Monday, May 17, 2004
Astros 7, Mets 4
Mets 3, Astros 2
After a disastrous start on Monday in which he allowed six earned runs while recording just six outs, emerging with a 27.00 ERA, James Baldwin bounced back on Saturday to get through four innings while allowing just four runs, thus lowering his ERA all the way to 15.00. Of course, that's still terrible and wasn't enough to beat Andy Pettitte. The bullpen didn't help Baldwin out any, as Orber Moreno allowed two runs in two innings while striking out four and Mike Stanton allowed another in the seventh. The Mets did manage to reach Pettitte for four runs of their own through six innings as Jason Phillips led the way with a pair of doubles and three RBI. Mike Piazza and Kazuo Matsui each had doubles as well, but it wasn't enough to save the game or Baldwin's job. Before Sunday's game, he was mercifully designated for assignment to make way for...
Matt Ginter, the converted reliever acquired for Timo Perez before the start of the season who posted a 1.56 ERA at Norfolk and got his first major league start on Sunday. Ginter gave some reason to believe that, Baldwin's performance notwithstanding, stats posted in Norfolk do mean something, as he pitched very well for five and two-thirds innings. He allowed two runs, but only one of them was earned as his defense and the second base umpire let him down in the sixth inning. With one on and one out, Todd Zeile's error allowed Morgan Ensberg to reach. After Ginter got the second out, Brad Ausmus reached on an infield single that should have been a fielder's choice when Ensberg clearly slid past the bag at second base and was tagged out by Danny Garcia. But he was called safe and after Art Howe shockingly got himself thrown out of the game arguing, the man who outdid Ginter's fine pitching effort, Roger Clemens, singled to drive in the second run.
After that, though, the Mets' bullpen shut the Astros down, although there were plenty of tense moments. Ricky Bottalico got the next four outs, three of them via strikeouts and then gave way to Braden Looper and his 0.00 ERA. Looper gave up singles to the first three batters he faced, but with the bases loaded, he got a short flyout, a strikeout and another flyout to keep the score at 2-0.
The Mets then sent the top of their lineup to the plate in the top of the ninth against former Met and current Astros closer Octavio Dotel. The still-hot Eric Valent led off with a double, but Kazuo Matsui and Cliff Floyd went down swinging. So Mike Piazza came to the plate with a runner on second base, two outs, a two-run deficit on the scoreboard and Todd Zeile on deck. Did they walk him? Nope. Did they give him something to hit? Yup. Did he jack it? You know he did. Down to his last strike, Piazza tied the game up with his eighth home run of the season and after Looper pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth, including two strikeouts, the game went to extra innings.
Mike Stanton came in to pitch the tenth and got through two innings, but not before he loaded the bases with three walks, one intentional, in the eleventh. This bases loaded jam didn't come up until there were two out, thanks in part to the Astros' love affair with the sacrifice bunt, and Stanton got Lance Berkman to ground out on a full count to end the threat. Dan Wheeler relieved Stanton in the twelfth and got through the inning relatively smoothly, allowing just one hit. Then, in the top of the thirteenth, Jason Phillips, who was double-switched in with Stanton, hit his first home run of the season to put the Mets on top. Phillips, whose season has gotten off to a dreadful start, has been hitting pretty well ever since Art Howe decided last week that Piazza would be playing more first base than catcher. Phillips had four hits in the last two games of this series, three for extra bases, and is making the case that he, not Vance Wilson, should be the team's regular catcher.
Wheeler pitched the bottom of the thirteenth to finish off the game and get the win, striking out three while allowing two hits through two innings, and the Mets wound up 4-3 on this tough road trip. After they lost the first two games of the trip, the two "easy" games, things looked bleak, but they won four out of five against Randy Johnson, Brandon Webb, Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens, only losing the game started by their worst starting pitcher, and suddenly this team's fortunes have swung back to the optimistic side thanks to some good pitching and timely hitting. Now the Mets come home to start a series on Tuesday with the Cardinals, not exactly the toughest pitching team in the league, and this 18-20 team is once again tantalizingly close to .500. And hey, at least we know James Baldwin won't be around to screw it up. ¶ joe | 12:26 AM |
Mets 3, Astros 2
After a disastrous start on Monday in which he allowed six earned runs while recording just six outs, emerging with a 27.00 ERA, James Baldwin bounced back on Saturday to get through four innings while allowing just four runs, thus lowering his ERA all the way to 15.00. Of course, that's still terrible and wasn't enough to beat Andy Pettitte. The bullpen didn't help Baldwin out any, as Orber Moreno allowed two runs in two innings while striking out four and Mike Stanton allowed another in the seventh. The Mets did manage to reach Pettitte for four runs of their own through six innings as Jason Phillips led the way with a pair of doubles and three RBI. Mike Piazza and Kazuo Matsui each had doubles as well, but it wasn't enough to save the game or Baldwin's job. Before Sunday's game, he was mercifully designated for assignment to make way for...
Matt Ginter, the converted reliever acquired for Timo Perez before the start of the season who posted a 1.56 ERA at Norfolk and got his first major league start on Sunday. Ginter gave some reason to believe that, Baldwin's performance notwithstanding, stats posted in Norfolk do mean something, as he pitched very well for five and two-thirds innings. He allowed two runs, but only one of them was earned as his defense and the second base umpire let him down in the sixth inning. With one on and one out, Todd Zeile's error allowed Morgan Ensberg to reach. After Ginter got the second out, Brad Ausmus reached on an infield single that should have been a fielder's choice when Ensberg clearly slid past the bag at second base and was tagged out by Danny Garcia. But he was called safe and after Art Howe shockingly got himself thrown out of the game arguing, the man who outdid Ginter's fine pitching effort, Roger Clemens, singled to drive in the second run.
After that, though, the Mets' bullpen shut the Astros down, although there were plenty of tense moments. Ricky Bottalico got the next four outs, three of them via strikeouts and then gave way to Braden Looper and his 0.00 ERA. Looper gave up singles to the first three batters he faced, but with the bases loaded, he got a short flyout, a strikeout and another flyout to keep the score at 2-0.
The Mets then sent the top of their lineup to the plate in the top of the ninth against former Met and current Astros closer Octavio Dotel. The still-hot Eric Valent led off with a double, but Kazuo Matsui and Cliff Floyd went down swinging. So Mike Piazza came to the plate with a runner on second base, two outs, a two-run deficit on the scoreboard and Todd Zeile on deck. Did they walk him? Nope. Did they give him something to hit? Yup. Did he jack it? You know he did. Down to his last strike, Piazza tied the game up with his eighth home run of the season and after Looper pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth, including two strikeouts, the game went to extra innings.
Mike Stanton came in to pitch the tenth and got through two innings, but not before he loaded the bases with three walks, one intentional, in the eleventh. This bases loaded jam didn't come up until there were two out, thanks in part to the Astros' love affair with the sacrifice bunt, and Stanton got Lance Berkman to ground out on a full count to end the threat. Dan Wheeler relieved Stanton in the twelfth and got through the inning relatively smoothly, allowing just one hit. Then, in the top of the thirteenth, Jason Phillips, who was double-switched in with Stanton, hit his first home run of the season to put the Mets on top. Phillips, whose season has gotten off to a dreadful start, has been hitting pretty well ever since Art Howe decided last week that Piazza would be playing more first base than catcher. Phillips had four hits in the last two games of this series, three for extra bases, and is making the case that he, not Vance Wilson, should be the team's regular catcher.
Wheeler pitched the bottom of the thirteenth to finish off the game and get the win, striking out three while allowing two hits through two innings, and the Mets wound up 4-3 on this tough road trip. After they lost the first two games of the trip, the two "easy" games, things looked bleak, but they won four out of five against Randy Johnson, Brandon Webb, Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens, only losing the game started by their worst starting pitcher, and suddenly this team's fortunes have swung back to the optimistic side thanks to some good pitching and timely hitting. Now the Mets come home to start a series on Tuesday with the Cardinals, not exactly the toughest pitching team in the league, and this 18-20 team is once again tantalizingly close to .500. And hey, at least we know James Baldwin won't be around to screw it up. ¶ joe | 12:26 AM |
