Die Hard Sports Fan

I’ve read a bunch of articles about everyone thinks that the Mets are doing the right thing by holding back Johan Santana until Friday night against the Yankees.  I strongly disagree with this concept, and I can care less what the Mets do in the interleague games.  The Mets need to win as many interleague games as possible, but not as much as they need to win division games and NL games.  The Mets make sure that their aces face the Yankees every year.  Last season, if they lost one more game against the Yankees and won one more game in their division then they would’ve won the NL East and played in the Playoffs.  The Mets are playing a four-game series against the Nationals right now.  They lost one already so they need to slam the door on the Nats.  So I believe Santana should remain in his normal spot.  Should New York bragging rights cost the Mets the division title?

Mets.com:

Order is restored - Marty Noble summarized last night’s game between the Nationals and the Mets.

Mets anything but conventional - Marty Nolbe wrote a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Nationals and the Mets.

Mets make several roster moves - Marty Noble lists all of the roster moves that the Mets made yesterday.  The New York Post covered this yesterday.

Shea Apple may move over to Citi Field - Marty Noble stated that the Home Run Apple may move over to Citi Field.  Mets COO Jeff Wilpon stated that it hasn’t yet been determined whether the old one can handle the move or whether a replacement will be necessary.  This is already old news.  This was released during Spring Training.

Newsday:

Church leads Mets to victory over Nationals - Anthony Rieber also summarized last night’s Nationals-Mets game.

Mets cut Figueroa loose

Vargas, Wise, Tatis replace Figueroa, Sosa, Pagan

Looks like Mets will have big apple at Citi Field

New York Daily News:

Ryan Church, John Maine lead Mets past Nationals 6-3 at Shea - Adam Rubin also put together a game recap for last night’s game between the Nats and the Mets.

Forget collapse, time for Mets to avoid a May daze - John Harper believes that the Mets have to take advantage of winning in May so they don’t have to worry about must wins in September when they may be unable to do it.

‘Girls’ can cheer as Figgy gets cut

Mets finally relieved of Jorge Sosa

New York Post:

METS GOING TO CHURCH - Bart Hubbuch summarized last night’s Nats-Mets game.

SANTANA GETS OK TO START VS. YANKEES

CITI FIELD SHAPING UP - Howie Rumberg describes how far along Citi Field has come.

New York Times:

For the Mets, New Faces, Better Result - Ben Shpigel summarized last night’s game between the Nationals and the Mets also.

Mets Making Moves and Noise

The Star-Ledger:

Clearer picture at new ballpark

Church rings true in win

Santana will start vs. Yanks

Final: Mets 6, Nationals 3

Thank you, Rick Peterson… - Dan Graziano thanks the Mets as an organization for pitching Johan Santana against the Yankees.

Game 37: Nationals at Mets - Jeremy Cothran provided the lineup for last night’s Nats-Mets game.

Share This

Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post reported that the Mets made a bunch of roster moves today in their Mets Blog.  The Mets activated Matt Wise, and they purchased the contracts of Claudio Vargas and Fernando Tatis from Triple-A New Orleans.  To make room on the roster, the Mets designated Jorge Sosa and Nelson Figueroa Jr. for assignment and put Angel Pagan on the DL.

Mets.com:

Highlights aplenty, but no win in end - Marty Noble summarized last night’s game between the Nationals and the Mets.

Mets play on until Pedro’s return - Marty Noble put together a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Nationals and the Mets.

Alou psyched about Cathedral trip - Marty Noble found out that Moises Alou is pumped up about playing at Yankee Stadium this weekend because he never played there before.

Castillo sits with quadriceps injury - Marty Noble reported that a strained left quadricep muscle kept Luis Castillo out of the lineup last night against the Nationals.

Mailbag: How are Mets doing so far? - Marty Noble answers questions posed by Mets fans’.

Education is power - Howard Kussoy pointed out that some Mets players are taking part in a program called ‘School is Amazing’ around the city.

Newsday:

Nationals get under Figueroa’s skin in Mets loss - Anthony Rieber also summarized last night’s Nationals-Mets game.

Ex-Met Milledge always at center of controversy - Lastings Milledge had a pretty good game last night, and Erik Boland tells us all about it.

Looks like Mets’ Santana will start Subway Series

THIS DAY AT THE OLD BALLPARK - Newsday lets us know what happened at Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium on May 13th of another year.

New York Daily News:

Photos: Surfing the Mets tours Citi Field

After Mets’ loss, Nelson Figueroa calls Nationals ‘bunch of softball girls’ - Adam Rubin summarized last night’s game between the Nationals and the Mets.

Sideshow takes over in latest act of Shea circus - Filip Bondy described the situation where the Nationals were singing in the dugout last night.  It really upset Figgy.

Say it ain’t so on Joe Smith - Sean Brennan offers a few suggestions for the Mets to make regarding their pitching dilemma.

Pedro Martinez is starting to show progress - Adam Rubin tells us what the Mets have Pedro Martinez doing down in Port St. Lucie.

New York Post:

‘FIGUER’ HATER - Mike Puma revealed what Nelson Figueroa Jr. had to say about the Nationals after last night’s game.

INJURED DUQUE MAKING PROGRESS

PITCH & MOAN - Mark Hale found out that Pedro is frustrated about having to rehab and not being on the team.

PEDRO PREPARED FOR SIMULATED GAME

New York Times:

Only Applause for Mets Comes From Nationals

Santana Receives an Extra Day of Rest and a Date With the Yankees

The Star-Ledger:

Progress at Citifield

Mets drop Figueroa, Sosa in flurry of moves

Will they clap for John Maine?

Nats frustrate Figueroa, Mets

Pitcher chides cheers - Colin Stephenson also examined the Mets pitching options.

Valentine’s success well-documented - Lisa Kennelly also wrote an aritcle about the three NYU students that made a documentary about Bobby Valentine titled, “The Zen of Bobby V”.

Mets bow to Nationals, 10-4

Share This

The New York Mets (19-16) are playing Game 36 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Washington Nationals (15-23) at Shea Stadium.  It’s the opener of a four-game series.  The game began at 7:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Nationals Lineup: Lopez, Guzman, Zimmerman, Johnson, Milledge, Kearns, Mackowiak, Flores, Perez.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Church, Wright, Beltran, Alou, Delgado, Easley, Schneider, Figueroa.

On the Mound

Nelson Figueroa Jr. (2-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Figueroa pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Figueroa gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Johnson grounded to first but Delgado (Error on Carlos Delgado) made a poor throw to Figueroa to give the Nationals a leadoff runner (I saw it as an out, but the Umpire called him safe).  Milledge drew a no-out walk.  Kearns grounded to second, and Easley made the out at first as both runners advanced.  Rob Mackowiak hit a sacrofice fly to the warning track in center, and Nick Johnson tagged up and scored and Lastings Milledge tagged up and went to third.  Figueroa struck out Flores looking.  Figueroa gave up 0 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Perez lined a leadoff single into right.  Lopez grounded a no-out single through the hole on the right side, and Perez went to second.  Guzman hit a chopper to second, and Easley made the out at first as both runners advanced.  Figueroa hit Zimmerman with the pitch so the bases are loaded.  Figueroa walked Nick Johnson which scored Odalis Perez and kept the bases loaded.  Figueroa got Milledge swinging through strike three.  Kearns lined out to center to end the inning with the bases juiced.  Figueroa gave up 2 Hits,  0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Mackowiak drew a leadoff walk.  Figueroa hit Flores with the pitch.  Perez dropped down a bunt towards third, and Wright made the out at first as both runners advanced.  Lopez grounded the ball back to the pitcher, and Figueroa (Error on Nelson Figueroa Jr.) threw the ball way off the plate so Rob Mackowiak came home to score and Flores went to third.  Zimmerman grounded to second, and Easley tossed the ball to second to end the inning.  Guzman flied out to shallow center.  Figueroa gave up 0 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Johnson grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Milledge popped up to first, and Easley made the catch.  Kearns flied out to the warning track in right.  Mackowiak drew a two-out walk.  Jesus Flores lined a two-out 2-run double down the left field line which scored Nick Johnson and Rob Mackowiak.  Odalis Perez lined a two-out RBI single down the right field line, and Jesus Flores came around to score.  Lopez drew a two-out walk.  Guzman popped up to shallow left, and Reyes made the catch to finally end this inning.  Figueroa gave up 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  Figueroa left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 5 Hits, 6 Runs, 4 ER, 5 BBs, and he had 4 SOs.

Randolph replaced Figueroa with Jorge Sosa to begin the Top of the 6th.  Zimmerman led off by grounding a double down the left field line.  Johnson drew a no-out walk.  Lastings Milledge hit a no-out 2-run double about 3/4 of the way up the left field wall which scored Ryan Zimmerman and Nick Johnson.  Kearns grounded to third, and Wright made the out at first as Milledge advanced to third.  Sosa struck out Mackowiak on a foul tip.  Sosa intentionally walked Flores.  Odalis Perez grounded a two-out RBI single up the middle which scored Lastings Milledge, and Flores went to second.  Felipe Lopez dropped a two-out RBI single into left, and Jesus Flores came around to score.  Guzman grounded to second, and Easley made the out at first to end another awful inning.  Sosa gave up 4 Hits, 4 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sosa with Duaner Sanchez to begin the Top of the 7th.  Sanchez sent the side down in order.  Sanchez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sanchez with Joe Smith to begin the Top of the 8th.  Smith struck out the side.  Smith gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 3 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Smith with Billy Wagner to begin the Top of the 9th.  Guzman lined a two-out double over Alou’s head in left.  Wagner fanned Zimmerman.  Wagner gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 3 SOs in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Odalis Perez (0-3) was the starting pitcher for the Nationals.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Wright drew a two-out walk.  With Beltran at the plate, Wright stole second without a throw.  Carlos Beltran lined a two-out RBI single to left which scored David Wright.  Alou lined a two-out single to left, and Beltran advanced to second.  Perez fanned Delgado on three straight pitches.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Damion Easley led off with his first home run of 2008 which went right over the wall in dead center.  Schneider grounded out to first.  Perez got Figueroa looking at strike three.  Reyes dropped down a bunt towards the pitcher, and Perez did not even make a throw to first so Reyes ended up with a two-out single.  Church grounded a two-out single through the hole on the right side, and Reyes advanced to second.  Wright grounded to third, and the ball bounced off of Zimmerman and into Guzman’s glove.  Guzman proceeded to make the out at first to end the inning.  Perez gave up 3 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Alou dropped a one-out single along the right field line.  Perez got Delgado swinging at strike three.  Damion Easley dropped a two-out RBI single into right, and Carlos Delgado came around to score.  Schneider grounded to the pitcher, and Perez made the out at first to end the inning.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Reyes lined a one-out single into left.  With Church in the batters box, Flores threw out Reyes as he attempted to steal second.  Perez fanned Church.  Perez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in th 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Wright drew a leadoff walk.  Beltran flied out to right.  Alou lined a one-out single into left, and Beltran moved over to second.  Delgado grounded to second, and Lopez made the out at first as both runners advanced.  Easley flied out to right to leave two Mets in scoring position.  Perez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Perez pitched his first 1-2-3 inning of the game.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, David Wright smacked a one-out solo shot to left.  Beltran grounded to third, and Zimmerman misfielded the ball so Beltran beat it out.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  Perez left the game after pitching 6.1 Innings allowing 11 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 5 SOs.

Acta replaced Perez with Chris Schroder with one out in the Bottom of the 7th.  Alou flied out to right.  Delgado flied out to the warning track in left.  Schroder gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Schneider grounded to the pitcher but the ball bounced off of Schroder’s glove and went towards second, but Lopez made a bad throw to first so Schneider beat it out for a one-out single.  Anderson is pinch hitting for Smith, and Anderson popped up in foul ground along the first base line and Johnson made the catch.  Reyes drew a two-out walk on four pitches.  Schroder gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  Schroder left the game after pitching 1.1 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs.

Acta replaced Schroder with Saul Rivera with two outs in the Bottom of the 8th.  Church drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Wright grounded to third, and Zimmerman made the out at first leaving the bases full of Mets.  Rivera gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 9th, Rivera quickly slammed the door on the Mets.  Rivera gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.  Rivera left the game after pitching 1.1 Innings allowing 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO.

Final Score: Washington Nationals 10 - New York Mets 4.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Nelson Figueroa Jr. (2-3) got the loss and Odalis Perez (1-3) got the win.

The Mets got beat up and battered by another subpar ball club.  W, L, W, L, W, L, W, L, W, L.  What does all of that equal?  .500 baseball, and the Mets are great at it.  Sometimes they go W, W, L, L, W, W, L, L.  In the end, it equals the same thing.  The Nats were all over Figueroa.  After swinging for the fences every at bat, Milledge finally got a big hit against his former team.  He just missed a 3-run shot, and ended up with a 2-run double that bounced off of the left field wall.  The Nats put up a 10 spot on the Mets.  Who da thunk it?  The Mets had control of this game for a few innings, but Perez and the bullpen got out of some jams leaving many Mets on base.  The Mets need to cash’em in $$$$$$$$ the next three games.

Share This

The New York Mets (18-15) are playing Game 34 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Cincinnati Reds (14-22) at Shea Stadium.  It’s the second game of a three-game series.  The game began at 7:30 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Reds Lineup: Freel, Hairston Jr., Griffey Jr., Encarnacion, Dunn, Keppinger, Hatteberg, Bako, Arroyo.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Chavez, Wright, Beltran, Delgado, Easley, Anderson, Castro, Pelfrey.

On the Mound

Mike Pelfrey (2-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Freel pulled a leadoff double over the third base bag and down the line.  Hairston dropped down a bunt towards first, and Pelfrey made the out at first while Freel advanced to third.  Ken Griffey Jr. lined a one-out RBI single into left, and Ryan Freel came home to score.  Encarnacion flied out to right.  Dunn flied out to left to end the inning.  Pelfrey gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Keppinger grounded a leadoff single through the hole on the right side.  Pelfrey fanned Hatteberg and Bako back-to-back.  Arroyo lined to center, and Beltran dove to make a beautiful catch.  Pelfrey gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Pelfrey pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Pelfrey gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Keppinger lined a two-out single to right.  Hatteberg blooped the ball along the left field line, but Anderson dove for it but couldn’t hold onto the ball so Keppinger advanced to third.  Bako drew a two-out walk which loaded the bases.  Arroyo grounded to first, and Delgado tagged first to end the inning leaving the bases full.  Pelfrey gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Griffey dropped a two-out single into right.  Encarnacion popped up to second to end the inning.  Pelfrey gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Keppinger grounded a one-out single under Reyes and into center.  Scott Hatteberg drove a one-out RBI double to the gap in right center, and Jeff Keppinger came all the way around to score.  Bako lined the ball foul of the left field line, and Anderson made the catch.  Arroyo grounded out to third to end the inning.  Pelfrey gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Pelfrey left the game after pitching 6.0 Innings allowing 8 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 1 BB, and he had 3 SOs.

Randolph replaced Pelfrey with Aaron Heilman to begin the Top of the 7th.  Heilman pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Heilman gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Duaner Sanchez to begin the Top of the 8th.  Dunn hit a slow grounder to third, and Wright didn’t make a play on it so Dunn ended up with a one-out single (Patterson replaced Dunn).  Keppinger grounded a one-out single through the hole on the left side, and Patterson moved over to second.  Scott Hatteberg grounded a one-out  RBI single through the hole on the left side which scored Corey Patterson and Keppinger went first to third.  Paul Bako grounded a one-out RBI single through the hole on the right side which scored Jeff Keppinger and Hatteberg advanced to second.  Arroyo flied out to left.  Freel grounded to third, and Wright made the force play at second.  Sanchez gave up 4 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sanchez with Billy Wagner to begin the Top of the 9th.  Griffey drew a one-out walk.  Encarnacion grounded to third, and Wright (Error on David Wright) misfielded the ball so Encarnacion is safe and Griffey moved over to second.  Patterson grounded to first, and Delgado (Error on Carlos Delgado) made a high throw to second so the bases are loaded.  Jeff Keppinger grounded an RBI single to short, and Reyes attempted to make a play at third but it was not in time and Ken Griffey Jr. scored.  Scott Hatteberg hit a sacrifice fly to left, and Edwin Encarnacion came home to score.  Paul Bako grounded a two-out RBI single through the hole on the right side scoring Jeff Keppinger.  Wagner gave up 2 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

Randolph replaced Wagner with Jorge Sosa with two outs in the 9th Inning.  Valentin popped up to right to end the nightmare.  Sosa gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Bronson Arroyo (1-4) was the starting pitcher for the Reds.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Arroyo struck out the side.  Arroyo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 3 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Beltran drew a leadoff walk.  Delgado grounded a no-out single up the middle, and Beltran moved over to second.  Easley lined out to center.  Anderson grounded to first, but Hatteberg (Error on Scott Hatteberg) dropped the ball so the Reds couldn’t turn the double play so Hatteberg flipped the ball to Arroyo to try to get the out at first and Arroyo dropped the ball so everybody is safe.  Arroy struck out Castro swinging.  Pelfrey lined out to right leaving the bases loaded.  Arroyo gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Reyes led off with an opposite field double to left.  Chavez dragged a bunt towards first, and Arroyo made the out at first while Reyes advanced to third.  David Wright grounded to short, and Keppinger dropped the ball so Wright beat it out as Jose Reyes came home to score.  Beltran drove a one-out double to the gap in right center and bounced to the wall, but Wright got thrown out at home plate.  Beltran went to third on the throw to home.  Delgado grounded out to short to end the inning.  Arroyo gave up 3 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Castro drew a two-out walk.  Pelfrey grounded to second, and Hairston made the force play at second.  Arroyo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Arroyo retired the side in order.  Arroyo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Arroyo pitched another 1-2-3 inning.  Arroyo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Arroyo struck out the side for the second time tonight.  Arroyo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 3 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Arroyo now retired the Mets in order for 4 straight innings.  Arroyo gave up 0 hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Baker replaced Arroyo with Francisco Cordero to begin the Bottom of the 9th.  Cordero pitched a 1-2-3 inning to end the game.  Cordero gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: Cincinnati Reds 7 - New York Mets 1.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Mike Pelfrey (2-3) got the loss and Bronson Arroyo (2-4) got the win.

Big Pelf pitched six solid innings allowing only 2 runs, but the offense must’ve exhausted itself this afternoon because they only put up 1 run tonight.  The Mets’ Bullpen got taxed for 5 runs late in the game, and they called it a night in Flushing.  Tomorrow’s another day.  After the Reds and Mets split today’s double header, the Mets will host the rubber game tomorrow.  Johnny Cueto will face Oliver Perez.

Share This

The New York Mets (17-15) are playing Game 33 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Cincinnati Reds (14-21) at Shea Stadium.  It’s the first game of a three-game series.  The game began at 1:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Reds Lineup: Patterson, Freel, Griffey Jr., Phillips, Votto, Encarnacion, Keppinger, Ross, Belisle.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Alou, Delgado, Schneider, Santana.

On the Mound

Johan Santana (3-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Patterson dropped down a bunt towards first and Delgado made a bad flip to Santana so Patterson beat it out for a leadoff single.  With Freel at the plate, Santana threw to first and the Mets tagged Patterson in a rundown.  Freel grounded out to first.  Griffey lined a two-out single through the hole on the right side.  Phillips lined a two-out double into the corner in left, and Griffey went from first to third.  Votto lined out to right leaving two Reds stranded.  Santana gave up 3 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Keppinger drew a one-out walk.  Ross popped up to second.  Santana struck out Belisle to end the inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Freel lined a one-out double near the left field line.  Griffey popped up to short.  Phillips grounded out to short to end the inning.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Edwin Encarnacion drove a one-out solo jack over the left field wall.  Keppinger flied out to center.  Santana fanned Ross.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Belisle grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Santana struck out Patterson on a foul tip.  Freel dropped a bunt towards third, and Wright made the out at first as Belisle advanced to second.  Griffey grounded out to second to end the inning.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Phillips lined a leadoff triple into the right field corner.  Votto popped up to short.  Edwin Encarnacion grounded a one-out RBI single under the diving Wright, and Brandon Phillips came home to score.  Keppinger grounded a one-out single under Reyes’ glove, and Encarnacion moved over to second.  Santana got Ross looking.  Hatteberg is pinch hitting for Belisle, and Scott Hatteberg lined a two-out RBI single into right while Edwin Encarnacion scored and Keppinger went to third.  Santana fanned Patterson to end the inning.  Santana gave up 4 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Santana left the game after pitching 6.0 Innings allowing 10 Hits, 3 Runs, 3 ER, 1 BB, and he had 5 SOs.

Randolph replaced Santana with Aaron Heilman to begin the Top of the 7th.  Freel lined a leadoff single into left.  Griffey lined out to center.  With Phillips in the batters box, Freel stole second without a throw.  Phillips drew a one-out walk.  Joey Votto lined a one-out RBI double into left, and Ryan Freel scored and Phillips advanced to third.  Heilman got Encarnacion swinging.  Keppinger grounded out to short to end the inning.  Heilman gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Pedro Feliciano to begin the Top of the 8th.  Ross lined a leadoff single up the middle.  Hairston is pinch hitting for Lincoln, and Hairston popped up to center and Beltran made the catch.  Patterson popped up to third, and Wright made the catch.  Freel lined a two-out single into center, and Ross moved over to second.  Ken Griffey Jr. drove a two-out 2-run double halfway up the wall in right field which scored David Ross and Ryan Freel.  Patterson grounded out to second to end the inning.  Feliciano gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Jorge Sosa to begin the Top of the 9th.  Votto drew a leadoff walk.  Encarnacion grounded to short, and the Mets turned the double play.  Keppinger grounded in front of home plate, and Schneider made the out at first to end the game.  Sosa gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Matt Belisle (1-2) was the starting pitcher for the Reds.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Wright drew a two-out walk.  Beltran drew a two-out walk.  Belisle fanned Church to leave two Mets stranded.  Belisle gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Alou lined a leadoff single into center.  Delgado drove a single into the gap in right center, and Alou moved over to second.  Schneider grounded to first, and Votto only got the out at second.  Santana struck out, but Ross could not handle the ball and it went to the backstop so Santana beat out the play at first while Moises Alou came home and Schneider went to second (Since first base was occupied, Santana could not take first base so Schneider is the only baserunner).  Reyes flied out to left to end the inning.  Belisle gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Castillo drew a leadoff walk.  Wright lined a no-out single into right, and Castillo went from first to third.  Carlos Beltran lined a no-out RBI single into center which scored Luis Castillo, and Wright advanced to second.  Church grounded out to first, and both runners advanced.  Moises Alou dropped a one-out bloop single over the head of Phillips, and David Wright and Carlos Beltran scored.  Delgado grounded to first, and the Reds turned the inning ending double play.  Belisle gave up 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Belisle pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Belisle gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Castillo grounded to the pitcher but Belisle (Error on Matt Belisle) made a bad throw to first so Castillo went to second.  Wright lined a no-out single, and Castillo advanced to third.  Carlos Beltran hit a sacrifice fly to center, and Luis Castillo tagged up and scored and Wright tagged up and went to second.  Ryan Church lined a one-out RBI single into right center, and David Wright came around to score.  Alou grounded to third, and the Reds turned the double play.  Belisle gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  Belisle left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 7 Hits, 6 Runs, 5 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Baker replaced Belisle with Bill Bray to begin the Bottom of the 6th.  Delgado lined a leadoff double down the left field line.  Schneider lined a no-out single into right, and Delgado advanced to third.  Bray gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Baker replaced Bray with Mike Lincoln with no outs in the Bottom of the 6th.  Easley is pinch hitting for Santana, and Easley grounded to third and was thrown out at first by Encarnacion.  Reyes drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Lincoln caught Castillo looking at strike three.  David Wright drew an RBI two-out walk which brought Carlos Delgado home.  Carlos Beltran lined a two-out 3-run triple down the right field line which scored Brian Schneider, Jose Reyes, and David Wright.  Church grounded out to second to end the inning.  Lincoln gave up 1 Hit, 2 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Carlos Delgado hit a one-out jack to right field.  Brian Schneider followed that up with a solo shot of his own to the right field corner.  Chavez is pinch hitting for Heilman, and Lincoln fanned Chavez.  Reyes grounded out to first to end the inning.  Lincoln gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  Lincoln left the game after pitching 2.0 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 2 SOS.

Baker replaced Lincoln with Jeremy Affeldt to begin the 8th Inning.  Affeldt pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Affeldt gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Final Score: Cincinnati Reds 6 - New York Mets 12.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Johan Santana (4-2) got the win and Matt Belisle (1-3) got the loss.

The Mets put up double digits for the second game in a row.  The entire lineup was hitting except for Reyes and Castillo.  Delgado had 3 hits, and Beltran had 5 RBIs.  Santana got the ‘w’, but he didn’t look so good on the mound.  He gave up 10 hits, and had men on base all game.  Somehow, he got out of it only giving up 3 runs.  Heilman and Feliciano were responsible for the rest of the runs.

The Reds and the Mets will begin the second game of the day at 7:30 p.m.

Share This

The New York Mets (16-13) are playing Game 30 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Los Angeles Dodgers (17-14) at Dodger Stadium.  It’s the first game of a three-game series.  The game began at 10:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Church, Wright, Beltran, Alou, Delgado, Schneider, Castillo, Perez.

Dodgers Lineup: Furcal, Pierre, Kemp, Kent, Martin, Loney, Jones, DeWitt, Billingsley.

At the Plate

Chad Billingsley (1-4) is the starting pitcher for the Dodgers.  In the Top of the 1st, Billingsley got Reyes to pop up to third before fanning Church and Wright.  Billingsley gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Beltran led off by grounding a single up the middle.  Alou flied out to right.  Delgado pulled a one-out double down the right field line as Beltran went first to third.  Billingsly got Schneider to chase strike three.  Castillo grounded out to third leaving two Mets stranded.  Billingsley gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Reyes drew a one-out walk.  With Church in the batters box, Reyes stole second.  Church grounded to second, and Kent made the out at first as Reyes moved over to third.  Billingsley fanned Wright leaving Reyes on third.  Billingsley gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Delgado drew a two-out walk.  Schneider dropped a two-out single into center, and Delgado advanced to second.  Castillo grounded out to third to leave two Mets stranded.  Billingsley gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Church drew a two-out walk.  Wright grounded out to deep short, and Furcal threw a rocket to first to get the out.  Billingsley gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Beltran led off by pulling a triple down the right field line.  Moises Alou grounded a no-out RBI single up the middle which brought Carlos Beltran home.  Delgado grounded to short, and the Dodgers turned the double play.  Schneider grounded out to third.  Billingsley gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Top of the 7th, Castillo drew a leadoff walk.  Pagan is pinch hitting for Perez, and this move brought Torre out for a pitching change.  Billingsley gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  Billingsley left the game after pitching 6.0 Innings allowing 5 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 4 BBs, and he had 4 SOs.

Torre replaced Billingsley with Joe Beimel with no outs in the 7th Inning.  Pagan flied out to right.  Reyes flied out in foul ground along the right side line, and Kemp made the catch.  Beimel fanned Church.  Beimel gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.

Torre replaced Beimel with Jonathan Broxton to begin the Top of the 8th.  Broxton retired the side in order.  Broxton gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Torre replaced Broxton with Takashi Saito to begin the Top of the 9th.  Saito wiggled a lot as he pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Saito gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

Oliver Perez (2-2) is the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Rafael Furcal led off with a solo shot to left center.  Pierre lined a single into center.  Kemp flied out to right near the line.  With Kent at the plate, Pierre stole second safely as Schneider’s throw went into center field.  Kent grounded to the pitcher, and Perez made the out at first as Pierre moved over to third.  Russell Martin lined a two-out RBI single into center field which brought Juan Pierre home.  Loney grounded out to second to end the inning.  Perez gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Perez got Jones and DeWitt to ground out before getting Billingsley to look at strike three.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Perez pitched another 1-2-3 inning.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Martin grounded a one-out single through the hole on the right side.  Loney swung at strike three while Martin was stealing second, and Schneider (Error on Brian Schneider) threw the ball into center so Martin advanced to third.  Jones popped up to shallow left, and Reyes made the out to leave one Dodger stranded.  Perez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Blake DeWitt led off with a solo jack to center.  Perez fanned Billingsley.  Furcal popped up to third.  Pierre drew a two-out walk.  Matt Kemp crushed a two-out 2-run shot to center scoring Juan Pierre.  Kent grounded hard to third, and Wright made a beautiful dive and throw to end the inning.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Loney drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  Jones grounded to third, and the Mets completed the double play.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Perez left the game after pitching 6.0 Innings allowing 6 Hits, 5 Runs, 5 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

Randolph replaced Perez with Scott Schoeneweis to begin the Bottom of the 7th.  Schoeneweis pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Schoeneweis gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Schoeneweis with Jorge Sosa to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Kemp lined a one-out single into right.  Kent flied out to center.  With Martin at the plate, Schneider threw out Kemp as he attempted to steal second base.  Sosa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 1 - Los Angeles Dodgers 5.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Oliver Perez (2-3) got the loss and Chad Billingsley (1-4) got the win.

Oli took another beaten today, but not as bad as it was against the Pirates on Wednesday.  Oli pitched 6 innings, but he gave up 3 homers and 5 runs.  Going into the game, I was confident that Perez would beat the pitcher with the 1-4 record that he faced.  The Mets must’ve left their bats in the desert because they only put up 1 run.  Or maybe it was a long flight.  It’s tougher to win a series when you drop the first game.  Now, the Mets need to win the next two to win the series.

Share This

Well, the Mets couldn’t sweep the Pirates.  Not only could they not sweep the Pirates, but it took them 11 innings to beat them the first night and they got torched today.  The Mets (14-12) have an off day tomorrow before they head out west for a 6-game road trip.  The Mets will be in Arizona (20-8) over the weekend and in L.A. (13-13) early next week.  The Diamondbacks are smokin’ hot right now.  If we struggle with the Nats and the Bucs then it’s safe to assume that we’ll struggle out west.  I hope not though.

The Mets are 14-12 now.

Mets.com:

Game delayed by water main break - Marty Noble explained why today’s Pirates-Mets game got off to a late start.

Wright gives Mets walk-off win - Marty Noble summarized last night’s game between the Pirates and the Mets.

Mets up to the task against southpaws - Marty Noble assembled a pregame analysis for today’s game between the Pirates and the Mets.

Alou cleared to return to Mets - Marty Noble stated that Moises Alou could play this wekeend vs. Arizona.

Valentin pays visit to Mets teammates - Marty Noble pointed out that Jose Valentin visited the team prior to last night’s game, and Valentin expects to return to the team by the end of May.

Church looking for first All-Star bid

Newsday:

Mets win on Wright’s long single in 11th - Jim Baumbach summarized last night’s Pirates-Mets game.

Alou could be back in Mets’ lineup on Friday

Mientkiewicz: You haven’t seen the real Johan yet

Mets’ Schneider close to leaving hospital

New York Daily News:

David Wright’s 11th-inning hit gives Mets 5-4 win over Pirates - Adam Rubin also summarized last night’s game between the Pirates and the Mets.

Mets catcher Brian Schneider released from hospital - The AP reported that Brian Schneider was released by the hospital yesterday.

In cold, Johan Santana’s drama is gripping - Roger Rubin found out that Johan Santana thought it was difficult to pitch in the chilly conditions last night.

Moises Alou’s bat set for road swing

To Ryan Church, strong start to year is all relative

Matt Wise might replace Jorge Sosa - Adam Rubin reported that Matt Wise is expected to rejoin the Mets in Arizona this weekend after a rehab appearance Thursday.  Rubin believes that the Mets might send Jorge Sosa down to the minors when Wise returns.

New York Post:

WRIGHT ON TIME - Bart Hubbuch summarized last night’s Pirates-Mets games as well.

URGENT MATTER - Even though the Mets have been winning, Kevin Kernan believes that the Mets need to play with more urgency because they don’t understand how to put away a much lesser opponent.

ALOU MAY BE BACK FRIDAY

SANCHEZ SIDESTEPS BIG TROUBLE - Duaner Sanchez took the blame for allowing last night’s game to get into extra innings.

New York Times:

Mets Will Take a Victory They Nearly Gave Away

Alou Is Finally Ready to Play, but Schneider Is Not

Smoltz Put on Disabled List With Sore Right Shoulder - YEAH!!!

The Star-Ledger:

Wright’s hit boosts Mets in 11th

Alou says he’ll play vs. D’backs

Share This

The New York Mets (13-11) are playing Game 25 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Pittsburgh Pirates (10-15) at Shea Stadium.  The series opener got postponed so it’s the first game of the two-game series.  The game began at 7:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Pirates Lineup: McLouth, Gomez, Sanchez, Bay, Nady, LaRoche, Bautista, Paulino, Snell.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Delgado, Casanova, Chavez, Santana.

On the Mound

Johan Santana (3-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Nate McLouth led off with a solo shot to right.  Gomez grounded out to third.  Sanchez grounded out to second.  Santana fanned Bay.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, LaRoche drew a one-out walk.  Santana caught Bautista looking at strike three.  Paulino grounded out to short to end the inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Santana pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Jason Bay hit a one-out jack to left.  Nady flied out to left.  Santana fanned LaRoche.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Santana sent the bottom of the lineup down in order.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, McLouth drew a leadoff walk.  Santana got Gomez on a called strike three.  Sanchez flied out to left.  Bay drew a two-out walk.  Santana hit Nady in the arm to load the bases.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  Santana left the game after pitching 5.2 Innings allowing 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 7 SOs.

Randolph replaced Santana with Pedro Feliciano with two outs in the 6th Inning.  LaRoche popped up to short to leave the bases full of Pirates.  Feliciano gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Aaron Heilman to begin the Top of the 7th.  Bautista grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Paulino drew a no-out walk.  Morgan is pinch hitting for Marte, and Morgan popped out in shallow left.  Heilman gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Scott Schoeneweis with one out in the Top of the 7th.  McLouth grounded to second, and Castillo tagged Paulino as he was running to second.  With Gomez in the batters box, Schoeneweis threw a passed ball.  Casanova threw the ball to Schoeneweis who tagged out Bautista as he was going home.  Schoeneweis gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Schoeneweis with Duaner Sanchez to begin the Top of the 8th.  Gomez led off with a line drive into left field.  Sanchez pulled a no-out double down the left field line, and Gomez went from first to third.  Sanchez fanned Bay.  Nady drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Adam LaRoche drew a one-out walk to bring home Chris Gomez.  Bautista grounded to third, and Wright made the force out at home.  Paulino popped up to shallow right, and Castillo made the catch.  Sanchez gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sanchez with Billy Wagner to begin the Top of the 9th.  Doumit is pinch hitting for Grabow, and Doumit grounded to short.  Delgado couldn’t hold onto the catch from Reyes (Error on Jose Reyes) so the Pirates have a leadoff runner on base (Bixler is pinch running for Doumit).  With McLouth in the batters box, Wagner threw a wild pitch so Bixler moved over to second.  Wagner got McLouth swinging at strike three.  Gomez grounded out to short as Bixler advanced to third.  Freddy Sanchez hit a two-out RBI single to the gap in right center, and Brian Bixler came home to tie up the game.  Wagner fanned Bay.  Wagner gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 9th Inning.  In the Top of the 10th, LaRoche hit a one-out opposite field double off of the wall in left field.  Bautista flied out to center.  Paulino grounded out to short to leave LaRoche standing on second.  Wagner gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 10th Inning.

Randolph replaced Wagner with Jorge Sosa to begin the Top of the 11th.  Gomez grounded a two-out single through the hole on the right side.  Sanchez popped up to shallow center, and Beltran made the catch.  Sosa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 11th Inning.

At the Plate

Ian Snell (2-1) was the starting pitcher for the Pirates.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Reyes dropped a bunt in front of home plate and beat out the throw for a leadoff single.  With Castillo at the plate, Paulino threw out Reyes as he attempted to steal second.  Castillo flied out to left.  Wright drew a two-out walk.  Beltran grounded out to first to leave Wright on base.  Snell gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Snell retired the side in order.  Snell gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Chavez flied out to center.  Santana flied out to right.  Reyes drew a two-out walk.  Castillo grounded to second, and the Pirates turned the double play to end the inning.  Snell gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Beltran drew a one-out walk.  Ryan Church tied up the game with a one-out 2-run homer to right scoring Carlos Beltran.  Delgado flied out to left.  Casanova grounded out to first to end the inning.  Snell gave up 1 Hit, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Chavez led off with a line drive to left.  Santana attempted to bunt on strike three, but he missed the ball.  Jose Reyes hit a one-out RBI triple off of the right field wall, and Endy Chavez came around to score.  Castillo drew a one-out walk.  David Wright grounded to short, and Sanchez (Error on Freddy Sanchez) mishandled the throw from Gomez so everybody is safe and Jose Reyes scored.  Beltran drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Snell gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  Snell left the game after pitching 4.1 Innings allowing 5 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 5 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Russell replaced Snell with Damaso Marte with one out in the Bottom of the 5th.  Marte caught Church staring at ball four which resulted in a strike out.  Marte fanned Delgado.  Marte gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Marte worked a 1-2-3 inning.  Marte gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Russell replaced Marte with Tyler Yates to begin the Bottom of the 7th.  Reyes drew a leadoff walk.  With Castillo at the plate, Reyes stole second.  Castillo drew a no-out walk.  Yates fanned Wright.  Beltran flied out to left near the line.  Church grounded out to second to leave two Mets on base.  Yates gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.

Russell replaced Yates with John Grabow to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Chavez lined a two-out single into shallow center.  Pagan is pinch hitting for Sanchez, and Grabow fanned Pagan to end the inning.  Grabow gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Russell replaced Grabow with Franquelis Osoria to begin the Bottom of the 9th.  Reyes led off by grounding a single up the middle.  Castillo dropped down a bunt towards third, and Bautista made the out at first as Reyes moved over to second.  Wright flied out to right, and Reyes stayed put.  Beltran grounded out to second to leave Reyes on base.  Osoria gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 10th, Osorio retired the side in order.  Osorio gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 10th Inning.

Russell replaced Osorio with John Van Benschoten to begin the Bottom of the 11th.  Chavez hit a broken bat single up the middle to give the Mets a leadoff runner.  Anderson is pinch hitting for Sosa, and Van Benschoten was called for a Balk so Chavez moved over to second base.  Anderson dropped down a bunt towards third, and Bautista made the out at first as Chavez advanced to third.  Van Benschoten intentionally walked Reyes.  With Castillo in the batters box, Reyes went to second and it was called defensive indifference.  Castillo drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  The Wright Stuff crushed an opposite field single that hit right of the foul poul and fell in fair territory so Endy Chavez came home to score.  Van Benschoten gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 11th Inning.

Final Score: Pittsburgh Pirates 4 - New York Mets 5 (In 11).  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.

Another game, another win.  Santana gave up two solo shots.  He threw a lot of pitches, and he only went 5.2 innings.  The Mets got off to a slow start tonight offensively.  Church tied up the game at 2 in the 4th.  Jose was on base 6 times tonight and went 3 for 6.  Endy was 3 for 5.  Wright was 0-4 before he hit the walkoff.  I wish that the Mets didn’t have to go to extra innings against the Pirates, but it is what it is.

The Metropolitans are 14-11 now.  The Mets will host the Pirates again tomorrow for a day game.  After that, they head out west.

Share This

The New York Mets (11-9) are playing Game 21 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Washington Nationals (6-16) at Nationals Park.  It’s the final game of the two-game series.  The game began at 7:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Happy 31st Birthday to Carlos Beltran!

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Delgado, Pagan, Casanova, Perez.

Nationals Lineup: Lopez, Guzman, Zimmerman, Kearns, Pena, Boone, Harris, Nieves, Hill.

At the Plate

Shawn Hill (0-0) was the starting pitcher for the Nationals.  In the Top of the 1st, Hill sent the Mets down in order on nine pitches.  Hill gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Church drove a one-out double off of the wall in left center.  Delgado grounded to second, and Lopez made the out at first as Church advanced to third.  Pagan grounded out to short to leave Church on third.  Hill gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Casanova pulled a ground ball through the hole on the right side for a leadoff single.  Perez dropped down a sacrifice bunt down along the first base line, and Nieves made the out at first while Casanova moved over to second.  Reyes grounded out to first, and Casanova advanced to third.  Luis Castillo lined an RBI single into shallow center which brought Raul Casanova home to score.  With Wright at the plate, Castillo stole second.  Wright drew a two-out walk.  Beltran grounded out to second to leave two Mets stranded.  Hill gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Church drew a leadoff walk.  Hill got Delgado to chase strike three.  With Pagan in the batters box, Church stole second.  Pagan drew a one-out walk.  Casanova flied out to center, and Church tagged up and went to third.  Oliver Perez grounded a two-out RBI single up the middle which scored Ryan Church and Pagan went first to third.  Reyes flied out to right to end the inning with runners on the corners.  Hill gave up 1 Hit, 2 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Castillo grounded a leadoff single through the hole on the right side.  With Wright in the batters box, Hill threw a wild pitch so Castillo advanced to second.  Hill got Wright to stare at ball four, but the Umpire called it a strike.  With Beltran at the plate, Hill attempted to pick off Castillo and the ball hit Castillo and went into center so Castillo went to third.  Hill caught Beltran looking at strike three.  Ryan Church lined a two-out RBI single into right field, and Luis Castillo came home to score.  Delgado grounded to second, and Lopez made the force out at second to end the inning.  Hill gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 5th Inning.  Hill left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 6 Hits, 3 Runs, 2 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 5 SOs.

Acta replaced Hill with Michael O’Connor to begin the Top of the 6th.  Casanova drove a one-out single off of the wall in center field.  Perez bunted and the ball landed into the glove of the pitcher, but O’Connor dropped it and then only got the out at second on the double play attempt.  Reyes grounded out to second to end the inning.  O’Connor gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Acta replaced O’Connor with Saul Rivera to begin the Top of the 7th.  Carlos Beltran hit a two-out solo shot that barely got over the high wall in right field.  Church grounded out to second to end the inning.  Rivera gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Acta replaced Rivera with Luis Ayala to begin the Top of the 8th.  Ayala sent the Mets down in order.  Ayala gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Acta replaced Ayala with Jon Rauch to begin the Top of the 9th.  Anderson is pinch hitting for Feliciano, and Marlon Anderson led off with a solo shot to right.  Reyes grounded a no-out single up the middle.  Castillo grounded a no-out single through the hole on the left side.  Wright flied out to center, and Reyes tagged up and went to third.  Rauch fanned Beltran.  With Church at the plate, Castillo stole second.  Church flied out to center to leave two Mets on base.  Rauch gave up 3 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

Oliver Perez (2-0) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Perez retired the side in order.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Boone lined a two-out single into center.  Harris flied out to right field to leave one man on base.  Perez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Nieves drew a leadoff walk.  Hill dropped down a sacrifice bunt down in front of home plate, and Casanova made the out at first as Nieves moved over to second.  Lopez drew a one-out walk.  Guzman grounded to short, and the Mets turned the double play to leave two Nationals stranded.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Zimmerman beat out an infield hit to short for a leadoff single.  Kearns lined out to center.  Perez fanned Pena.  Boone popped up near first, and Castillo made the out to end the inning.  Perez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Harris drew a leadoff walk.  Nieves grounded a no-out single up the middle, and Harris advanced to second.  Belliard is pinch hitting for Hill, and Perez walked Belliard to load the bases.  Felipe Lopez grounded a no-out 2-run single up the middle which scored Willie Harris and Wil Nieves, and Belliard moved over to second.  Guzman lined out to center, and Belliard tagged up and went to third.  Ryan Zimmerman grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first as Ronnie Belliard came home to score and Lopez moved over to second.  Kearns grounded hard to third, but a diving Wright made the stop and the out at first to end the inning.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 3 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Pena grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Boone lined a no-out single over the head of Reyes and into left, and Pena moved over to second.  Harris dropped a bunt down in front of home plate, and Perez got the lead runner out at third.  Nieves grounded to first, and Delgado tagged the base as the runners advanced.  Milledge is pinch hitting for O’Connor so Randolph is making a pitching change.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Perez left the game after pitching 5.2 Innings allowing 6 Hits, 5 Runs, 5 ER, 4 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

Randolph replaced Perez with Aaron Heilman with two outs in the Bottom of the 6th.  Milledge drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Felipe Lopez crushed a Grand Slam to right off of Heilman which scored Aaron Boone, Willie Harris, Lastings Milledge, and of course himself.  It’s like deja vu.  How many times do I have to watch that?  Guzman lined a two-out single to center.  Zimmerman lined a single into left, and Guzman advanced to second.  Heilman fanned Kearns to end the end of the Mets chances to sweep this mini-series.  Heilman gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Jorge Sosa to begin the Bottom of the 7th.  Boone grounded to short, and Reyes (Error on Jose Reyes) misfielded it so Boone is on base with one out.  Harris drew a one-out walk.  Wil Nieves grounded a two-out RBI single under the glove of Delgado and into right field as Aaron Boone came around to score and Harris held up at third.  Estrada is pinch hitting for Rivera, and Johnny Estrada grounded a two-out RBI single through the hole on the right side which scored Willie Harris while Nieves advanced to second.  Lopez popped up in foul ground near third, and Wright made the catch.  Cristian Guzman lined a two-out single to right which brought Wil Nieves around to score and Estrada went first to third.  Zimmerman grounded to short, and Reyes made the force play at second to end another inning of hell.  Sosa gave up 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning. 

Randolph replaced Sosa with Pedro Feliciano to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Pena grounded a two-out single up the middle.  Felician fanned Boone.  Harris grounded out to short to end the inning.  Feliciano gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 5 - Washington Nationals 10.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Oliver Perez (2-1) got the loss and Shawn Hill (1-0) got the win.

All I can say is that it started out well.  The Mets were in complete control of this game until the Nationals tied it up in the Bottom of the 5th.  Then the Nats just kept scoring like Forest Gump kept running.  And just like the Yankees, the Mets got attacked by Gnats.  So Johan saved us yesterday, but Oli couldn’t provide the Mets with the opportunity to win the ballgame.  Then came the Heilman/Sosa tandem…they allowed 5 runs combined.  How are we going to win this series against the Braves this weekend if we can’t sweep a two-game series against the Nats?

Share This

Yesterday was yesterday, and today is a new day.  I hope that brighter days are coming now.  It’s imperative because the Mets are going to face the Nationals and the Braves for five games.  These are the games that matter more than any other.  If the Mets can walk out of D.C. with a mini-sweep then maybe it will give them enough mojo to win the series against the Braves over the weekend.

Here’s a picture of the new Nationals Park which replaced the ugliest stadium in sports, RFK.  I went there once, and they needed a new stadium.  If you never made the trip to RFK then you didn’t miss anything.  Anyway, Washington is only 2-5 in their new park so New York doesn’t need to make it easier for them to get closer to a winning record at home.  Santana is on the mound tonight, and he has to stop the bleeding.

Mets.com:

Capital time to visit Washington, D.C. - Jon Greenberg put together a pregame analysis for today’s game between the Mets and the Nationals.

Alou finding timing in rehab outings

 Can’t Compare - Anthony DiComo is taking in Yankees and Mets games on the same day — in Chicago.

Newsday:

Trouble at first glance - David Lennon summarized yesterday’s game between the Mets and the Cubs.

Pedro can return to mound in 10-14 days - David Lennon found out that Pedro Martinez can return to the mound in 10-14 days.  At that point in time, Martinez will need about three weeks before he can return to the Mets.

DEBATE: Who hurts his team more: Delgado or Giambi?

THIS DAY AT THE OLD BALLPARK - Find out what happened on today’s date at Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium.

New York Daily News:

Don’t expect to see El Duque or Pedro Martinez soon - Adam Rubin informs us about Mets injuries.

Met bullpen implodes against Cubs - Adam Rubin criticizes how the Mets bullpen performed in Chicago.

New York Post:

LIFELESS METS PUT TO SWEEP - Bart Hubbuch asks where the offense was in the Mets-Cubs series.

SOSA FAR, SOSA NOT GOOD - Bart Hubbuch pointed out how poorly Jorge Sosa has been so far.

HEILMAN NO WORRY TO WILLIE - Willie Randolph had this to say about Aaron Heilman’s struggles, “He’s just going to have to make pitches. That’s the life of a set-up guy. I’m going to use him like I’ve been using him. He’s healthy, and I’m not ready to reduce his role a month into the season. He’s fine. He’s strong. It’s early. That [workload] will even out later on. I’m not concerned about it.”

New York Times:

For a Day, Chicago Becomes a New York Kind of Town - Jack Curry wrote up an article about how the Mets played the Cubs and how the Yankees played the White Sox on the same day in Chicago.

The Star-Ledger:

Delgado looking powerless - Jeremy Cothran breaks down the struggling Carlos Delgado.

Infield blunder opens floodgates

Share This