Thursday, April 21, 2005
Mets 10, Marlins 1
There's nothing like a start from Al Leiter to give a struggling offense a good kick in the pants. Tonight Leiter was in his 2004 form, lacking only the luck that allowed him to skate through that year with a 3.21 ERA while walking more than one batter per two innings pitched. This time he only made it through three innings despite throwing 82 pitches on the night thanks to five walks and six hits allowed. That all added up to eight runs and a quick exit for the formerly beloved former Met.
It all fell apart for Leiter in the second when two walks and a fluke bunt single loaded the bases for Doug Mientkiewicz who unloaded them in a hurry with a shot to right. Another walk and three more singles gave the Mets seven runs in the inning, an inning in which Cliff Floyd stole second base twice. Floyd was on base three times with two singles and a walk, Jose Reyes had a pair of singles though his first walk of the season continued to elude him and Victor Diaz walked another three times on the night. Carlos Beltran's fifth inning home run was only the second extra base hit for the Mets.
Of course, the ten runs wound up looking very much like overkill as Pedro Martinez continued his dominance of the National League. He got into some trouble in the first inning, allowing a run on one hit, but he cruised from there. He went seven innings on just 88 pitches and allowed only three hits while walking nobody and striking out eight. His ERA is now 2.17, but even that understates the quality of his work as he's given up seven runs on the season despite allowing only eleven hits and four walks while striking out a ridiculous 38 in 29 innings. His WHIP is 0.52. He hasn't allowed more than five base runners in any one start or struck out fewer than eight. His four starts have all come either in a good offensive park or against one of the Mets' top division rivals and he's been stellar every time. Every other spot in the Mets' rotation comes with some sort of question marks, regardless of who's healthy, but Martinez looks like the kind of sure thing that few teams in the majors can boast.
Tomorrow the Mets take on the brand new Washington Nationals for the first time in a game that counts. Tom Glavine (0-2, 5.17) is coming off an ineffective performance in his last start. He'll take on one-time good pitcher Esteban Loaiza (0-0, 4.58), who probably knows as well as anyone that it's not 2003 anymore. ¶ joe | 11:47 PM |
There's nothing like a start from Al Leiter to give a struggling offense a good kick in the pants. Tonight Leiter was in his 2004 form, lacking only the luck that allowed him to skate through that year with a 3.21 ERA while walking more than one batter per two innings pitched. This time he only made it through three innings despite throwing 82 pitches on the night thanks to five walks and six hits allowed. That all added up to eight runs and a quick exit for the formerly beloved former Met.
It all fell apart for Leiter in the second when two walks and a fluke bunt single loaded the bases for Doug Mientkiewicz who unloaded them in a hurry with a shot to right. Another walk and three more singles gave the Mets seven runs in the inning, an inning in which Cliff Floyd stole second base twice. Floyd was on base three times with two singles and a walk, Jose Reyes had a pair of singles though his first walk of the season continued to elude him and Victor Diaz walked another three times on the night. Carlos Beltran's fifth inning home run was only the second extra base hit for the Mets.
Of course, the ten runs wound up looking very much like overkill as Pedro Martinez continued his dominance of the National League. He got into some trouble in the first inning, allowing a run on one hit, but he cruised from there. He went seven innings on just 88 pitches and allowed only three hits while walking nobody and striking out eight. His ERA is now 2.17, but even that understates the quality of his work as he's given up seven runs on the season despite allowing only eleven hits and four walks while striking out a ridiculous 38 in 29 innings. His WHIP is 0.52. He hasn't allowed more than five base runners in any one start or struck out fewer than eight. His four starts have all come either in a good offensive park or against one of the Mets' top division rivals and he's been stellar every time. Every other spot in the Mets' rotation comes with some sort of question marks, regardless of who's healthy, but Martinez looks like the kind of sure thing that few teams in the majors can boast.
Tomorrow the Mets take on the brand new Washington Nationals for the first time in a game that counts. Tom Glavine (0-2, 5.17) is coming off an ineffective performance in his last start. He'll take on one-time good pitcher Esteban Loaiza (0-0, 4.58), who probably knows as well as anyone that it's not 2003 anymore. ¶ joe | 11:47 PM |
