Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Mets 1, Astros 0 (11)
In his first three seasons in the major leagues, Kazuhisa Ishii started a game and went as many as seven scoreless inning four times. Last year, his worst season in terms of ERA, featured a pair of complete game shutouts along the way. So seven good innings aren't exactly cause to calculate how to afford both playoff tickets and the materials necessary to build an adequately shiny statue of Rick Peterson. But Ishii had one of his very good days against the Astros on a night when the Mets needed every bit of what he gave them.
Ishii pitched seven innings and allowed a reasonable three walks and just two hits while striking out five. And it was a good thing he did, as Roger Clemens was similarly stifling the Mets through seven. So it came down to the bullpens and Willie Randolph had the novel idea to send out the best guys he had, while Phil Garner decided to leave things up to John Franco and Dan Wheeler. Roberto Hernandez shut the Astros down with one strikeout in a perfect eighth before giving way to Braden Looper, who got the job done in slightly more hair-raising fashion for two innings. Looper gave up one hit, walked two batters and hit another while striking out two. But he managed a strikeout to end a bases loaded jam in the tenth and preserve the scoreless tie. Mike DeJean added a scoreless eleventh.
Of course, Houston's Lidge-free bullpen attack was almost as effective as the Mets' as New York's offense managed just four hits and two walks for the whole game while striking out twelve times. But they managed to put a walk and a hit together in the same inning in the end, and that was enough to win it. Victor Diaz led off the eleventh with a walk and, after a Chris Woodward sacrifice bunt, scored on a Jose Reyes single up the middle to end the game.
Tomorrow's game will probably be a little less tense, as the pitchers will be Brandon Backe (0-0, 3.60) and Victor Zambrano (0-1, 3.60). Though I suppose if Ishii can go seven scoreless, nothing should surprise us. ¶ joe | 11:42 PM |
In his first three seasons in the major leagues, Kazuhisa Ishii started a game and went as many as seven scoreless inning four times. Last year, his worst season in terms of ERA, featured a pair of complete game shutouts along the way. So seven good innings aren't exactly cause to calculate how to afford both playoff tickets and the materials necessary to build an adequately shiny statue of Rick Peterson. But Ishii had one of his very good days against the Astros on a night when the Mets needed every bit of what he gave them.
Ishii pitched seven innings and allowed a reasonable three walks and just two hits while striking out five. And it was a good thing he did, as Roger Clemens was similarly stifling the Mets through seven. So it came down to the bullpens and Willie Randolph had the novel idea to send out the best guys he had, while Phil Garner decided to leave things up to John Franco and Dan Wheeler. Roberto Hernandez shut the Astros down with one strikeout in a perfect eighth before giving way to Braden Looper, who got the job done in slightly more hair-raising fashion for two innings. Looper gave up one hit, walked two batters and hit another while striking out two. But he managed a strikeout to end a bases loaded jam in the tenth and preserve the scoreless tie. Mike DeJean added a scoreless eleventh.
Of course, Houston's Lidge-free bullpen attack was almost as effective as the Mets' as New York's offense managed just four hits and two walks for the whole game while striking out twelve times. But they managed to put a walk and a hit together in the same inning in the end, and that was enough to win it. Victor Diaz led off the eleventh with a walk and, after a Chris Woodward sacrifice bunt, scored on a Jose Reyes single up the middle to end the game.
Tomorrow's game will probably be a little less tense, as the pitchers will be Brandon Backe (0-0, 3.60) and Victor Zambrano (0-1, 3.60). Though I suppose if Ishii can go seven scoreless, nothing should surprise us. ¶ joe | 11:42 PM |
