackanin said. "You couldn't tell how old he was by the way he pitches. This could be a blessing in disguise for us depending on how it works its way out."