Sixteen to nothing. That is the combined score of the New York Mets’ sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies.

In their three game sweep, the Mets thoroughly dominated the defending National League Champion Phillies on all accounts.

The Phillies did not score a single run the whole series. Pretty impressive pitching for the Mets, who deserve credit for limiting Philly offensively.

Mike Pelfrey got the win in the final game of the series for the sweep, which cut the Phil’s division lead to a mere two games. Just five days ago, the Mets were seven games back.

Now, the Phillies can understand just how quickly a division lead can go up in flames, a la the Mets’ 2007 and 2008 seasons.

But just how did the Mets sweep the Phils and take two straight from the Yankees after losing so many in a row before?

For starters, they got great pitching from Japanese import Hinasori Takahashi, who held the Phils scoreless just one day after journeyman R.A. Dickey did the same.

Jose Reyes and Jason Bay have begun to find their offensive strokes. The Mets’ winning streak in April was a tease of what was to come. Sure, they hadn’t been playing great in May before their series wins against the Yanks and the Phils, but none of that really matters now.

What matters is they destroyed the supposed best team in the NL, while climbing within two games of the division lead.

Like I said before, these Mets are for real.

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