Mets 3, Phillies 2
WP – Matt Harvey (3-3, 2.76)
LP – Tyler Cloyd (0-1, 4.50)
SV – Frank Francisco (22)
PHILADELPHIA — It wasn’t exactly the debut Tyler Cloyd expected to have, but the 25-year-old walked away with an experience he will never forget.
Cloyd settled down after three rocky innings to start, but the damage was done. It was Luca Duda’s two-run homer in the 3rd inning that put the Mets up 3-2, the final score on Wednesday.
Cloyd’s fastball ranged from 86-90 all night, and it was hit hard often.
In the first two innings, Cloyd got three pop-up outs but also got tagged for three sharp singles and a double that set up the first run he allowed in his Major League career, an RBI single by opposing starter Matt Harvey.
After an RBI double by Jimmy Rollins in the bottom of the 2nd gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead, Cloyd was smacked around for one more inning. He gave up a single to Ike Davis before Duda’s two-run blast, capping the game’s scoring in the 3rd inning.
Cloyd settled down beautifully for the next three innings, retiring 10 of the last 11 he faced following the home run. Cloyd threw 102 pitches and finished six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks, striking out five.
Cloyd, who is actually a pretty solid hitter, had an impressive game at the plate as well. He drew a pair of walks in his only two plate appearances — nothing flashy but he proved he can have good at-bats at the Major League level.
The Phillies hit the ball hard all game. But everything they seemed to rope into the outfield was either caught or weren’t enough to score a runner from first.
Before the game, Cloyd received a phone call from Ryne Sandberg, his manager at Lehigh, that he would be making the trip to Philadelphia to make his Major League debut.
Cloyd then called his father in Nebraska: “It was the first time I ever heard my dad cry over the phone.”
Cloyd at times looked like nothing special. But the fact he settled down after going through the Mets lineup showed that he does have some poise to be a big league pitcher.
With Vance Worley’s season done, Cloyd should get more opportunities to prove he is a viable candidate for the rotation next season.
2B: Rollins (29), Nix (8).
TTB 