Mets 3, Padres 2

Second verse, same as the first. The Mets got another very good starting pitching performance, this time out of Pedro Astacio, who has rebounded nicely from his disastrous second start of the season. Astacio went six innings, giving up just two runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out three. But after ninety-nine pitches, he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth with the game tied at 2. The Met offense had once again only managed to put up a pair of runs for its starting pitcher, one on Cliff Floyd's fifth home run of the season and another on a single by Timo Perez that scored Jay Bell.

But in the sixth, after Astacio was taken out of the game, and opportunity to score a run did present itself. With two outs, pinch hitter Raul Gonzalez took a walk in Astacio's place, giving Roberto Alomar a chance to extend the inning and perhaps give Astacio a chance to earn the win. So what does Alomar do? He bunts for a base hit, passing the buck and leaving the RBI opportunity in the hands of Bell. Now Bell had himself a nice game, hitting a single and walking twice in four plate appearances, but Alomar, in the leadoff hole or not, is supposed to be a run producer for this team. He, more than Jay Bell, is supposed to be one of the guys who can be counted on to get some extra base hits and perhaps drive in a runner from first. But this play was representative of the style of play Alomar has adopted with the Mets. He's generally uninspired, often downright lazy and never willing to assume a leadership role or take any risks, unless it's the risk of injuring his hand on a stupid headfirst slide into first base. He shows flashes of being able to hit like he once did, and 2 for 5 today looks good in a box score, but he in no way resembles the future Hall of Famer that baseball fans got to know in Toronto and Cleveland. Bell ended ths sixth by popping out to the first baseman.

After the sixth it was of course time to go to the bullpen and Art Howe finally deviated from his normal favorites and gave Graeme Lloyd a shot. Despite pitching effectively in almost all of his appearances this season, Lloyd had pitched only once in the last ten days before this game. Hopefully he made an impression on Howe today with two perfect innings and three strikeouts.

And Lloyd got the win as well, thanks to some offensive help from the unlikeliest of sources. (Well, the unlikeliest now that Mo Vaughn's on the DL, anyway.) With one out in the eighth inning, Roger Cedeno tripled to the gap in right center and scored on a wild pitch to give the Mets the lead. I don't mean to alarm you, but Cedeno hit .375 over his last ten games (9 for 24) with a couple of walks as well (OBP .423). The triple is the only extra base hit among the nine, but still, he's getting on base at a useful rate. In fact, in the last three years, Cedeno has hit .184 in April but .313 in May, so perhaps we're in for a month of productiveness from him.

Armando Benitez made it difficult as always in the ninth, but got the job done for his eleventh save of the season. Still, I'm somewhat concerned about his velocity and strikeout rate. Today he got three outs without any of them being via the K, and never broke 90 mph on the radar gun. He's been effective in recent weeks, so perhaps he's just finding new ways to get guys out given the decline in his velocity, but for a guy who's known for blowing batters away with heat, the 8.41 K/9 IP rate so far this year is fairly troubling. This is also the fourth consecutive year his K/9 rate has declined. In his first year with the Mets, 1999, he was at an astounding 14.77, the highest of his career, but since then it's been 12.55, 10.97, 10.56 and now 8.41. I don't know how to explain the drop in velocity and strikeouts given that he's only 30 years old, and if he keeps getting the saves I'll live with it, but I definitely think the Mets should let him find employment elsewhere in the offseason when his contract is up, if they don't trade him before that. A pitcher with declining velocity and strikeouts who only pitches seventy innings a year is not worth the kind of money he's likely to be asking for.

Tomorrow, the Mets try to get their bats going in the thin air of Coors Field against the Rockies. Steve Trachsel (a deceptive 0-2, 4.95) takes the mound for the Mets against Nelson Cruz (3-3, 6.94) for the Rockies.  ¶ joe | 10:48 PM |