In what figured to be the most significant victory in the short history of Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies stole a game today from the New York Mets and their indomitable closer, Billy Wagner, who helped christen the park in a Phillies uniform in 2004.

Jayson Werth's two stolen bases on consecutive pitches in the bottom of the ninth ignited a comeback as the Phils stunned the Mets, 11-10.

The slugfest, ending with Chase Utley's RBI single, completed a four-game sweep that left Charlie Manuel's team just two games behind New York in the NL East race and two behind the Padres or Diamondbacks in the wild-card standings.

"This was a huge win," Manuel said. "We won four in a row from them. That speaks for itself. I thought Werth's two stolen bases were huge."

Desperate to salvage a win in the series, Mets manager Willie Randolph elected to send Wagner into the game in the eighth. Wagner had not been asked to record a six-out save since 1999.

Werth's broken-bat single led off the ninth with the Phils behind, 10-9. After speaking with first-base coach Davey Lopes, Werth decided to steal with Tadahito Iguchi at the plate and one out.

"It was a situation where I needed to be on second," Werth said. "I got a couple of reads on him. I took off and got the [first] steal."

That's because Wagner was thinking about his pitches, not about Werth.

"Sometimes Billy doesn't look; he's pretty easy to read," Manuel said.

Said Wagner: "I was just trying to make pitches."

When Werth arrived at second, he studied Wagner some more.

"He gave me one look, then looked at home," Werth recalled. "It was real slow and I took off. . . . I thought I could make it. The count was 0-2, and I thought there was a good chance he might throw a ball, so I took a chance and made it happen."

With Wagner's obvious indifference, Werth stole third. He scored to tie the game on Iguchi's hit to left field.

"He's a very tough pitcher; I'm glad I got it done," Iguchi said.

Iguchi stole second with Jimmy Rollins batting.

"I had a lot of pressure to run," Iguchi said, after seeing Werth's performance. Wagner intentionally walked Rollins.

Utley, who was just 1 for 4 when he came up, worked a full count before lacing a single to right field, scoring Iguchi with the winning run.

"I just found the hole," Utley said. "Wagner is tough. That's why he is one of the best closers in the game. He throws hard and you're not sure what he's going to feature up there."

This game featured a little bit of everything.

After whiffing three times in Wednesday's 3-2 win, Ryan Howard rocked Mets starter Orlando Hernandez with a towering two-run homer to center in the first inning for his 36th bomb of the season.

Torrid Pat Burrell hit two homers (one off Wagner), giving him 24 for the season and 41 for his career against the Mets - the most among active players. Burrell is on a tear, batting .360 (59 for 164) since July 2. In the third inning, his first dinger nearly nailed the Phanatic in the left-field stands.

"I can't say enough about our effort," Burrell said. "Everybody contributed. It's a huge win. Chase got the big hit at the end. I have to give the fans credit. This was as loud as I've ever heard it here with Chase up."

The Phils led by 5-0 after three innings, but starter Kyle Lohse had a poor outing, lasting just 32/3 innings and yielding three earned runs on five hits. He threw 87 pitches.

"We showed a lot heart and scrappiness," Lohse said. "I let the guys down, but they picked me up. I owe them one."

The Mets tied it, 5-5, in the fifth, but the Phils pulled ahead by 8-5 in their half of the inning before New York scored five runs in the eighth off J.C. Romero and Antonio Alfonseca for a 10-8 lead.

"We had a kind of meltdown in the eighth inning," Manuel said.

Wagner, who had not pitched since Friday, shouldered the blame.

"The pitch to Werth, it was a good pitch and he just got enough of it," Wagner said. "I tried to bury a slider on Iguchi's hands. I tried to get Chase to roll over on a ball and he put the pitch in the hole. We battled, but I didn't hold up my end."

An hour later, Billy Wagner sat on the Mets' clubhouse couch, unable to believe what had happened.

Wagner gave up a homer to Pat "One-Path Swing" Burrell in the eighth. He then coughed up two more runs in the ninth on three singles from Jayson Werth, Tadahito Iguchi and, finally, Chase Utley, as well as two steals by Werth.

To the delight of a mostly Phillies-centric 42,552 at Citizens Bank Park, who generally resent Wagner after he spat on the town when he left it 2 years ago, he served the Phillies the final win in a four-game sweep, 11-10, their 40th comeback victory of the year.

"Gotta hand it to the fans: It was the best it's been since I've been here," said Burrell, the longest tenured Phillie at 8 years. He also homered in the first inning, part of the 5-0 lead the Phils had by the end of the third. "They stuck around."

"I've got to agree," Utley said. "It was crazy."

The assemblage knew the Mets' lead in the National League East had shrunk from seven games to two, the Phils having won five straight, the Mets having lost the same.

After salvaging a 6-4 mark in their 10-game homestand that began 1-4, the Phillies begin a three-game series tonight in Florida against a team that has lost 13 of 15 and is the worst home team in baseball.

"That's what we have to think about," shortstop Jimmy Rollins said.

Wagner will think about this yesterday for a while. "I didn't hold up my end," he said.

Gordon did. He managed a perfect ninth and moved to 2-2.

That was rare efficiency yesterday from the Phillies' bullpen that had allowed nothing over 10 innings the first three wins before yesterday's seven-run embarrassment, highlighted by the four Antonio Alfonseca surrendered in the Mets' five-run eighth that turned an 8-5 lead into a 10-8 deficit.

And then, Burrell's 24th homer of the season and his first against Wagner since June 7, a solo shot that forced extra innings in a Phillies win. After that game Wagner, who clashed with Burrell in his two seasons as a Phillie, said Burrell had a "one-path swing, and I threw it in its path."

Yesterday, Wagner - in his first outings since being sidelined for four games with a dead arm - was more diplomatic: "He's swinging differently now. He's swinging well. I tried to get that ball up."

The way things were going for the Phillies, he could have thrown it over the backstop and somehow Burrell - who had four homers in the series - would have crushed it.

"I've been here 6 years," said closer Brett Myers, unavailable after throwing three innings in 2 days. "There's been nothing like these last four games."

Monday marked Utley's return to the lineup after 4 1/2 weeks off with a broken hand. He collected three hits, including a homer. Werth, playing in place of gimpy Shane Victorino, got a hit in each of his at-bats in the 9-2 win.

Tuesday, it was Aaron Rowand's 45-foot, game-tying RBI in the eighth, and the two-run, walkoff homer from Ryan Howard that won it in the 10th, 4-2, when Myers pitched two innings. Howard hit another yesterday, his 36th.

Mets pinch-hitter Marlon Anderson executed an illegal slide at second base on a one-out doubleplay ball that ensured the Phillies' 3-2 win Wednesday . . . and there was Burrell's solo homer, then his sacrifice fly, each of which gave the Phillies the lead.

"The way they played ball the last 4 days, you've got to tip your hat to them," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "This - this was a tough, tough loss."

Especially the way it came.

Randolph's starter, Orlando Hernandez, logged his first poor start since July 4, gone after three innings and five runs. Kyle Lohse was nearly as bad; he lasted 3 1/3 innings and gave up three.

Then, the bullpen battle (farce?) began. Geoff Geary gave up two runs to the Mets; Aaron Sele, three to the Phillies; J.C. Romero, (pitching for the fourth time in as many days) and Alfonseca, five in the eighth.

And then . . . Wagner's fastball found Burrell's path in the eighth.

In the ninth, Werth poked a single into left, bringing pinch-hitter Tadahito Iguchi to the plate. After a brief conference with first-base coach Davey Lopes, who actually mimed Wagner's terrible pickoff move, Werth stole second. Then, third.

Iguchi's single to left tied it . . . and then he stole second. That prompted Wagner to intentionally walk Rollins, now meaningless, to face Utley, whom he struck out in the eighth.

Not this time. After a first-pitch slider, Utley just waited for a fastball he could handle. He pulled one, 3-2, into rightfield. Iguchi scored.

Utley was mobbed: "It was pretty sweet." His feelings? "Relief."

Gordon, flabbergasted: "I couldn't believe it."

Wagner, dejected. He sat on the clubhouse couch because his locker chair was missing. He sat there, mopping sweat, while Randolph defended the decision to use him: "He faced the meat of their lineup. That's what he's paid to do." Randolph also said, "Closers usually don't have a very good pickoff move."

Wagner sat there, and absorbed the final bit of punishment meted out to the Mets this series.

"Could be worse, I guess," said Wagner, now 2-2. "I could have to work for a living." *