Twins 5, Mets 3

After nine straight starts of excellent performance Steve Trachsel has fallen back to earth, and now teams other than the Marlins have begun taking advantage of it. Wednesday was his third straight rough start, as he gave up five runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out six. He did manage to bounce back from a fourth inning in which he allowed a pair of home runs to go seven innings on 107 pitches. But he was no match for what happens when Johan Santana meets the Mets’ offense, as the struggling Minnesota starter struck out ten Mets through seven innings, allowing just one run on six hits, courtesy of Gerald Williams’s first home run as a Met. The Mets did manage to reach the Minnesota bullpen for a pair of runs on a Mike Piazza double, but that was all they could muster while losing their fourth game in their last five. They did outhit the Twins, nine to eight, but didn’t draw a single walk and had just the two aforementioned extra-base hits.

Also today, the Mets place Orber Moreno on the 15 day disabled list and recalled Tyler Yates to take his spot in the bullpen. Yates wasn’t exactly dominant in his time with Norfolk, posting a 3.55 ERA, but he did strike out sixteen through twelve and two-thirds innings while walking just five and allowing just one home run, so perhaps he can provide some Ks out of the ‘pen like he was doing in the early innings of his major league starters earlier this year.

Tomorrow, the Mets try to avoid the sweep as they send out Matt Ginter (1-0, 2.81) out against Kyle Lohse (2-4, 5.61).  ¶ joe | 2:12 AM |