Campbell swipes home on double steal

NEW YORK -- Eric Campbell must have been wearing his PF Flyers on Friday night.

The Mets utility man, who entered the 4-1 win over the Phillies as a pinch-hitter in the seventh, stole home on a double steal minutes later to cap an eventful go-ahead rally at Citi Field.

"We just thought we'd take a shot at it, and it paid off for us," manager Terry Collins said. "It worked, so we got that extra run when we needed it -- bad."

The rally consisted of two walks, a hit-by-pitch, an error by Grady Sizemore on a routine fly ball and Campbell's steal of home. It was the first time the Mets scored at least three runs in an inning without a hit since July 1999.

It was also the Mets' first steal of home since Jason Pridie did it on May 15, 2011, in Houston. That came on the back end of a double steal that featured Jose Reyes moving from first to second.

This, too, was a double steal. With Campbell on third, Juan Lagares on first and Curtis Granderson at the plate, third-base coach Tim Teufel set the play in motion by delivering a message to Campbell: "Be ready, Lagares might go for second."

The next pitch, Lagares did, easily swiping second on a Justin De Fratus-Carlos Ruiz battery. As soon as Campbell saw Ruiz release the ball, he broke hard from home, and his headfirst slide was barely enough to beat shortstop Jimmy Rollins' throw.

As Campbell -- who is not exactly known for his speed -- made the 90-foot dash, he only had one thing on his mind.

"Really just trying to pick out a spot to slide," Campbell said. "Whether you're going to truck the catcher if he's blocking the plate or trying to sneak your hand in there. I did the latter."

Ever-stoic, Campbell hardly broke a smile during his return to the dugout.

Moments prior, Campbell walked to load the bases with two outs for Lagares. Lagares popped up to left, but when Sizemore couldn't glove it, two runs scored and Campbell reached third.

That set the stage for something Campbell hadn't done in at least a decade, if not longer.

"Maybe high school, something like that, [as part of a] double steal," Campbell said. "But nothing like that."