Thursday, April 29, 2004
Dodgers 3, Mets 2
The Mets offense got things started on the right foot and seemed to be on the verge of breaking through all night. Kazuo Mastui led off the game with his second home run of the season, and much of the lineup seemed to be working their way to good hitter's counts all night, getting Odalis Perez up to 90 pitches through six innings as he allowed seven hits and two walks. But they were only able to get two runs out of Perez and were held just barely in check by the bullpen. Mike Cameron was robbed of a solo home run by Milton Bradley in the sixth and Jason Phillips hit a line drive up the middle in the eighth that might have tied the game had it not connected with Eric Gagne's leg on its way through the infield. But in the end, it was just another day of not enough offense to support a decent pitching performance.
Steve Trachsel wasn't at his absolute best as he allowed a a pair of home runs, five hits and three walks while striking out just one through six innings. But it all added up to just three runs for another tough-luck loss for Trachsel (2-3, 4.50). John Franco pitched a brilliant seventh inning, striking out the side, and the suddenly dominant Mike Stanton retired the Dodgers in the eighth on only five pitches.
Thankfully, help is in fact on the way for the offense, as Jose Reyes made it through his first rehab start for St. Lucie without incident, hitting a double in five at bats. Scott Erickson had no such luck, managing just one inning of work before reaggravating his hamstring. Elsewhere in the minors, David Wright went three for four with a walk and is now hitting .380/.494/.662. And Yusmeiro Petit had a rough start, but at least some of the blame has to go to his defense. He went four innings and allowed five runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three, but only two of the runs were earned. In the first inning, an error with two outs allowed a run to score before Petit struck out the next batter to end the inning. In the second inning, he allowed a couple of earned runs with two outs, but another error extended the inning and the next batter hit a two-run double before Peit got the next batter to fly out. He allowed just one walk over the next two innings before exiting the game. This start got his ERA up over one to 1.29 and his RA is at 3.00, but he's still striking out more than a batter per inning and striking out five times as many as he walks. He also got his home run rate under one per nine innings, not allowing a longball in this start.
Tonight, the Mets try to salvage a win of this series, sending Jae Weong Seo (0-3, 6.60) to the mound against former Yankee washout Jeff Weaver (1-2, 6.75). Somehow I think at least one of these guys will lower their ERA in this game. ¶ joe | 2:57 PM |
The Mets offense got things started on the right foot and seemed to be on the verge of breaking through all night. Kazuo Mastui led off the game with his second home run of the season, and much of the lineup seemed to be working their way to good hitter's counts all night, getting Odalis Perez up to 90 pitches through six innings as he allowed seven hits and two walks. But they were only able to get two runs out of Perez and were held just barely in check by the bullpen. Mike Cameron was robbed of a solo home run by Milton Bradley in the sixth and Jason Phillips hit a line drive up the middle in the eighth that might have tied the game had it not connected with Eric Gagne's leg on its way through the infield. But in the end, it was just another day of not enough offense to support a decent pitching performance.
Steve Trachsel wasn't at his absolute best as he allowed a a pair of home runs, five hits and three walks while striking out just one through six innings. But it all added up to just three runs for another tough-luck loss for Trachsel (2-3, 4.50). John Franco pitched a brilliant seventh inning, striking out the side, and the suddenly dominant Mike Stanton retired the Dodgers in the eighth on only five pitches.
Thankfully, help is in fact on the way for the offense, as Jose Reyes made it through his first rehab start for St. Lucie without incident, hitting a double in five at bats. Scott Erickson had no such luck, managing just one inning of work before reaggravating his hamstring. Elsewhere in the minors, David Wright went three for four with a walk and is now hitting .380/.494/.662. And Yusmeiro Petit had a rough start, but at least some of the blame has to go to his defense. He went four innings and allowed five runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three, but only two of the runs were earned. In the first inning, an error with two outs allowed a run to score before Petit struck out the next batter to end the inning. In the second inning, he allowed a couple of earned runs with two outs, but another error extended the inning and the next batter hit a two-run double before Peit got the next batter to fly out. He allowed just one walk over the next two innings before exiting the game. This start got his ERA up over one to 1.29 and his RA is at 3.00, but he's still striking out more than a batter per inning and striking out five times as many as he walks. He also got his home run rate under one per nine innings, not allowing a longball in this start.
Tonight, the Mets try to salvage a win of this series, sending Jae Weong Seo (0-3, 6.60) to the mound against former Yankee washout Jeff Weaver (1-2, 6.75). Somehow I think at least one of these guys will lower their ERA in this game. ¶ joe | 2:57 PM |
