Mets Fall 7 – 4 In Arizona

Mets In Midst of 1 – 4 West Coast Trip

In the list of things the Mets were counting on to help them bring home the NL East this year was offensive spark provided by Jose Reyes, power from Carlos Delgado, and good setup work by J.J. Putz. Injuries got in the way of those items. But another thing the Mets were counting on was Mike Pelfrey to step up as the team’s #2 starter and form a powerful duo with Johan Santana. Santana has done his part, but Pelfrey has struggled this year.

Pelfrey had another rough start Monday night giving up five earned in six innings. He gave up eight hits and two walks, striking out five, and is now 8 – 8 with a 4.88 ERA on the season. Hardly what the Mets were hoping for out of the #2 spot in the rotation.

On the bright side, Pelfrey was efficent, throwing just 94 pitches in six rough innings. They then brought in Dessens, who had two rough innings, giving up two earned runs on three hits and a walk. So, while neither pitcher was pretty, they both soaked up innings, meaning that the bullpen should be well-rested as the Mets hope to mount a strong finish to what has been a dreadful West Coast trip.

The Mets offense, meanwhile, didn’t fare very well against Doug Davis. Davis had his fourth strong start in a row, giving up just two earned runs in seven innings of work. Yet no matter how good Davis might be (and he didn’t seem all that good to tell the truth), this game was disappointing because of the multiple missed opportunities. Davis began three innings with leadoff walks.  But the Mets were able to do very little with these chances.

Luis Castillo had another strong game, going 2 for 4 with a walk to bring his average above .300. David Wright went 1 for 3 with a walk. Anderson Hernandez had another good game, going 2 for 3 with a run scored and a run batted in. Hernandez also walked once. But other than that, the offense was quiet.

Add in a sloppy play by Daniel Murphy failing to cover first, and a couple sloppy plays by Angel Pagan in center, and you see just how tough a game this was for the Mets.

The Mets are now 10 back in both the NL Wild Card and NL East. Their playoff hopes are slim to none, and hang on the balance each night the Mets step out onto the field.

With Ace on the Mound, Mets Fall Flat

They have an old saying in baseball. Throw strikes. Let them hit the ball. That’s what the eight guys behind you are for. That advice certainly worked for the Pittsburgh Pirates Tuesday night. The combination of Zach Duke, John Grabow, and Matt Capps failed to record a single strikeout. Yet, they found other ways to get 27 outs, giving up just one run in a big 3 – 1 victory over the visiting New York Mets.

The game began as a pitcher’s duel between two aces: Zach Duke of the Pirates and Johan Santana of the Mets, and remained scoreless until the fifth. In the top of the fifth, Ramon Martinez and Jeremy Reed singled. Johan Santana sacraficed, moving Martinez to third and Reed to second. Luis Castillo followed with a sacrafice fly, giving the Mets a 1 – 0 lead.

The Pirates responded with one out in the bottom of the fifth when Jason Jamarillo hit a solo home run to tie the game at one. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, Freddy Sanchez singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. This was followed by conseutive RBI doubles from Nate McLouth and Adam LaRoche giving the Pirates a 3 – 1 lead.

Giving the lead, Zach Duke managed to go one more scoreless inning for the Pirates. He was followed by John Grabow, who pitched a 1-2-3 eighth, and Matt Capps, who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to record his 12th save in 14 chances.

It was a continuation of woes for the Mets offense, who after scoring five runs in the first three innings of Monday’s game have scored just one run in their last fifteen innings at the plate. David Wright is one for his last sixteen. His average is now down to .328 down from a high of .362 on May 22. Fernando Martinez went 0 for 4 Tuesday after a couple of big games. Omir Santos also went 0 for 4.

Of course, it’s hard to get too mad at the Mets offense, seeing as they were without Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Ryan Church, Alex Cora, and Jose Reyes on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Santana went six innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits and a walk. After a nearly perfect beginning to the season, Santana has “struggled” of late. He gave up four runs in seven innings to the Giants. He then had a beautiful start against Boston, but followed that with a subpar start against Washington when he gave up three runs in six innings. And now, in this game against the Pirates, he again gave up three runs in six innings of work, which was particularly surprising giving his record of domination of the Pirates. On the bright side, Sean Green, Ken Takahashi, and Brandon Stokes combined to pitch two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

Meanwhile, the Phillies gained yet another game on the Mets Tuesday night. They dispatched of the Padres to move two and a half games ahead of the Mets in the NL East. Thankfully, for the Mets, the Brewers also lost, so the Mets remain just one and half games back in the NL Wild Card race.

The Mets will aim to end their two-game losing skid Wednesday night as they send Mike Pelfrey (4 – 1, 3.88 ERA) against Ross Ohlendorf (5 – 5, 4.45 ERA) of the Pirates.

Reds Come Alive Against Oliver Perez, Defeating Mets 8 – 6 In Series Finale

Only 17, 837 fans showed up for Thursday afternoon’s series finale between the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. But those who did show up got to see the Reds pick up their first win of the season against an erratic Oliver Perez.

The Mets got off to a good start Thursday, scoring 3 runs with two outs in the top of the third. The inning started with a single from Jose Reyes who was then caught stealing, and a groundout by Daniel Murphy. But with two outs, David Wright walked, Carlos Delgado singled, Carlos Beltran drove in Wright with a single, and then Ryan Church hit a double that drove in both Delgado and Beltran. 3 – 0 Mets.

But then Perez, who had retired the first six hitters of the game, began to unravel in the bottom of the third, giving up four runs on two walks and two hits. The big hit of the inning was a three-run homerun by Joey Votto, who hammered the Mets all series long. 4 – 3 Reds.

The Mets fought back in the fifth, with singles by Murphy and Wright, and then an RBI fielders choice by Carlos Delgado. The game was tied. But once again, the Reds answered. Perez gave up a bunt single, a walk, an RBI single to Votto, a sRBI acrafice fly to Brandon Phillips, and then another walk, before Jerry Manuel finally took him out with two runners on and with the Reds leading 6 – 4. Darren O’Day managed to record the final two outs of the inning but not before letting both inherited runners score on a critical 2-RBI single by Paul Janish. 8 – 4 Reds.

Oliver Perez was horrible. 4.1 innings, 5 hits, 5 walks, and 8 earned runs. Yet, the Mets refused to give up. The bullpen delivered 4 and two-thirds shutout innings, including two sterling innings from Brian Stokes and a good comeback performance from Pedro Feliciano (2 batters faced, 2 strikeouts). Meanwhile, the Mets offense put together a few runs. A sacrafice fly by Alex Cora in the 6th. A sacrafice fly by Carlos Delgado in the 7th. But then the Mets ran into the heart of the Reds bullpen. Arthur Rhodes, David Weathers, and Chad Cordero, who pitched 2 and two-thirds perfect innings to seal the victory for the Reds.

The offense was decent and efficent for the Mets Thursday. They scored 6 runs and only left 5 runners on base. The bullpen was strong. The only real problem was with Oliver Perez. The pressure is really building on Perez, to show Mets fans why he deserves his big paycheck. Mark the date April 15 on your calendar. That’s Oliver Perez’s next start. At Citi Field. ESPN2. Against the San Diego Padres. It will be primetime. It might be exactly what the doctor ordered for Oliver Perez.

Mets Overcome Shaky Pitching to Defeat Reds 9 – 7

What was a five-run lead had dwindled to a precarious two-run lead. The bases were loaded with just one out. New York Mets fans had to be wondering whether it wasn’t, as Yogi Berra might say, just deja vu all over again. But then Frankie Rodriguez regained his control, striking out Alex Gonzalez and forcing Laynce Nix to fly out to deep center. Ballgame over. Mets win.

It wasn’t easy for the New York Mets. After a two-run homerun by Carlos Delgado in the top of the first, Mets starter Mike Pelfrey had a hard time settling in. He gave up a single, a walk, a three-run homerun to Reds first-baseman Joey Votto, and then a double to the Reds star second baseman Brandon Phillips. Pelfrey finally recorded an out against Jay Bruce, the fifth batter of the inning, but then gave up another run, making the score 4 – 2 in Cincinnati’s favor.

Pelfrey figured things out soon enough, and after 5 innings, he left with a 5 – 4 lead. He got that lead courtesy of three Mets runs in the top of the fifth (a RBI groundout by Carlos Delgado and a 2-RBI single from Carlos Beltran). The Mets added to this lead with four runs in the top of the 7th. The big hit of the inning was a 3-RBI double by catcher Brian Schneider.

Yet, with a 9 – 4 lead and just nine outs left to get, the Mets bullpen began to crumble. Pedro Feliciano had an awful time of it in the seventh, giving up two hits and a walk. He left with the Mets still leading 9 – 5. Then, Sean Green gave up a RBI single to Ramon Hernandez before he was finally able to record the last out of the seventh. 9 – 6 Mets after seven.

J.J. Putz gave up a triple and sacrafice fly in the eighth, further narrowing the gap to 9 – 7. And then Frankie Rodriguez came in. Wednesday would prove much harder than Monday for K-Rod. He needed 30 pitches to make it through the ninth Wednesday – just 12 of these 30 were strikes. 

The Reds loaded the bases with just one out in the bottom of the ninth after a Brandon Phillips walk, a popout, an error that put Edwin Encarnacion on first, and a Ramon Hernandez walk. Coming up were the #8 and #9 hitters with the tying run on second and the winning run on first. That’s when K-Rod stepped up and secured the win.

The offense was good. 9 runs (8 earned) off just 10 hits. Pelfrey got off to a rough start before calming down. And the bullpen was shaky. But at the end of the evening, the Mets are 2 – 0 and will go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon.

Mets Eek Out Opening Day Win in Cincinnati

Monday wasn’t a very nice day in Cincinnati. The beginning of the game was delayed by rain, and the sun was nowhere to be seen. Neither team played particularly good baseball. Instead, the 42,177 fans who braved the weather to come to Great American Ball Park Monday afternoon were witness to a somewhat dull and sloppy 2 – 1 Mets victory.

Despite getting 17 men on base, the Mets were able to just plate two runs Monday. Both runs were courtesy of left fielder Daniel Murphy, who hit a solo homerun in the 5th inning and then drove in the second and final run with a 6th inning groundout.  Every Mets starter besides Brian Schneider (0 – 4) reached base, yet only Murphy was able to drive in any runs.

So, in the end, it was a mixed day for the Mets offense. On one hand, a Mets star like Carlos Delgado got two hits and walked once. On the other hand, he left three on base. Carlos Beltran similarly got one hit and walked once, yet also left three on base. The Mets were able to reach base Monday, but they had a hard time getting anyone across home plate.

Luckily, the Mets mediocre offense was bailed out by a solid if not steady performance from ace Johan Santana, and a much-improved bullpen. Santana went 5 and two-thirds innings giving up just one run. Santana scattered only three hits but walked four. It was far from his best game, but Santana was able to keep the Reds off the board until the 6th, when he gave up a sacrifice fly to Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips. Santana then got Jay Bruce out, before he was taken out with two outs in the inning and a runner on second after throwing 99 pitches. Sean Green was able to get the final out of the 6th. Green then set the Reds down in the 7th.  J.J. Putz needed 22 pitches to get through the 8th but he was able to hand a 2 – 1 lead to Frankie Rodriguez, who pitched a smooth 9th innning to earn his first save as a Met.

NL East Scouting Report: The New York Mets

Over the next few days, The Evanston Sports Radar will be beginning our 2009 Mets baseball coverage with a team-by-team summary of the National League East. Starting tonight with the New York Mets infield, I will analyze all five teams in the division to give you all some idea of what each team brings to the table this year.

The New York Mets (Part 1 of 2)

Infield: B … The left side of the Mets infield is arguably the best of the game, but the rest of this infield is average.

Catcher: C- … Defensively speaking, Brian Schneider is one of the best, but on offense, he provides very little. His on-base percentage last year was just .339. This is a definitely weak spot for the Mets.

First Base: B … Carlos Delgado is coming off a brilliant 2008 season, when he came back from a rough 2007 to put up excellent stats for the 2008 Mets. He has the potential to hit .280, hit 30 home-runs, and knock in over 100 runs. He also provides a steady veteran glove at first. He brings a lot to the table, except he’s 36 years old which brings up various concerns about a 2009 decline.

Second Base: C+ … Luis Castillo is only 33 years old, and he’s put together some great seasons in the past. He has the potential to hit .300, steal 20 bases, and drive in a fair amount of runs. And he apparently is in good shape this year. That being said, he has a lot to prove after a miserable 2008 season. 

Third Base: A … David Wright is 26 years old and presumably entering his prime. He’s hit over .300 each of the last three seasons. He’s scored at least 100 runs and hit in over 100 runs each of the last two years. He hit 26 homeruns in 2006, 30 in 2007, and 33 in 2008, so there’s a chance that the total could increase this year again. One of the best in the game.

Shortstop: A- … Jose Reyes, at just 25-years-old, is one of the best shortstops in the game. One can easily see him hitting .300 in 2009, with 15 home-runs, 70 RBI, 120 runs. and 60 stolen bases. He’s that good. The only thing that really leaves me concerned is the fact that Jose’s stolen-base number dropped from a career-high 78 in 2007 to just 56 in 2008. And Jose also has a frustrating tendancy to get into slumps. That being said, he’s a potential All-Star and a huge part of this Mets lineup.

Infield Bench: C+ … Fernando Tatis is coming off an excellent comeback year in 2008, and Alex Cora is coming off an impressive 2008 season with the Red Sox. Yet, this infield bench is for the most part unimpressive.

Outfield: B … For all the recent talk concerning the Mets starting rotation, the Mets season could well hang on the fate of the Mets outfield. If Carlos Beltran can rediscover his power stroke, if Daniel Murphy can continue last season’s success, and if Ryan Church can stay healthy, the Mets may be the team to beat in the NL East. The problem is: those are some awfully big “ifs”.

Left Field: B … Daniel Murphy was one of the Mets surprise stars last year. He hit .313 for the Mets in his rookie campaign with an on-base percentage of nearly .400. His pretty swing convinced manager Jerry Manuel to move Murphy to #2 in the lineup. Certainly, he could be a star in the Mets outfield for years to come, yet there is also a risk that Murphy goes through the dreaded sophomore slump in 2009.

Center Field: A- … Carlos Beltran’s glove is priceless in center field. And he has put together three straight seasons of 110+ RBIs for the Mets. He hits for decent average, and stole 25 bases last year. Yet, one must be concerned about his declining power numbers. Despite having more at-bats than in previous years, Beltran hit just 27 home runs last year, compared to 33 in 2007 and 41 in 2006.

Right Field: B- … If Ryan Church could only figure out a way to stay healthy. When healthy, Church is a tremendous asset. He hits for average and has decent pop. Yet, Church still has to show fans that he can keep it up for an entire season.

Outfield Bench: C+ … Fernando Tatis is a talented player to be able to put in off the bench. And Jeremy Reed and Cory Sullivan are decent. Yet, this bench certainly doesn’t strike me as being anything special.

Phillies @ Mets Preview

Pitching Matchup

Pitching for the Phillies: Brett Myers (8 – 10, 4.40 ERA)

• He has only pitched once against the Mets this year, when he gave up 3 runs in 5 innings.
• Myers has been awful on the road this year, with an ERA above 6.
• Carlos Beltran (9 – 29), Carlos Delgado (7 – 17), and Jose Reyes (12 – 39) have all faced Myers many times and posted excellent career numbers against him. David Wright, on the other hand, has struggled (5 – 25) against Myers.

Pitching for the Mets: Mike Pelfrey (13 – 8, 3.66 ERA)

• Pelfrey hasn’t pitched against Philly since April, when he struggled in two starts against the Phils.
• He has been dominant (2.66 ERA) at home this year.
• Pelfrey is pretty young so most of the Phillies don’t have much experience against him. Utley, however, has a strong 3 hits in 8 at-bats against Pelfrey.

NOTE: The Mets are 41 – 25 at home this year. They are 10 – 5 against the Phillies.

Mets Take Out the Brooms and Mop Up the Brew Crew

The Mets had already won the series against the Milwaukee Brewers. They had already impressed fans and reporters alike. But, that wasn’t enough for the Mets. With some suggesting that the Mets take it easy today and rest their key players for the upcoming weekend series against the Phillies. the Mets refused to lose.

Instead, they came out playing hard as ever, scoring six runs in the top of the first and never looking back en route to a 9 – 2 victory. The first inning onslaught was highlighted by three straight hits, a walk, and then back-to-back homeruns. The first was a grand slam off the bat of Ryan Church. The second a solo shot by Brian Schneider.

It was a truly impressive showing by the offense. On a day when the stars were mostly held in check (Reyes, Wright, Beltran, and Delgado went a combined 4 for 16 with just 2RBI), the other key contributors came through. The Mets got another big day from Daniel Murphy (2 – 4, 2R), and got a big 2RBI single from Nick Evans to put the game out of reach in the eighth inning. And then of course, the big blows from Schneider and Church. Nine runs on ten hits. Another productive day for the Metsies.

And meanwhile, Oliver Perez wasn’t at his best today, but he managed to overcome bouts of wildness to pick up his 10th win of the season. He walked five, but in the end gave up only two earned runs, lasting into the seventh inning. He was then followed by 2 and a third innings of seamless bullpen work.

It was a great day for the Mets, but I do wonder about today’s bullpen management. Don’t get me wrong. I love Jerry Manuel, and think he deserves serious consideration for Manager of the Year. However, I’m not sure why he put Scott Schoenweis in to pitch the 9th, with the team up 9 – 2. Why not give one of the new September call-ups a chance to pitch?

But, at the end of the day, it was the Mets fourth straight win, and if we’re lucky we could end the day with a 3 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies. Every day, it seems like the Mets are rapidly making their way towards an NL East title. Success this weekend would make things even better, and allow us to soon begin talking about magic numbers. But for now, great win. Great offense. Great pitching. Great team.

Late Surge Propels Mets to Victory

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia

New York Mets           6

Philadelphia Phillies   3

For all the insults that have been heaped on our bullpen this year, let’s give them credit when credit is due. After an exhausting Tuesday night when the bullpen combined to pitch 8 strong innings in relief of Pedro Martinez, the bullpen gave up only 1 hit in 3 scoreless innings last night to help the Mets earn a 6 – 3 comeback victory over the Phillies. Great job by Brian Stokes, Pedro Feliciano, Joe Smith, and Luis Ayala tonight.

And give credit to an offense that finally scored runs in the later innings of a ballgame. The Mets put up 4 runs in the top of the eighth, taking a lead from the Phillies that they would never give back. This eighth inning rally included Carlos Delgado’s second homer of the night (and his 30th of the season), another clutch RBI double by Daniel Murphy, and a 2 RBI single by the red-hot Brian Schnieder that gave the Mets some insurance. Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Delgado each got three hits. It was particlarly nice to see a night like that from Beltran, who as has been noted by many others, has had a pretty quiet season thus far.

Over the course of this season, the Mets have had a terrible run differential (giving up far more than they score) in the later innings of ballgames. Tonight, they were +4 in the 7th – 9th innings. The offense and bullpen both deserve credit for that.

And give credit to a team that has been as resiiant this year as they were lackadasical last year. Jerry Manuel really seems to have built a mentally strong team here. This team came back last night and got a big victory following a tough loss, something they have already done several times during Manuel’s short tenure as Mets manager. Yesterday, I said that the Phillies were resilient. Tonight, I can say the same about the Mets. Never count us out! We too have a plethora of good hitters: guys who hit for power, average, and speed. It’s going to be a good NL East race this year. Enjoy!

Hero: Carlos Delgado (3 – 4, 2HR, 3RBI) – he knocked in the first three Met runs of the evening, including his shot in the 8th which tied the game.