METS 4, PHILLIES 3 (12 innings)

Winning the rubber match against the Phillies should be a joyous occasion. Instead the emotion is exhaustion. This is a game that the Mets pulled out in 12 innings yet it should not have gone that far. John Maine was very good tonight and deserved the win. But Aaron Heilman had his third terrible outing in a row and the 3-1 lead he was handed became a 3-3 tie. Then the Mets were unable to do anything against the Phillie bullpen and it felt like we were doomed to lose. But then the 12th inning finally came along and our luck changed. Our hottest hitter, Angel Pagan hit an RBI single against Tom Gordon, driving in Jose Reyes. Also, while Heilman was poor, credit has to be given to the other Met relievers for holding it down - Feliciano, Wagner, Smith, Schoeneweis and Sosa. So now we are back at the .500 mark and will begin a weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Brooklynite Nelson Figueroa gets the start tomorrow. With Pedro and El Duque out, the Mets signed Claudio Vargas to a minor league contract today and it probably will not be long before he gets his shot at Shea.

WP: Jorge Sosa (1-0)
LP: Tom Gordon (0-2)