Saturday, April 23, 2005
Mets 3, Nationals 1
Mets 10, Nationals 5
On Friday the Mets' offense once again fell back to earth just in time for a Tom Glavine start, but this time the weather and the strike zone were to Glavine's liking and he was able to escape with a win. Glavine went seven innings and allowed just one run on two hits and three walks and struck out seven along the way. It was definitely Glavine's best start of the young season, even if he did give up a home run to Christian Guzman. Glavine's been walking a concerning number of batters so far this year--13 in 22 2/3 innings--but at least this time he made up for it with a good number of strikeouts. In two of his four starts he's walked more batters than he's struck out, though he now has 16 Ks on the season.
The offense had a decent night with seven hits and five walks, even if it only added up to three runs. Kazuo Matsui had a good night with two walks and a single while Carlos Beltran had a double and a walk. Each of those two scored a run in the third inning. And Cliff Floyd kept on doing what he's been doing, smacking his fourth home run of the year.
Saturday saw the Mets' boomeranging offense turn back in the other direction as they smacked 16 hits, including five doubles, and drew six walks on the way to their third ten-run effort in the last five games. And they got some surprisingly solid starting pitching to go along with it. Victor Diaz was once again the offensive star as he was on base five times with two singles, two doubles and a walk. He's now hitting .362/.492/.702 and the Mets are going to have an interesting decision to make when Mike Cameron is healthy, because sending Diaz down to Norfolk so that he can play every day no longer seems like a reasonable option. David Wright, Cliff Floyd, Carlos Beltran and Chris Woodward each had two hits on the day and Wright, Beltran and Miguel Cairo each hit a double. Wright also had a walk while Beltran added two free passes and a brilliant diving catch in the gap in right center in the sixth inning, laying out to make the catch when the score was already 10-0.
But perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was emergency starter Jae Seo. Replacing an injured Kazuhisa Ishii isn't exactly a situation where you've got a high standard to live up to, but Seo had been struggling mightily in Norfolk and was pitching on three days rest. So his six innings of one-run ball were a lot more than anyone could have reasonably expected. He allowed six hits but didn't walk anyone and struck out four, getting through six on 79 pitches before willie Randolph went to the bullpen. And the bullpen was quite a bit less effective than Mister Seo.
Dae-Sung Koo had an awful seventh inning, allowing three runs on three hits and a hit-by-pitch. He neither struck out nor walked anyone. Manny Aybar followed with a solid eighth, allowing one hit and striking out one. And the dominance of his time in AAA eluded Heath Bell in the ninth, as he allowed his first run of the season, giving up two hits and a walk in the process, while striking out one. But in the end, the offense had done more than enough to cover for some shoddy relief work and get Seo his first win of the season.
On Sunday the Mets try to finish off the sweep, though the pitching matchup is less than favorable, early season statistics aside. Victor Zambrano (1-1, 3.71) goes for the Mets against the Nationals' ace Livan Hernandez (1-2, 5.76). If he has a solid game, Mr. Ten Minutes might just get his ERA lower than the 3.68 sported by a certain young lefty who apparently has the potential to be just as good as Zambrano is now three or four years down the road. Of course, that guy's pitching against teams like the Red Sox in the league with the DH, whereas Zambrano is facing a team that started Carlos Baerga on Saturday, so that really shouldn't be too hard. Right? ¶ joe | 11:43 PM |
Mets 10, Nationals 5
On Friday the Mets' offense once again fell back to earth just in time for a Tom Glavine start, but this time the weather and the strike zone were to Glavine's liking and he was able to escape with a win. Glavine went seven innings and allowed just one run on two hits and three walks and struck out seven along the way. It was definitely Glavine's best start of the young season, even if he did give up a home run to Christian Guzman. Glavine's been walking a concerning number of batters so far this year--13 in 22 2/3 innings--but at least this time he made up for it with a good number of strikeouts. In two of his four starts he's walked more batters than he's struck out, though he now has 16 Ks on the season.
The offense had a decent night with seven hits and five walks, even if it only added up to three runs. Kazuo Matsui had a good night with two walks and a single while Carlos Beltran had a double and a walk. Each of those two scored a run in the third inning. And Cliff Floyd kept on doing what he's been doing, smacking his fourth home run of the year.
Saturday saw the Mets' boomeranging offense turn back in the other direction as they smacked 16 hits, including five doubles, and drew six walks on the way to their third ten-run effort in the last five games. And they got some surprisingly solid starting pitching to go along with it. Victor Diaz was once again the offensive star as he was on base five times with two singles, two doubles and a walk. He's now hitting .362/.492/.702 and the Mets are going to have an interesting decision to make when Mike Cameron is healthy, because sending Diaz down to Norfolk so that he can play every day no longer seems like a reasonable option. David Wright, Cliff Floyd, Carlos Beltran and Chris Woodward each had two hits on the day and Wright, Beltran and Miguel Cairo each hit a double. Wright also had a walk while Beltran added two free passes and a brilliant diving catch in the gap in right center in the sixth inning, laying out to make the catch when the score was already 10-0.
But perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was emergency starter Jae Seo. Replacing an injured Kazuhisa Ishii isn't exactly a situation where you've got a high standard to live up to, but Seo had been struggling mightily in Norfolk and was pitching on three days rest. So his six innings of one-run ball were a lot more than anyone could have reasonably expected. He allowed six hits but didn't walk anyone and struck out four, getting through six on 79 pitches before willie Randolph went to the bullpen. And the bullpen was quite a bit less effective than Mister Seo.
Dae-Sung Koo had an awful seventh inning, allowing three runs on three hits and a hit-by-pitch. He neither struck out nor walked anyone. Manny Aybar followed with a solid eighth, allowing one hit and striking out one. And the dominance of his time in AAA eluded Heath Bell in the ninth, as he allowed his first run of the season, giving up two hits and a walk in the process, while striking out one. But in the end, the offense had done more than enough to cover for some shoddy relief work and get Seo his first win of the season.
On Sunday the Mets try to finish off the sweep, though the pitching matchup is less than favorable, early season statistics aside. Victor Zambrano (1-1, 3.71) goes for the Mets against the Nationals' ace Livan Hernandez (1-2, 5.76). If he has a solid game, Mr. Ten Minutes might just get his ERA lower than the 3.68 sported by a certain young lefty who apparently has the potential to be just as good as Zambrano is now three or four years down the road. Of course, that guy's pitching against teams like the Red Sox in the league with the DH, whereas Zambrano is facing a team that started Carlos Baerga on Saturday, so that really shouldn't be too hard. Right? ¶ joe | 11:43 PM |
