Mets 10, Marlins 5

Hopefully his time on the disabled list has allowed Rey Sanchez to rediscover the simple pleasure of a good sit. Just a comfortable chair and the time to reflect on your thoughts with nothing to interrupt you. Because Sanchez should be given the opportunity to find a comfortable place to park his backside when he returns from the DL in the next weeks given the way Jose Reyes is playing. Sure, Reyes' .229 batting isn't all that impressive, stuck in between Sanchez's .225 and that other New York shortstop's fifteen million dollar .247. And sure, he's got more errors (2) than steals and walks put together (1). But still, he's generally played very good defense and brought some real excitement to the team with his speed and bat. He's been inconsistent, as one might expect of a man freshly twenty years old who hit .269 in less than half a season at AAA. But he's already showing some of his extra base hit potential and driving in runs from the nine hole. Tonight he went two for five with a double and a based loaded triple for a total of four RBI. He's now got eight hits, four of the extra base variety, in 35 at bats over 9 games, as well as 11 RBI. While he's clearly a work in progress, I can't believe the Mets would seriously consider sending him back to Norfolk to be replaced by Sanchez, who has four extra base hits and ten RBI in 129 at bats this year.

As for the Mets' pitching, they didn't approach another one-hiiter, as Al Leiter had his usual start with a bunch of baserunners, several runs and a W at the end of it. He went five innings and gave up five runs on six hits and six walks (!) while striking out two. He is now 8-3 with an ERA of 5.06, which is pretty amazing given that the Mets are thirteenth in the National League in runs scored. All three of his losses were blowouts (13-3, 11-3, 13-1) and the Mets hadn't really given him excessive run support before his last three wins, in which they scored at least ten runs each time. Graeme Lloyd continued his quality work, pitching a scoreless inning. And Dan Wheeler, called up today, pitched three perfect innings to become the first person other than Armando Benitez to record a save for the Mets this year.

As you might expect from a team that scored ten runs on thirteen hits, there were offensive contributions up and down the lineup, as Leiter was the only starter without a hit. He's still without a hit for the season, which is about what you'd expect if you saw him swing a bat. Cliff Floyd had a pair of doubles and walk in four at bats. Jeromy Burnitz went two for four with a double and a walk. Jason Phillips went two for four with a walk. Roger Cedeno had a two RBI double and Ty Wigginton went two for five.

Having already clinched a winning road trip with their sixth win, the Mets try to make it seven for ten before heading home. That'll be a somewhat dicey proposition with Mike Bacsik (1-1, 10.38) on the mound against Tommy Phelps (2-2, 3.72) but hopefully the Mets will remember to bring the offense.

And I just like to add, three cheers for Marlon Anderson. That was a close one.  ¶ joe | 1:47 AM |