Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Marlins 6, Mets 5
It figures that the day I start worrying about the Mets taking Orber Moreno’s job away from him, he goes out and tries to lose it all by himself. Now, all year he’s had difficulty pitching on consecutive days, and while he didn’t pitch yesterday, he did have more than his usual workload the last few days, pitching more than an inning twice in the last four days. And a passed ball by alleged defensive specialist Vance Wilson tacked an unearned run onto his total. But still, Moreno came in with the Mets up by three and after retiring the first batter he faced, walked and hit the next two on his way to allowing two runs on just one hit. I still think he’s a better option out of the bullpen than Mike DeJean is likely to be, but tonight was disappointing.
Of course, even with the runs Moreno and Wilson allowed, the Mets could have gotten away with a win if their heretofore stellar closer hadn’t chosen tonight to blown just his second save of the season. Braden Looper is no Eric Gagne and was bound to blow some eventually, and I suppose it’s only fitting that he blew one against his former team, allowing the man he replaced, Armando Benitez, to pick up the save for himself. But the Mets’ two best right-handed relievers picked a bad night to have a bad day. Looper gave up two runs on four hits, striking out two.
Their failures were especially disappointing given that they came in relief of a surprisingly effective Scott Erickson. The Mets’ newest old starter had a fine debut, allowing just two runs, one earned, on eight hits and one walk while striking out three. I still doubt very much that he can be any kind of savior for this rotation, but at least he’s not the new James Baldwin.
The good news was that at least the Mets’ offense, stocked entirely with righties, finally got to Dontrelle Willis, with Jose Reyes leading the way with a breakout game. The leadoff man had three hits on the day, including two doubles, and stole two bases, scoring a run each time he was on base. Shane Spencer’s three-run home run in the first inning was the big blast of the game and his fourth on the season. Mike Piazza returned to the lineup and had a good game, drawing two walks and hitting a single, while Richard Hidalgo had two hits of his own, both singles. Ty Wigginton had a single in the ninth, but grounded into two double plays earlier in the game.
Meanwhile David Wright had no hits but two walks in support of a decent start by Matt Ginter. Ginter went seven and one-third innings, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six. Victor Diaz had a double and a walk in the game. Justin Huber hit his eleventh home run for Binghamton and also drew a walk.
Tomorrow, Steve Trachsel (9-6, 3.35) looks to continue his home-field dominance (7-2, 1.70) against an as yet undetermined Florida starter, as far as ESPN can tell.
¶ joe | 12:57 AM |
It figures that the day I start worrying about the Mets taking Orber Moreno’s job away from him, he goes out and tries to lose it all by himself. Now, all year he’s had difficulty pitching on consecutive days, and while he didn’t pitch yesterday, he did have more than his usual workload the last few days, pitching more than an inning twice in the last four days. And a passed ball by alleged defensive specialist Vance Wilson tacked an unearned run onto his total. But still, Moreno came in with the Mets up by three and after retiring the first batter he faced, walked and hit the next two on his way to allowing two runs on just one hit. I still think he’s a better option out of the bullpen than Mike DeJean is likely to be, but tonight was disappointing.
Of course, even with the runs Moreno and Wilson allowed, the Mets could have gotten away with a win if their heretofore stellar closer hadn’t chosen tonight to blown just his second save of the season. Braden Looper is no Eric Gagne and was bound to blow some eventually, and I suppose it’s only fitting that he blew one against his former team, allowing the man he replaced, Armando Benitez, to pick up the save for himself. But the Mets’ two best right-handed relievers picked a bad night to have a bad day. Looper gave up two runs on four hits, striking out two.
Their failures were especially disappointing given that they came in relief of a surprisingly effective Scott Erickson. The Mets’ newest old starter had a fine debut, allowing just two runs, one earned, on eight hits and one walk while striking out three. I still doubt very much that he can be any kind of savior for this rotation, but at least he’s not the new James Baldwin.
The good news was that at least the Mets’ offense, stocked entirely with righties, finally got to Dontrelle Willis, with Jose Reyes leading the way with a breakout game. The leadoff man had three hits on the day, including two doubles, and stole two bases, scoring a run each time he was on base. Shane Spencer’s three-run home run in the first inning was the big blast of the game and his fourth on the season. Mike Piazza returned to the lineup and had a good game, drawing two walks and hitting a single, while Richard Hidalgo had two hits of his own, both singles. Ty Wigginton had a single in the ninth, but grounded into two double plays earlier in the game.
Meanwhile David Wright had no hits but two walks in support of a decent start by Matt Ginter. Ginter went seven and one-third innings, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six. Victor Diaz had a double and a walk in the game. Justin Huber hit his eleventh home run for Binghamton and also drew a walk.
Tomorrow, Steve Trachsel (9-6, 3.35) looks to continue his home-field dominance (7-2, 1.70) against an as yet undetermined Florida starter, as far as ESPN can tell.
¶ joe | 12:57 AM |
