No Offense, No Chance – Mets Lose 3rd Straight to Padres

The second batter of the game for the New York Mets, Alex Cora, hit a solo home run to put the Mets up 1 – 0. That was the only run the Mets would score all game Saturday, as they fell 3 – 1 to the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

The Mets really struggled on offense. They managed just five hits in the entire game. They failed to get a single  runner in scoring position from the third inning on. In short, it was another embarrassing display from a Mets offense that can’t seem to get it done against the Padres. Aside from Cora’s two hits and a hit from pinch-hitter Jeremy Reed, the only two other Mets to record hits were Daniel Murphy and Jeff Francoeur. Francouer, who went 1 for 3 with a walk Saturday, is now hitting .260 on the season and has gotten a hit in four consecutive games.

It was also a disappointing night for Bobby Parnell in his first start of the season. Parnell was unable to get out of the third, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks in two and a third innings of work. His early departure forced the Mets to dig deep into the bullpen. The bullpen hero of the night was Tim Redding, whose three innings of scoreless relief not only helped save the bullpen arms but also kept the Mets in the game. They were still down just 2 – 1 in the eighth when David Eckstein’s single gave the Padres a seemingly insurmountable 3 – 1 lead.

The Phillies lost their second straight so the Mets remain eleven back in the NL East. With the Giants’ 4 – 2 victory over the Reds Saturday, the Mets are now 10 back in the NL Wild Card.

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.

For Mets Fans, Putz Lives Up to His Name

Five Run Eighth Inning Dooms Mets in Pittsburgh

The Mets got off to a good start Monday. Jeremy Reed led off with a double in the top of the second. Wilson Valdez followed with a RBI triple. Brian Schneider followed with a single, knocking in Valdez to make it 2 – 0.

The Mets continued the onslaught against Pirates starter Ian Snell in the top of the third. Fernando Martinez walked to lead off the inning, stole second, and then advanced to third on a throwing error by Jason Jamarillo. Daniel Murphy followed with a walk, and then Gary Sheffield grounded into a fielder’s choice making it 3 – 0. Snell got David Wright to fly out for the first out of the inning, but he then gave up another double to Reed. That’s when Valdez struck again, doubling to deep right to make it 5 – 0.

Livan Hernandez, meanwhile, was coming off his best start of the year, a complete game victory against the Washington Nationals. When he put up zeroes in each of the first three innings, it seemed the Mets were well on their way to victory. Then, he ran into trouble in the bottom of the fourth. After striking out Nate McLouth to begin the inning, he gave up a double and a walk. Throughout the inning, he kept missing the strike zone by the smallest of margins, and it seemed like that took him off his game. After the walk, he gave up a 2-RBI triple followed by an RBI groundout that made it 5 – 3. This was followed by a deep hard-hit fly ball that was snagged just a small distance from the fence. After that, things calmed down. Ian Snell recovered after giving up five early runs to throw six solid innings. Meanwhile, Hernandez recovered and made it five-plus innings without any further damage.

In the bottom of the sixth, Pittsburgh threatened and forced Hernandez out of the game. Bobby Parnell came in with runners on first and second and two outs. After a single off Parnell’s glove, the bases were loaded, but Parnell struck out Ramon Vazquez to end the inning. The score was still 5 – 3, and after Pedro Feliciano set down the Pirates 1-2-3 in the seventh, it seemed like the Mets superb bullpen once again had things under control.

But in the top of the eighth, Feliciano gave up a double and a groundout before Manuel lifted him in favor of J.J. Putz. Putz has looked shaky on the mound of late, and on Monday night, he was simply horrendous. Putz faced five batters. He gave up four hits and one walk on just 12 pitches. More importantly, he gave up four runs (three earned) and the runner he inheirited from Feliciano without recording an out. By the end of the inning, the Pirates led 8 – 5. The Mets mustered a small rally in the ninth, but nothing came of it, and in the end the Pirates has dealt the Mets one of their most devastating defeats of the season. And with the Phillies victory later in the evening, the Pirates had pushed the Mets one and a half games back in the NL East standings.

The bullpen, other than Putz, was fairly good. Parnell got out of the bases-loaded jam. Feliciano delivered a solid performance, just giving up that one double to get things started in the bottom of the eighth. Brian Stokes replaced Putz fairly successfully. But Putz’s struggles were enough to derail the entire team.

The offense was good early, but was shut out from the fourth inning on. This failure to tack on runs ended up costing the Mets. On an individual level, Jeremy Reed and Wilson Valdez had fine offensive games. Reed doubled twice, and Valdez doubled, tripled, and knocked in three runs. Valdez did make a big error in the field, but it was an understandable one, a simple error on the transfer, trying to get the ball out of his glove.

The loss is a tough one, but the Mets hope to regain their winning ways tomorrow with Johan Santana on the mound. The game begins at 7:05 Eastern time.

Livan Hernandez Goes the Distance, Mets Win 6 – 1

Santana Will Go For Sweep Tonight

The biggest move the Mets made this winter was getting Francisco Rodriguez. Yet, that was hardly the only move Omar Minaya made this past off-season. He brought in J.J. Putz, Ken Takahashi, and Sean Green as well to help shore up the bullpen. Sean Green aside, those moves have worked out pretty well. He also brought in some key position players. Gary Sheffield was clearly the biggest and best acquisition, but Minaya also brought in solid players like Jeremy Reed and Alex Cora to provide depth. But perhaps, one of Minaya’s biggest and most underated moves was bringing in Livan Hernandez.

Livan Hernandez is 33 years old, and presumably past his prime. Yet, he brings plenty of experience, craftiness, and of course his rubber arm to the Mets. He has been remarkably consistent this year. He is rarely spectacular, but he keeps the Mets in games. As evidence of the statement, Hernandez has lost only one game this entire year. The fact is he may not win every game, but he usually gives his team a chance. And on a starting staff that has been wildly inconsisten this year, Hernandez’s work has to be appreciated.

Last night, against one of the worst teams in baseball, Hernandez was hardly spectacular, but remarkably efficent. In going all the way for the Mets, he gave up nine hits and a walk, but just one earned run. It took 127 pitches, yet at the end of the evening, Livan Hernandez had gotten the first complete game at Citi Field.

Despite their depleted lineup,  the Mets provided plenty of offense for Hernandez. Ramon Martinez hit an RBI double in the bottom of the second. The Mets added another two runs in the bottom of the third, and then with the Mets leading 3 – 1 after six and a half innings, Gary Sheffield put the game out of reach with his three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh.

In other good news, Oliver Perez made his first rehab start for triple-A Buffalo, and presumably, dependent on how Perez does for Buffalo and on how Tim Redding does for the Mets, could rejoin the big club within the next few weeks.

With the Braves loss to the Giants last night, the Mets are now two games ahead of the Braves. They remain a half-game behind the Phillies iu the NL East and 1.5 games behind the Brewers/Cardinals in the Wild Card chase.

Red Sox Batter Mets Bullpen, Win Series Finale

Phillies Win in Extra Innings to Move 1.5 Games Ahead

For a brief moment Sunday, it looked like the New York Mets were on their way to a series sweep of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Led by David Wright and Jeremy Reed RBI singles, the Mets had stormed back from a 3 – 1 defecit. Then, up 4 – 3 in the top of the fifth with runners on first and third, Gary Sheffield hit a single off Tim Wakefield to give the Mets a two-run lead. With Tim Redding doing surprisingly well, it looked like the Mets might be able to pull off a shocking three-game sweep of the Red Sox. And with the New York Yankees hanging tough against the Philadelphia Phillies, it looked like the Mets might end the weekend in first place.

That’s when Tim Redding imploded. In the bottom of the fifth, After retiring Kevin Youklis and Jason Bay on deep fly balls, Redding gave up a single to J.D. Drew. Mike Lowell followed with a deep drive off the Green Monster. Sheffield played the bounce perfectly, holding Lowell to a single. George Kottaras hit a double to make it 5 – 4. And that’s when Manuel came out, and replaced Redding with Sean Green.

The Mets entered Sunday’s game with one of the best bullpens in the major leagues, but Sunday wasn’t a very good day for the Mets relief corps. Red Sox shortstop Nick Green hit Sean Green’s first pitch into right field for a two-RBI single. Green was tagged out trying to stretch it into a double, but by then the Red Sox were already up 6 – 5.

Ken Takahashi came in to pitch the seventh. He walked Dustin Pedroia but also recorded two outs before handing the ball over to Brandon Stokes. Stokes immediately proceeded to walk Youklis before giving up an RBI single to Jason Bay and an RBI double to J.D. Drew. 8 – 5 Red Sox.

 Stokes got into more trouble in the eighth. He gave up consecutive singles to Kottaras and Green to start the inning. After getting Jacoby Ellsbury to ground out, Pedroia hit an RBI single, and two batter later, Youklis hit a three-run homerun to give the Red Sox a 12 to 5 lead.

It was a rough day for the Mets bullpen. Sean Green actually made a pretty good pitch to Nick Green, but Nick took it the other way for the 2-RBI single. Ken Takahashi was OK too, but ended up being charged with an earned run. Meanwhile, Brandon Stokes was awful, giving up five earned runs in just one and a third innings. On the bright side, Pedro Felicano pitched a scoreless eighth inning, his ninth straight appearance without giving up a run. His ERA is now down to 2.50.

Meanwhile, while the Mets bullpen was giving away the game, the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees were battling it out at Yankee Stadium. Down 3 – 2 in the ninth, Melky Caberea hit a game-tying single off Phillies closer Brad Lidge to send the game into extra innings. But in the top of the 11th, Carlos Ruiz hit a double, driving in Chase Utley to give the Phillies a 4 – 3 lead. Chad Condrey shut the Yankees out in the bottom of the inning to secure the win for the Phillies, who now lead the Mets by one and a half games in the NL East. 

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves completed a three-game sweep of the Blue Jays, defeating Toronto by a score of 10 to 2. Atlanta has won seven of their last ten, and are now tied for second place in the NL East with the Mets.

Pair of Ninth Inning Comebacks Puts Mets Back in Striking Distance of First

Two-Run Santos Homerun Lifts Mets to 3 - 2 Victory Over Red Sox

Despite a brilliant start from Mike Pelfrey, an errorless game by the Mets defense, and an excellent relief appearence from Pedro Feliciano, the New York Mets were down to their final out Saturday afternoon. There they were, two outs in the top of the ninth, a runner on first, and reserve catcher Omir Santos at the plate. On the mound was Jonathan Papelbon, perhaps the best closer in the major leagues. That’s when the improbable occured. That’s when Santos hit a shot to left-center field that bounced high off the Green Monster and back iunto play. At first, it was ruled in-play, but after much discussion, the umpires correctly ruled that it was a home run. 3 – 2 Mets. Suddenly, the Mets were on line for their second straight victory over the Boston Red Sox.

The Mets got off to a good start Saturday as Carlos Beltran hit a two-out single in the top of the first off Josh Beckett. After a Beckett throwing error allowed Beltran to advance to second, Gary Sheffield hit a single to put the Mets in front 1 – 0. Sheffield’s average is now up to .260, and he has 10 RBIs and 19 runs on the season.

Unfortunately for the Mets, the Red Sox stormed back with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia started the inning with consecutive singles. After a David Ortiz strikeout, Ellsbury and Pedroia managed a double steal, and were then brought home by a Kevin Youklis 2-RBI single. 2 – 1 Red Sox.

But what started out as an offensive game quickly turned into a masterful pitcher’s duel between Mike Pelfrey of the Mets and Josh Beckett of the Red Sox. Pelfrey ended up going seven innings for the Mets. In those seven innings, he gave up just six hits, one walk and struck out eight. Meanwhile, Beckett pitched eight beautiful innings, giving up just five hits and one run. The run was unearned, a result of Beckett’s own error in the first.

The Red Sox still led 2 - 1 as the game headed into the bottom of the eighth. Mike Pelfrey had already thrown 111 pitches,  so Pedro Felicano was brought in to pitch the eighth.  Feliciano was excellent, retiring the Red Sox 1-2-3. Saturday’s successful appearance was yet another example of a rathe r remarkable turnaround for Feliciano, who had a 4.5o ERA on May 2. Now, just weeks later, his ERA is down to 2.65.

Then, in the top of the ninth, Papelbon walked Sheffield, struck out David Wright and Jeremy Reed, before surrendering the game-winning blow to Santos. Things got a little shaky in the bottom of the ninth, when J.J. Putz walked the leadoff batter, but then he retired Jason Bay, J.D. Drew, and Mike Lowell to seal the victory.

Meanwhile, the New York Yankees scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies. The Yankees entered the inning down 4 – 2, but managed to muster three hits and three runs off Phillies closer Brad Lidge to win the game. They tied the game on a two-run homerun by Alex Rodriguez. Yankees outfielder Melky Cabrera got the game-winning blow, doubling in Robinson Cano to win the game.

So, the Mets are now just a half-game behind the Phillies for first place in the NL East. The Braves are a half-game behind the Mets and one and a half behind the Phillies. Meanwhile, the Florida Marlins are fading. They’re now five and half games out of first place in the NL East.

Santana Leads Mets to Big Win at Fenway

Despite 5 – 3 Win, Mets Remain 1.5 Games Behind Phillies.

If there’s one combination that’s worked for the New York Mets this season, it’s Johan Santana, Bobby Parnell, and Francisco Rodriguez. All three pitchers have ERAs below two and are a major part of why the Mets are contending for a playoff berth as June approaches.

The Mets came into Friday night needing a win after four straight losses on the West Coast. With their ace pitcher on the mound against Daisuke Matsuzaka, the struggling Red Sox starter, the Mets needed to win this game. It wasn’t easy, but in the end, they were able to emerge with the win.

The Mets took a 1 – 0 lead in the top of the second on a solo shot by Gary Sheffield. The Red Sox tied it in the bottom of the second with a solo blast by catcher Jason Varitek, but the Mets would take the lead for good in the top of the fourth. Ryan Church started the inning with a fly out to center, but then Carlos Beltran doubled, Sheffield walked, and David Wright hit an RBI single to give the Mets a 2 – 1 lead. After Jeremy Reed grounded into a fielders choice, Omir Santos and Ramon Martinez each hit RBI singles to give the Mets a 4 – 1 lead.

The Red Sox trimmed the Mets lead to one in the bottom of the fourth. With one out and runners on second and third, shortstop Ramon Martinez made his 4th error of the season in just 19 chances, allowing two runs to score. Johan Santana escaped the inning without any further damage, and after four innings at Fenway, the Mets were still holding onto a 4 – 3 lead.

Santana held the Red Sox scoreless for the rest of the night. He threw a season-high 118 pitches on the night, 79 for strikes, and left after seven innings. In those seven innings, he gave up just three runs (two earned) on seven hits. He walked only one batter and struck out eight. Meanwhile, the Mets managed to give Santana a little more security in the top of the 7th, when Angel Pagan singled in Luis Castillo to give the Mets a 5 – 3 lead.

It was a heroic effort from Johan Santana who threw a ton of pitches to help the Mets end their losing streak. It was an efficent night for the Mets offense who scored five runs on just eight hits and left just five runners on base. And it was a good night for the Mets bullpen. Bobby Parnell pitched a perfect eighth, lowering his season ERA to 1.86. Then, Francisco Rodridguez pitched a perfect ninth to record his 12th save of the season.

It was a mixed day for Mets third basemen David Wright, who went 1 for 3 with a walk. He drove in his 29th run of the season, yet he also made his 7th error of the season which ties him for the league lead among third basemen.

Unfortunately for the Mets, the Phillies also won on Friday night, defeating the New York Yankees by a 7 to 3 margin. The Phillies remain one and a half games ahead of the Mets in the NL East. The St. Louis Cardinals also won Friday, shutting the Royals out 5 – 0, so the Mets also remain two and a half games behind the Cardinals in the NL Wild Card standings.

The Mets will send Mike Pelfrey (4 – 1, 4.61 ERA) to the hill Saturday evening to take on Red Sox ace Josh Beckett (4 – 2, 5.85 ERA). The game is at 7:10 EST.

The Mets Lose A Laugher

Part of the magic of baseball, or perhaps of any great sport, is that anything can happen. No two games are the same. The only thing one can expect is the unexpected. And so it was Monday night, as the Mets made mind-boggling error after mind-boggling error in their 11-inning loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Mets starter Tim Redding, just called up from triple-AAA Buffalo, got off to a bad start Monday night as he gave up two runs in the bottom of the first.

The Mets, however, would get one of those runs back in the top of the second on a Ramon Martinez RBI groundout, driving in David Wright, who had doubled to lead off the inning. Meanwhile, Redding found a groove, and ended up going six innings, giving up just the two runs on two hits and four walks.

Yet, for the first several innings of the ballgame, Dodgers starter Randy Wolf stymied what had once seemed a potent Mets offense. In fact, the Mets were still down 2 – 1 when Angel Pagan led off the top of the eighth with a double to deep left field. After Luis Castillo and Carlos Beltran failed to plate the runner, Gary Sheffield hit a little squibber that somehow managed to find the outfield grass, and even more miracously, allowed Pagan to score the game-tying run.

But this was not the Mets night out in the field. The Mets had already made one error (a Martinez fielding error) as the game headed into the later innings. Then, things really started to go sour. In the eighth, Martinez made a throwing error that nearly cost the Mets a run. In the ninth, Sean Green made a horrible throw to first on a ground ball, that put Jean Pierre on third and nearly let him score.

But it wasn’t until the 11th when the mental errors really began to kill the Mets. In the top of the 11th, it appeared that the Mets had taken the lead when Ryan Church singled to left, and Angel Pagan then hit a ball into deep right field. Church came in to score. But wait, he didn’t score because he had never touched third base. The Dodgers touched third base. Three outs. Inning over. Still a tie game.

Then, in the bottom of the 11th, Brian Stokes made his only real mistake of the ball game, walking Mark Loretta to lead off the inning. Then, the next batter, Xavier Paul, hit a ball to left-center field that should’ve been caught but wasn’t due to poor communication between left-fielder Angel Pagan and center-fielder Carlos Beltran. After an intentional walk, the Mets brought the infield and outfield in, literally bringing Carlos Beltran in to play short center field.

Stokes managed to record the first out of the inning on a short fly ball, and then got Orlando Hudson to hit a sharp grounder to first that should’ve at least led to a force out at home if not an inning-ending double play, except Jeremy Reed in trying to get the out at home, threw the ball past the catcher. Ball game over. The Dodgers win, or more accurately, the Mets lose.

It was almost laughable. Church forgetting to touch third. And then, five fielding errors, each one sillier than the last. Most were rookie mistakes. Ramon Martinez, who made two errors, is just up from the minors. Angel Pagan, in left field, also just got back to the majors, and was probably too nervous to hear Beltran calling him off. And then Jeremy Reed, not used to playing first base, got too caught up in the situation, too caught up in trying to make that spectacular double play, and ended up throwing the entire game away.

On the bright side, the bullpen was brilliant for the Mets. Bobby Parnell pitched a scoreless seventh, J.J. Putz worked around Martinez’s second error and a James Loney single to pitch a scoreless eighth. Sean Green was shaky, but managed to overcome his own error and general wildness to pitch a scoreless ninth.

And then what can you say about Brian Stokes? He was fantastic on Monday night. He pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the tenth, and did his best to work through adversity in the eleventh. He made one mistake. The leadoff walk, but after that was perfect. Forcing a fly ball that should’ve been caught. Then, one batter later, getting Rafael Furcal to hit a short fly to left, too short to score the run, with the bases loaded and none out. Then, getting a grounder to Jeremy Reed, what should’ve been a double play ball. Should’ve, would’ve, could’ve. The Mets lost by a score of 3 to 2.

Now, the Mets and Phillies are tied for first. The Braves are two and a half back. The Marlins are three back.

Many Opportunities, Nothing to Show for It

Matt Cain was all over the place Sunday evening. In the top of the second, right after Bengie Molina singled to put the Giants ahead 1 – 0, Cain walked the first three hitters. Bases loaded. No outs. The perfect chance to hit it big. But then Jeremy Reed hits into a double play and Mike Pelfrey grounds out. In the fifth, Mike Pelfrey walked to leadoff the inning, but then the 1, 2, and 3 hitters went down in order. Inning over. In every inning except the 6th and 9th, the Mets had at least one base runner. And yet, at the end of the night, the Mets were unable to score, shut out for the first time this season.

David Wright had another good game for the Mets, singling in the third and walking twice. Carlos Beltran singled and walked. Yet overall, the Mets offense was stymied by a wild yet effective Matt Cain. Cain would end up going six innings for the win. Bob Howry, Jeremy Affeldt, and Brian Wilson each piched an inning out of the bullpen to secure the 2 – 0 win. It was a particularly important outing for Wilson, who had already lost two games in the series.

Meanwhile, Mike Pelfrey struggled for the Mets. He gave up only two runs in six innings of work, but he clearly had his struggles on the mound. He gave up six hits, two walks, balked three times, and looked visibly frustrated as the game went on.

The Mets, however, did get two nice comeback outings from their bullpen. Ken Takahashi pitched a scoreless seventh after giving up runs in his two previous outings, and Sean Green pitched a 1 – 2 – 3 eighth. Green has struggled over the past month. His ERA was 2.45 after a scoreless outing against Milwaukee on April 19. It was 8.80 going into tonight’s game, so the scoreless inning was huge for Green and the Mets.

The Phillies beat the Nationals on Sunday, to move just a half-game behind the Mets. The Braves game against Arizona was postponed Sunday and are now just two and a half behind the Mets. The Marlins lost yet again Sunday and remain three and a half games behind the Mets.

Meanwhile, the Mets, if they weren’t leading their division, would be just a half-game back in the wild card chase, which is certainly good news. The Mets will now head to Los Angeles to take on the streaking Dodgers.

Marlins Blow Save But Prevail 5 – 4 Over the Mets

It was a rally that simply led to more heartbreak for the New York Mets Friday against the Florida Marlins. In the top of the ninth, down 4 – 3 to the Florida Marlins, Carlos Beltran started the rally with a one-out single. Ryan Church then followed with another single, moving Beltran to second. Ramon Castro subsequently fouled out, leaving the Mets with just one out to play with. Up came Jeremy Reed, a 27 year-old backup outfielder who was picked by the White Sox but spent the last five years with the Mariners. In his first Mets at-bat, Reed came up big, hitting an RBI single that knotted the game at 4.

But then, the Mets bullpen brought more heartbreak. Pedro Feliciano, who struggled last year and has gotten off to a horrible start this year, was brought in to pitch the bottom of the ninth. It didn’t go well. One walk and two singles later, Feliciano walked off the mound a loser. After two wins to begin the season, the Mets were back to .500, two games behind the first-place Marlins.

John Maine pitched a solid game for the Mets. He gave up only two hits and one walk over five innings. The problem: both hits were solo home runs. 2 runs in 5 innings. Solid, but then in came a always shaky bullpen. In the sixth, Sean Green gave up one run, a walk, and three hits, including an RBI single to Jorge Cantu. Then, in the seventh, Bobby Parnell gave up three hits, including an RBI single to Hanley Ramirez. 4 – 3 Marlins. Putz pitched well in the eighth, but then in came Feliciano in the ninth. Another rough day for the Mets bullpen. Another rough day for a Mets offense that scored just three runs and left 14 men on base. And ultimately, another loss.