Sunday, April 11, 2004
Mets 4, Expos 1
Kazuo Matsui SS
Jose Reyes 2B
Cliff Floyd LF
Mike Piazza C
Mike Cameron CF
Jason Phillips 1B
Karim Garcia RF
Ty Wigginton 3B
Once upon a time that was going to be the lineup the Mets sent out to the field for their home opener tomorrow. Not the scariest lineup in the majors, but a pretty solid one through six at least. Then Reyes went down with The Hamstring Strain That Wouldn't Heal. In spite of Art Howe's unusual choices as to how to replace Reyes in the second spot in the lineup, the offense got off to a pretty good start. Then Garcia fractured a finger trying to catch a fly ball with two hands on Saturday. And in today's Floyd pulled up lame trying to run out a ground ball in the first inning. As of right now Floyd's latest injury is being called a strained quadricep and he'll probably head to the DL after he gets examined back in New York on Monday. With just one exception the Mets have gotten good pitching from their starting staff so far this year, and, regardless of how Art Howe decides to rearrange the four good hitters left in this lineup tomorrow, that will have to continue if this team's going to win many games.
The good pitching in today's game came once again from suddenly aptly-labeled ace Tom Glavine. Aside from the point in the game where he decided to illustrate the point of this article by allowing an unearned run as a result of his own error, Glavine was excellent all day. Through seven innings he struck out just one but allowed just one walk and five hits.
Glavine's outing kept the Mets in the game all day, and after a while, the offense managed to cash in. Glavine himself got things started in the sixth with a single and after a Kaz Matsui double and a Todd Zeile sacrifice fly, Floyd's replacement in the lineup, Eric Valent came through with his first major league home run. The Mets added another run in the ninth when defensive replacement Ty Wigginton (yes, really) single to drive in Karim Garcia who had come in to pinch run for Jason Phillips. Braden Looper pitched an uncharacteristically dominant ninth inning, striking out two to earn his first save of the season.
Mike Piazza's first day at first base was fairly uneventful aside from Glavine's errant throw which led to Piazza colliding with the baserunner trying to reach for the ball. He did fail to get anything done with the bat, just as he had in the first two games of this series.
It will be interesting to see who gets called up to replace Floyd once he hits the DL, as the Mets have no depth in the outfield and I tend to doubt they'll give Victor Diaz a shot in the majors after less than a week of playing right field in the minors. For tomorrow, at least, it'll probably be Valent and Shane Spencer. Hopefully Steve Trachsel (0-1, 24.00) can rebound from his rough first start as he once again takes on Mike Hampton (0-0, 11.25) and the Braves. ¶ joe | 11:39 PM |
Kazuo Matsui SS
Jose Reyes 2B
Cliff Floyd LF
Mike Piazza C
Mike Cameron CF
Jason Phillips 1B
Karim Garcia RF
Ty Wigginton 3B
Once upon a time that was going to be the lineup the Mets sent out to the field for their home opener tomorrow. Not the scariest lineup in the majors, but a pretty solid one through six at least. Then Reyes went down with The Hamstring Strain That Wouldn't Heal. In spite of Art Howe's unusual choices as to how to replace Reyes in the second spot in the lineup, the offense got off to a pretty good start. Then Garcia fractured a finger trying to catch a fly ball with two hands on Saturday. And in today's Floyd pulled up lame trying to run out a ground ball in the first inning. As of right now Floyd's latest injury is being called a strained quadricep and he'll probably head to the DL after he gets examined back in New York on Monday. With just one exception the Mets have gotten good pitching from their starting staff so far this year, and, regardless of how Art Howe decides to rearrange the four good hitters left in this lineup tomorrow, that will have to continue if this team's going to win many games.
The good pitching in today's game came once again from suddenly aptly-labeled ace Tom Glavine. Aside from the point in the game where he decided to illustrate the point of this article by allowing an unearned run as a result of his own error, Glavine was excellent all day. Through seven innings he struck out just one but allowed just one walk and five hits.
Glavine's outing kept the Mets in the game all day, and after a while, the offense managed to cash in. Glavine himself got things started in the sixth with a single and after a Kaz Matsui double and a Todd Zeile sacrifice fly, Floyd's replacement in the lineup, Eric Valent came through with his first major league home run. The Mets added another run in the ninth when defensive replacement Ty Wigginton (yes, really) single to drive in Karim Garcia who had come in to pinch run for Jason Phillips. Braden Looper pitched an uncharacteristically dominant ninth inning, striking out two to earn his first save of the season.
Mike Piazza's first day at first base was fairly uneventful aside from Glavine's errant throw which led to Piazza colliding with the baserunner trying to reach for the ball. He did fail to get anything done with the bat, just as he had in the first two games of this series.
It will be interesting to see who gets called up to replace Floyd once he hits the DL, as the Mets have no depth in the outfield and I tend to doubt they'll give Victor Diaz a shot in the majors after less than a week of playing right field in the minors. For tomorrow, at least, it'll probably be Valent and Shane Spencer. Hopefully Steve Trachsel (0-1, 24.00) can rebound from his rough first start as he once again takes on Mike Hampton (0-0, 11.25) and the Braves. ¶ joe | 11:39 PM |
