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.

Redding Plays Ace and the Mets Take it in Extras

I couldn’t post after the Mets final defeat in Pittsburgh. I was simply too frustrated. 11 – 6. The Pirates ruthlessly jumped on Mike Pelfrey. Pelfrey couldn’t even make it through the fourth Thursday. In his three and two thirds innings, he was charged with nine runs (eight earned). He gave up nine hits,  four walks, and he hit a batter.

Ken Takahashi, Sean Green, and Pedro Feliciano pitched nicely out of the bullpen, but even the bullpen was marred by another bad performance from J.J. Putz. Putz pitched an inning Thursday, giving up two earned runs on three hits. Now, Putz is in line to get elbow surgey, and will be out for the next couple months.

Just about the only good news for the Mets on Thursday was the reappearance of Carlos Beltran, who got two hits, including a solo home run in the fourth inning, and a two-hit day for David Wright, who had been slumping recently.

But baseball is a strange and unpredictable game. On Friday, the Mets sent Tim Redding out to the mound. Redding has been awful all season. But he pitched like an ace against the Washington Nationals, going six innings and giving up just one run. Yet, the Mets had their own troubles against Nationals pitcher Shairon Martis, and going into the later innings, the Mets found themselves tied 1 – 1 with the worst team in the major leagues.

Thankfully for the Mets, the bullpen was strong Friday, holding the Nationals scoreless until the Mets were finally able to get some runs in the tenth. Brandon Stokes pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, Parnell worked his way out of trouble in the eighth, and Sean Green continued his recent string of successful outings with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

That’s when the Mets finally rallied. Luis Castillo hit a soft single through the infield to lead off the inning. Carlos Beltran followed with a walk. And then David Wright hit them both in with a double into the right-field gap. Those two runs would prove to be more than enough for Francisco Rodriguez who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to secure the 3 – 1 victory. Rodriguez now has 15 saves on the season.

Of the Mets eight hits Friday, four were from David Wright. Friday night’s performance combined with Wright’s two hit performance on Thursday seems to indicate that Wright is finally out of his slump, which is good news for a Mets team that badly needs his bat.

With the Phillies loss to the Dodgers, the Mets are now just three back in the NL East. The Cardinals lost as well, so the Mets are now just one back in the Wild Card chase. The Mets hope for more success Saturday night when they send John Maine to the hill.

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.

Redding Rocked on Saturday, Mets Come Back Sunday for Series Win

Mets End Weekend 1/2 Game Behind Phillies

Saturday’s game was simply a contrast of two pitchers. On one hand, the Marlins sent out their young sterling ace Josh Johnson, who pitched an excellent game. 7 innings. 5 hits. 2 walks. (That’s a baserunner per inning.) And just 2 earned runs. Josh Johnson now has a 4 – 2 record, a 2.66 ERA, and a 1.09 WHIP. Meanwhile, the Mets sent out their aging replacement starter Tim Redding. He pitched horribly for the Mets. 4-plus innings. 8 hits. 2 walks. (That’s 2.5 baserunners per inning.) And 7 earned runs. Redding is now 0 – 2 on the season, with a 9.20 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. Certainly it’s going to be hard to win and pitch well when you’re giving up that many baserunners.

The Marlins offense clearly had Redding’s number Saturday. Emilio Bonifacio, Hanley Ramirez, and Jorge Cantu each had two hits. Jeremy Hermida, however, was the offensive star for the Marlins, knocking an RBI single in the first and a 3-run home run in the top of the fifth to put the game out of reach.

Hermida’s home run also served to knock Redding out of the game. He was replaced by Sean Green who pitched a scoreless inning. Green was followed by Ken Takahashi, who pitched three scoreless innings for the Mets. Brandon Stokes added a scoreless ninth. It was a truly great day for the Mets bullpen. 5 innings. 3 hits. 1 walk. 0 runs. But the damage had already been done. The Marlins seven runs against Tim Redding was more than enough, and they would end up winning 7 – 3.

Meanwhile, the Phillies defeated the Nationals at home Saturday to move a half game ahead of the Mets for first place in the NL East.

The Mets jumped on the board early against Chris Volstad on Sunday, when Angel Pagan doubled in Wilson Valdez in the bottom of the third to give the Mets a 1 – 0 lead.

Meanwhile, the Mets got an excellent start from John Maine, who went six shutout innings before leaving the game due to illness. He gave up just three hits and two walks and needed just 82 pitches to get through six innings. If not for the illness, who knows how long he could have gone.

Maine was relieved by Pedro Feliciano, who pitched a 1-2-3 seventh for the Mets. Perhaps most importantly, Feliciano threw 10 of 13 pitches for strikes Sunday. His control really has been most impressive this season. He hasn’t walked a hitter in his last seven appearances and has just 3 walks against 19 strikeouts on the year.

The Mets remained in front by the slimmest of margins until the bottom of the seventh, when Fernando Martinez and Omir Santos each hit RBI doubles to give the Mets a 3 – 0 cushion.

But given a 3 – 0 lead in the eighth, J.J. Putz got into trouble, walking Ross Gload with one out. He then gave up a single to Chris Coghlan, and an RBI single to Emilio Bonifacio. With the Marlins now down by just two runs and with the tying run on first, Manuel replaced Putz with Bobby Parnell. Parnell proceeded to give up an RBI single to Hanley Ramirez before striking out Jorge Cantu and inducing a fly out from Jeremy Hermida. After seven and a half at Citi Field, the Mets were clinging onto a 3 – 2 lead.

The Mets failed to score in the bottom of the eighth, but it didn’t matter. Francisco Rodriguez pitched another scoreless ninth for the Mets, walking one and striking out three to earn his 14th save in 14 chances. Unfortunately for the Mets, the Phillies also won Sunday, so the Mets remain a half game behind Philadelphia for first place in the NL East. On the bright side, St. Louis lost Sunday, so the Mets are now just a half-game back in the NL Wild Card chase.

Fernando Martinez Watch

Fernando Martinez, the highly touted prospect for the New York Mets, got his first two hits Saturday. In his first 16 at-bats in the big leagues, he has a single, two doubles and has struck out just three times. He has yet to earn a walk. In the field, he has yet to make an error.

Mets Defeat Marlins in 11, Hold Onto First Place

It was a marvelous pitchers duel Friday night as young Sean West of the Florida Marlins went up against Mike Pelfrey of the New York Mets. Both pitchers performed spectacularly. West went seven innings, giving up just four hits, one walk, and one earned run. The one real blemish was the fifth inning home run West gave up to Omir Santos. West probably could’ve went longer too. He had thrown just 91 pitches when he was pinch hit for in the top of the eighth. Meanwhile, Mike Pelfrey went seven and two-thirds, giving up just five hits and a walk, and striking out six. The only run he gave up was in the fourth, when he surrendered a triple to Chris Coghlan and then gave up a sacrafice fly to Dan Uggla.

Then, it became a battle of the bullpens. Pelfrey was taken out with runners at first and second and two outs in the top of the eighth. He was replaced by Bobby Parnell, who got Dan Uggla to ground out for the final out of the inning. Then, Marlins reliever Kiko Calero loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth but was able to escape with no harm done. In the ninth, Francisco Rodriguez gave up one hit, struck out two, and kept the Marlins off the board. A combination of Marlins relievers held the Mets scoreless in the bottom of the ninth.

So, the game was headed to extra innings. Putz managed to pitch a perfect tenth. Dan Meyer would do the same for the Marlins. In the elventh, Putz recorded two outs, but let a runner get to third. That’s when Pedro Feliciano came in, and managed to get another huge out. Still 1 – 1 after 10 and a half at Citi Field. And then Sheffield walked to begin the bottom of the eleventh, stole second, and was driven home by Omir Santos soft line drive into left-center. Game over. Mets win!

Overall, it was not a good night for either offense. Both teams ended up leaving runner after runner on base. The Marlins left seven on base, the Mets left ten. That being said, the Mets did get some very good individual performances from some unexpected faces. Omir Santos continued to surprise, blasting the solo home run in the fifth as well as the game-winning single in the 11th. Santos is now hitting .276 on the season. And then Ramon Martinez had a multi-hit game as well, going two for three to riase his average to .167. And once again, Gary Sheffield was in the thick of things, particularly with his single to start the Mets 11th inning rally. David Wright, on the other hand, had a rough day, going 0 for 5 with two strikeouts, including a strikeout with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth.

The Phillies had already won by the time the Mets game headed into extra innings, so first place was at stake in Friday night’s game. With their big win, the Mets remain a half game ahead of the Phillies in the NL East.

GAME NOTE: After a rough stretch, J.J. Putz has had three straight scoreless appearances, earning one hold and a save over that stretch.

Santana Stumbles But Mets Win Regardless

Phillies Loss Combined With Mets Win Puts Mets In First 

Everything seemed so perfect. The Mets were leading 3 – 0 with their ace pitcher and possibly the best pitcher in all of baseball, Johan Santana, on the mound. Meanwhile, the Phillies were off to a bad start against the Florida Marlins. It seemed the Mets would end the night in first for sure.

And then, Santana stumbled. Up 3 – 0 in the top of the fourth, Santana walked Ryan Zimmerman and then gave up a two-run home run to Adam Dunn. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the Nationals would load the bases off Santana, on a single and two walks. With two outs and the bases loaded, Santana proceeded to issue his fourth walk of the inning, a walk to Christian Guzman that tied the game at 3. Santana would escape the inning without any further damage, but for a second, it looked as if the Mets night might not turn out so well after all.

Santana thankfully regained his control after that disastorous top of the fourth, getting the Nationals out 1-2-3 in the top of the fifth and the top of the sixth. Then, fortune turned the Mets way in the bottom of the sixth, when with Gary Sheffield on first, Daniel Murphy hit a high fly ball to right field. The ball apparently hit the right-field wall, and when Sheffield tried to score on the play, he was tagged out at home. Murphy ended up on second with a double. But then the umpires examined the video, and decided that the ball had bounced off the Subway sign overhang above the right-field wall and thus was a home run. 5 – 3 Mets. It appears the umpires were wrong. It appears it was just a double, but regardless of whether the call was correct or not, the Mets now had the lead.

And from there on, it was easy. Bobby Parnell and Pedro Feliciano combined to pitch a relatively easy top of the seventh. The Mets then added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh. The big hit in the seventh was Daniel Murphy’s 2-RBI double, which gave him an impressive 5 RBIs on the day.

Manuel brought in J.J. Putz to pitch the top of the eighth, and after a leadoff walk, Putz got Ronnie Belliard to ground into a double play and then got Willie Harris to ground out to end the inning. Still 7 – 3 Mets. Francisco Rodriguez had a little trouble in the ninth, giving up an RBI single to Nick Johnson after Daniel Murphy’s error allowed Christian Guzman to reach base. But it was over. Rodriguez struck out Zimmerman to win the ballgame and clinch the sweep of the Nationals.

It was a strange day for Johan Santana. The fourth inning aside, he was phenomenal. His final numbers were three hits, six walks, 11 strikeouts, and 120 pitches in just six innings of work. The bullpen was strong.

The offense was good too although they left nine runners on base. Angel Pagan got two more hits from the leadoff spot. Luis Castillo was spectacular, getting two hits, scoring two runs, and walking three times from the two spot. Murphy was tremendous too, ending with three hits and of course the five RBIs. The one downer was David Wright, who went 1 for 5 with four strikeouts.

With the Phillies losing 6 – 2 to the Florida Marlins shortly after the Mets game ended, the Mets  are now in first place in the NL East. They are a half game up on the Phillies. Meanwhile, the Braves are currently losing to the Giants, and if they do end up losing, then the Mets will be three games up on the Braves.

The Mets have an off day before they begin a home series with the Florida Marlins on Friday night.

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.

Mets Greet Home Fans With 5 – 2 Victory Over Nationals

Mets Bullpen Bends But Doesn’t Break Against Nationals

Over 41,000 fans greeted the Mets at Citi Field Monday night as they returned home from a 5 – 5 road trip through San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston. And the Mets, in turn, treated their fans to a 5 – 2 victory over the last-place Washington Nationals.

The Nationals got on the board first Monday, when Wil Nieves hit an RBI single in the second-inning to give the Nats a 1 – 0 lead, but the Mets responded just one inning later with an RBI single by Carlos Beltran. The game remained tied at 1 until the sixth inning, when Gary Sheffield hit a 3-run homerun to give the Mets a 4 – 1 lead. Ramon Martinez added a sacrafice fly to make it 5 – 1.

The Nationals threatened in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings. In the seventh, Bobby Parnell, coming in for John Maine, walked the first batter he faced. He struck out pinch-hitter Justin Maxwell, but then gave up a single to Carlos Guzman and walked Nieves to load the bases with just one out. Next up was Nationals third-basemen Ryan Zimmerman, who Parnell proceeded to walk. With the score 5 – 2 and the bases still loaded, Jerry Manuel brought in Pedro Feliciano to face Adam Dunn. After Dunn flied out to deep center, Manuel replaced Feliciano with J.J. Putz, who was able to record the final out of the seventh.

In the eighth, J.J. Putz walked two, but was able to keep the Nationals from scoring. Then, in the ninth, Nick Johnson singled off Francisco Rodriguez, and Zimmerman walked again, but once again, the Mets bullpen was able to avoid damage, as Rodriguez struck out Austin Kearns and got Willie Harris to pop out to preserve the 5 – 2 victory.

It was a scary but encouraging victory for the Mets. John Maine had a nice comeback outing Monday. After giving up five runs (four earned) against the Dodgers, Maine gave up just one run in six innings of work against the Nationals. It wasn’t his best performance.  Yet, it was a solid performance, one that was good enough to get Maine his fourth win of the season.

Meanwhile, the bullpen was shaky yet ultimately effective. In three innings of work, the bullpen (Parnell, Feliciano, Putz, and Rodriguez) gave up two hits and six walks but only gave up one run. Parnell’s performance was discouraging, but Feliciano recorded a crucial out with the bases loaded, and Putz and Rodriguez showed mental toughness getting out of jams.

On offense, there were lots of good signs. David Wright had more than one walk for the fifth time in eight games. Meanwhile, Gary Sheffield had two hits, including the three-run home run. His average is now up to .277 with 4 home runs and 14 RBI. Angel Pagan walked twice in the leadoff spot. And Beltran got another two hits to raise his average to an astounding .367.

Monday’s victory combined with losses by Philadelphia and Atlanta, put the Mets all alone in second place and just a half game out of first. Tonight, the Mets will send Livan Hernandez against Craig Stammen. The game is scheduled to start at 7:10 EST.

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.

Dodgers Quiet the Bats and Bring Out the Brooms

Mets Lose Fourth Straight, Fall 2 – 1 to Dodgers

Every single game at Dodger Stadium was close, but in the end the Mets were unable to win a single game. The Dodgers beat the Mets 3 – 2 in 11 innings on Monday, beat them again on Tuesday by a score of 5 to 3, and then secured the series sweep with a 2 - 1 victory Wednesday night. The Mets have now lost four straight.

The Dodgers got off to a nice start Wednesday. Dodgers starter Jeff Weaver managed to work around a Carlos Beltran double and David Wright walk in the top of the first. Then, in the bottom of the first, Juan Pierre and Rafael Furcal each singled. After Orlando Hudson grounded out, moving Pierre to third, Andre Ethier hit a sacrafice fly, putting the Dodgers up 1 – 0.

The Mets got the run back in the top of the third, when Luis Castillo hit a one-out single, and Carlos Beltran hit another double to bring Castillo in. After that, the two teams traded zeroes until the fateful bottom of the eighth. J.J Putz got the first out of the inning, but then gave up a single to Hudson, a walk to Ethier, and then an RBI single to Russell Martin. Putz was able to escape the inning without giving up any more runs, but by then, the damage had been done. The Mets got a runner to second in the top of the ninth off ,Jonathan Broxton, but were unable to score, and so the Dodgers prevailed by a score of 2 to 1.

It was another disappointing day for the Mets, who failed to capitalize on an excellent start from Livan Hernandez. Hernandez pitched seven strong innings for the Mets, giving up seven hits but just one run. Perhaps, most critically, he walked only one.

Yet, it was all for naught, as the Mets continued their struggles at the plate. Weaver pitched five solid innings for the Dodgers, and was followed by a strong crew of relief pitchers, who held the Mets to just three hits in four innings of work. There were some good individual performances once again. David Wright had yet enother good game for the Mets, walking twice and singling to center. Beltran, meanwhile, doubled twice, drove in the only run of the game, and walked. Yet, overall the Mets were horrible on offense. They managed just seven hits Wednesday and left nine runners on base.

The Phillies lost Wednesday, so the Mets remain just one game back in the NL East. Atlanta trounced the Colorado Rockies and are in third place, just a half-game behind the Mets and just one and a half behind the Phillies. The Cardinals also won so the Mets are now two games back in the NL Wild Card standings.