NEW YORK, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Chase Utley highlighted Philadelphia's huge first inning Thursday, Ryan Howard hit a grand slam and the Phillies crushed the New York Mets 16-1.
Philadelphia won its third in a row, pounding out 21 hits while scoring eight times in the first inning and seven times in the ninth.
Utley came up twice during the first inning and had an RBI single both times. Howard also had an RBI single in the opening inning, during which the Phillies had nine hits while sending 13 men to the plate.
After Philadelphia had already scored three times in the ninth, Utley was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Howard followed with his 12th homer of the year.
The easy victory went to Tyler Cloyd (2-1), whose three-hit performance over eight innings was overshadowed by the offensive explosion.
New York starter Jeremy Hefner (2-7) threw only 30 pitches and gave up seven runs without retiring a batter. The Mets used 10 pitchers.
