PHILADELPHIA -- Scott Mathieson gave up three home runs in four innings. David Dellucci misplayed a ball in right that turned into a triple for the less-than-fast Carlos Delgado. Chase Utley struck out looking with the bases loaded in the eighth inning.

Thursday marked the return of the old Phillies and their old mistakes as they were unable to complete a sweep of the Mets, losing, 7-2, at Citizens Bank Park.

The stadium-record crowd of 45,775 saw the Phillies miss a chance to reach .500 for the first time since June 19 and a chance to make up a game on the Reds, who lost on Thursday but remain 2 1/2 games ahead of the Phils in the Wild Card race.

After the Phillies got out of the gate quickly in the first three games, Thursday's felt like it belonged in the teams' last series in Philadelphia, which the Mets swept by getting out to early leads.

"It's definitely tough when you're chasing the lead," said Shane Victorino, whose 2-for-4 day went for naught.

The reason: starting pitching, which the Phillies had very little of on Thursday. Mathieson gave up runs in each of the first three innings and then ended his day by allowing back-to-back homers to Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado -- Delgado's second of the game.

All three homers, including Delgado's first blast that went 444 feet off the batter's eye in center, were on changeups.

"My changeup was alright," Mathieson said. "I just left a couple up, and I was tipping a couple of pitches. It's something I need to work on a little bit."

The rookie discovered that he was tipping his changeup while watching video after he departed.

Mathieson has now struggled in each of his last three starts, giving up 19 runs in his last 11 innings. The 22-year-old's growing pains present an interesting dilemma for the Phillies, who have to balance their desire to let a young pitcher develop with their desire to make the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

"Right now, I think who we've got is what we're using," manager Charlie Manuel said.

The Mets showed no mercy toward the scuffling rookie as the pair of Carloses had spectacular days. Beltran went 4-for-5 with the homer and a double, while Delgado went 3-for-4 with two homers, a triple and four RBIs.

Once the Mets jumped out to a 6-2 lead, the Phillies could get no closer. But it wasn't like they didn't have chances.

Philadelphia got singles from Victorino and Utley against Mets starter John Maine leading off the sixth, but Ryan Howard, Pat Burrell and Dellucci couldn't drive them home.

"He's got some deception," Burrell said of Maine, who beat the Phillies for the second time in two weeks. "We should have done a better job making adjustments.

Then in the seventh, Philadelphia loaded the bases for Utley, who went down looking at a third strike from reliever Pedro Feliciano. For the Phillies, who came in hitting .303 with runners in scoring position over their last 19 games, it was a big reversal.

"It seemed like we always capitalized with runners in scoring position," Victorino said.

Afterwards, the team did take some consolation in having beaten the National League's best team three out of four -- and thoroughly. Despite Thursday's outcome, the Phillies outscored the Mets 29-11 for the series.

"You've just got to look at the big picture," Burrell said.