Phillies blank Mets, 3-0, complete sweep

PHILADELPHIA _ Pete Mackanin expected to be booed Thursday afternoon when he walked to the mound in the seventh inning of a 3-0 win over the New York Mets. tmpplchld That would be OK, the Phillies manager thought, because the crowd would then cheer when it realized he was not removing starting pitcher Jerad Eickhoff. Mackanin was instead met with virtual silence. There were few fans there to react.tmpplchld The announced paid attendance _ 13,238 _ was the lowest in the history of Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies decided on Thursday to move up the game to the afternoon before a forecast rainstorm hit. It was the lowest-attended Phillies game since 2002; the actual attendance Thursday appeared to be far less. The fans were confined solely to the ballpark’s first level.tmpplchld “It was kind of weird,” said Andres Blanco, who hit a solo home run three days after the birth of his second son, Adrian. “I thought we were in a minor-league game or something.”tmpplchld The win, finishing off a three-game sweep of the Mets, almost ensured that the Phillies will avoid their first 100-loss season since 1961. They have 97 losses and need to win just one of the three games remaining against Miami to end the season with fewer than 100 losses.tmpplchld However, the win also put in jeopardy their chances to gain the first pick in June’s draft. The Phillies hold a one-game lead over Cincinnati for baseball’s worst record after the Reds fell to the Cubs on Thursday. In the event of a tie, the Phillies will be awarded the top pick based on having a worse record last season. Their “magic number” is at two. The Reds end the season with a three-game series in Pittsburgh.tmpplchld “Nobody wants to lose 100 games,” Mackanin said. “These last three wins were really good for everybody’s mental health.”tmpplchld The Mets lead the Los Angeles Dodgers by a half-game for home-field advantage in the division series, which starts next Friday. tmpplchld Mackanin’s choice to leave in Eickhoff for one last batter proved wise. The right-hander struck out Juan Lagares to end the inning, stranding runners on first and second. Lagares fouled off four pitches before ending the nine-pitch at-bat by swinging past a full-count curveball, Eickhoff’s dominant breaking pitch.tmpplchld “It’s fun, but it’s also nerve-racking at the same time,” said Eickhoff, who pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out 10. “He’s fouling good pitches off and I’m thinking, gosh, I made a good pitch but he’s fouling them off. It’s a constant chess battle of what pitch should I throw next. He had me grinding a little bit, too.”tmpplchld Eickhoff allowed four hits and walked one. He surpassed 50 innings for the season, meaning he will not enter next season as a rookie. He is the first Phillies rookie right-hander since Ray Culp in 1963 to post consecutive double-digit strikeout games.tmpplchld He said it meant a lot for Mackanin to allow him to face Lagares. Eickhoff said he is a competitor. He did not want to come out. After Mackanin headed for the dugout, Eickhoff looked down at the mound and thought to himself. All the experiences of the season and everything he learned came together at that moment, Eickhoff said. It was the culmination of his first year in the majors.tmpplchld The pitcher struck out Lagares and slapped his hand into his glove. Mackanin’s decision was certainly deserving of some applause. tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 The Philadelphia Inquirertmpplchld Visit The Philadelphia Inquirer at www.philly.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld