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.

After Marvelous May, Mets Hope For Continued Success in June

After a 19 – 9 May, the New York Mets begin the month of June with a 7-game road trip through Pittsburgh and Washington. All of these games should be winnable. Pittsburgh is 22 – 28 on the season, with a rather mediocre 12 – 11 home record. Washington is currently the worst team in the majors, with a 13 – 36 record (7 – 16 at home).

Things get a little tougher when the Mets return to New York. After an off day, they have a crucial three game home series against the Philadelphia Phillies, who are currently a half game ahead of the Mets in the NL East. On Friday, the Mets head up to Yankee Stadium for the first half of this year’s Subway Series against the New York Yankees (29 – 21, 14 – 9 at home) .

On June 15, the Mets have another Monday off-day before heading to Baltimore for a three-game series against the last-place Orioles. The Orioles are 23  – 28 on the year, with a 16 – 13 record at Camden Yards.

Then, on June 19, the Mets begin a pivotal 10-game homestand with a weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays (25 – 28 overall, 12 – 17 road). This is followed by a four-game series against the  St. Louis Cardinals (29 – 21, 12 – 12 road), who currently have a half-game lead over the Mets in the NL Wild Card standings. The series then concludes with a three game weekend series against the Yankees. The last game of the series will be featured on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.

The Mets will end the month in Milwaukee, where the Brewers are 16 – 9 on the year.

Off-Day Notes: The Braves, The NL Wild Card, Inside the Mets Dugout, and What Lies Ahead

An Eye on the Braves

After getting swept in San Francisco, the Atlanta Braves began their four-game series in Arizona tonight with yet another loss. This time, the Braves were stifled by Diamondbacks ace Dan Haren, and ended up losing 5 – 1. They are now three and a half games behind the first-place New York Mets.

The NL Wild-Card Scene

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Chicago Cubs 2 – 1 at Wrigley Field tonight, guided by seven beautiful innings from Randy Wolf and a 2-inning save from Ramon Transoco. The Cubs are now 23 – 22, three and a half games out of the wild card lead. The Giants and Braves are also three and half back.

None of the other wild-card contenders played tonight. Milwaukee remains in the lead, holding a half game lead over the Reds, a one game lead over the Phillies, a three game lead over the Padres, and a three and half game lead over the Cubs, Braves, and Giants. If the Mets were to fall out of first place, they would be just one half game behind the Brew Crew.

In the Mets Dugout

Carlos Beltran has hit in six consecutive games…Daniel Murphy’s three-hit, five-RBI performance Wednesday was his first multi-hit performance since an April 19 home game against the Brewers. The performance raised his batting average 16 percentage points from .246 to .262…In the bullpen, Pedro Feliciano hasn’t given up an earned run since May 2. Since that date, he has pitched eight and two-thirds innings, giving up just seven hits and one walk. His WHIP is 0.96 this year and opposing hitters are hitting just .208 off Feliciano.

Florida Marlins @ New York Mets

Friday’s matchup pits Florida Marlins starter Sean West against Mets starter Mike Pelfrey. This will be West’s second appearance for the Marlins. He gave up two earned runs in five innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 23. Pelfrey, meanwhile, has given up three or less runs in six consecutive starts…Saturday will be a big day for Tim Redding, who will try to show the Mets that he deserves to stay n the big leagues. He has made two starts thus far for the Mets, giving up six runs to the Red Sox his last time out. His job is in serious jeopardy now that Oliver Perez is healthy again. Redding will oppose Marlins ace Josh Johnson, who is 3 – 1 with a 2.67 ERA this season…And on Sunday, Chris Volstad (4 – 3, 3.69 ERA) of the Marlins will take on John Maine (4 – 3, 4.18 ERA) of the Mets. Volsted has given up 18 earned runs in his last 5 starts. Maine gave up just one runs in his last start against the Washington Nationals.

The Marlins are coming off a big series win in Philadelphia after they spent most of May in free fall. They are 22 – 26 overall, five and half back of the Brewers in the Wild Card Chase.

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.

Saying Goodbye to 2008

The ball rocketed off Ryan Church’s bat. And for just a second, the melancholy faded. Tie game. The Mets could still be going to the playoffs. On a huge two run home-run by Church. And then the ball fell out of the sky into the right fielder’s glove, at the edge of the warning track. And that was the end of the season. And the end of Shea Stadium. 44 years at Shea. The lovable losers of 1962. The Miracle Mets of ’69. The Mets that believed in ’73. One of the best teams ever to play the game in ’86. And the group of nobodies that somehow made it to the World Series in 2000. And the Chavez catch of ’06. And now, the collapse of ’07 and the near-miss of ’08. Shea is gone.

This was obviously a frustrating game for Mets fans. Oliver Perez was masterful for the first five innings. But, so was Marlins pitcher Scott Olsen. The tension kept adding up. I knew the Mets needed to score, before the Marlins broke it open. We needed to get some runs. Establish the fact that this was our game. Just like the Mets ought to have established weeks ago that this was our season by beating the Phillies at home.

But no, the Marlins scored first. The walk with the bases-loaded was particularly tough to watch. 2 – 0 Florida. But at this time, Milwaukee was still losing toi the Cubs, so for all intents and purposes, the Mets could’ve lost to the Marlins and still ended up tied for the wild-card. And then things got even better. A two-run homerun by Carlos Beltran, an incredible clutch hit that tied the game up and energized the Shea crowd. 

But Mets fans were still nervous. Perez had been replaced in the sixth inning, which meant that the whole Mets season was going to come down to their bullpen and their late offense. Not good. And sure enough, after a strong performance by Joe Smith and a beautiful inning from sudden star Brian Stokes, the Mets bullpen gave it up in the eighth. The first batter Scott Schoenweis faced. Homerun. The first batter Luis Ayala faced. Homerun. At the end of seven and a half, Marlins four and the Mets two.

And at around the same time, the Milwaukee Brewers stromed to a 3 – 1 lead over the Chicago Cubs on a huge two-run shot off the bat of Ryan Braun. So, the Mets needed to win. And as always, they came close, torturing their fans with near-miss after near-miss. With two runners on in the bottom of the eighth, Carlos Delgado lifted a long fly ball to left-center. But if was caught, right at the edge of the warning track. And then with two outs and down to the final strike of the season, Damion Easley walked, bringing up Church, who had struck out his last six times at this plate. But this time he gave it a ride. A ride that fell just short. 

Give credit where credit is due. C.C. Sabathia pitched a marvelous game. A Johan Santana type of performance. And the Brewers fought. And they won. Their first playoff berth in decades. It really is a nice story.

But for the Mets, this was a real heartbreaker.

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.

Mets Win Third Straight – Taking Down Brew Crew in 10

With an injured Luis Ayala struggling to throw strikes on the mound, and no pitchers up in the bullpen, things got a little scary for the Mets in the bottom of the 10th. But, Mets fans needn’t have worried. Because just like the Mets have been doing over and over again these last few weeks, they overcame all obstacles tonight to record a 6 – 5 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Tuesday night’s win moved the Mets to 5 – 2 on this crucial eight-game road trip, and kept the Mets two games ahead of the Phillies, who were victorious tonight in Washington. The victory gives them a chance to rest some players, and in particular a worn out bullpen corps, in tomorrow’s series finale in Milwaukee ahead of the Mets critical upcoming weekend series at Shea against Philadelphia. And it also ought to leave them feeling good.

This is a team that has a knack for finding ways to win. For most of this season, the starting pitching has been a strength, and the bullpen has been a weakness. Yet, last night, it wasn’t the bullpen blowing a lead, instead the starting pitching blew it this time. Handed a 5 – 1 after Carlos Beltran’s three-run homerun), Jonathon Niese managed to give the entire lead up, failing to make it through the fourth inning. But, this time the bullpen succeeded when the starter could not, pitching a dandy of a ball game, and keeping the game tied at 5 from the fourth inning until the Mets were finally able to score the winning run in the bottom of the tenth.

And the run in the bottom of the tenth was pretty. Pure fundamentals. Nice hitting by Daniel Murphy, who led off the inning with a solid single up the innings. A good sacrafice bunt by Jose Reyes. And Reyes ran hard down the line, which allowed him to knock the ball out of Milwaukee second basemen Rickie Weeks’s glove in a collision at first base. The play resulted in first and third with no outs. Then, Endy Chavez hit a sacrafice fly, in a good show of situational hitting, allowing the Mets to score what would prove to be the game-winner.

Big game for the Mets, who have made grittiness a staple of their season. Good job managing the pen by skipper Jerry Manuel. Now, let’s see if we can get the sweep this afternoon with Ollie on the mound.