Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Mets 5, Phillies 1
Once again, all it took was Pedro Martinez to make the Mets fun again. This guy is just amazing. The man who entered the game having given the Mets more value than the rest of the starting staff put together just kept on rolling with another strong seven-inning start after a lengthy rain delay. It was the first time all year that he had fewer strikeouts than innings pitched, as he only fanned six, but he also only allowed one run on four hits and two walks which was more than good enough to earn him his third win of the season.
The offense did make things pretty close for him as he exited after the top of the seventh with the score still tied at one. But his fellow New Met Carlos Beltran quickly took care of that. With one out in the seventh, Jose Reyes singled and stole second and Kazuo Matsui walked. Beltran then launched a shot over the right field wall for his fourth home run of the season. Cliff Floyd then singled and stole second and eventually scored on a wild pitch after the bases had been loaded to account for the Mets' fifth run.
Reyes had scored the Mets' first run in the third when he came around from first on a Matsui single to right. Reyes' on base percentage remains an atrocious .287, but he had one of those games tonight that makes it hard to stay mad at him. He had four singles in five at bats and stole a pair of bases. When he manages get on base, he's unquestionably exciting to watch. Hell, when he gets to a three-ball count he's pretty exciting. The crowd got rather loud when he got to 3-1 in the ninth inning, but he wound up grounding out sharply after taking a second strike. He's still without a walk on the season and batting him leadoff continues to make about as much sense as batting David Wright seventh. Wright did finally get moved ahead of Doug Mientkiewicz in the lineup against a right hander pitcher tonight, hitting in the fifth slot with Mike Piazza taking the day off. But lineup construction continues to be one of Willie Randolph's weaker points as a manager.
Tomorrow the Mets try to keep this modest winning streak going, though they'll have to send one of The Other Guys out to pitch. This time it's Tom Glavine (1-3, 5.67) taking on Brett Myers (1-1, 1.35). Glavine has never pitched for the Phillies, so it's possible he might be able to get some of them out. ¶ joe | 12:03 AM |
Once again, all it took was Pedro Martinez to make the Mets fun again. This guy is just amazing. The man who entered the game having given the Mets more value than the rest of the starting staff put together just kept on rolling with another strong seven-inning start after a lengthy rain delay. It was the first time all year that he had fewer strikeouts than innings pitched, as he only fanned six, but he also only allowed one run on four hits and two walks which was more than good enough to earn him his third win of the season.
The offense did make things pretty close for him as he exited after the top of the seventh with the score still tied at one. But his fellow New Met Carlos Beltran quickly took care of that. With one out in the seventh, Jose Reyes singled and stole second and Kazuo Matsui walked. Beltran then launched a shot over the right field wall for his fourth home run of the season. Cliff Floyd then singled and stole second and eventually scored on a wild pitch after the bases had been loaded to account for the Mets' fifth run.
Reyes had scored the Mets' first run in the third when he came around from first on a Matsui single to right. Reyes' on base percentage remains an atrocious .287, but he had one of those games tonight that makes it hard to stay mad at him. He had four singles in five at bats and stole a pair of bases. When he manages get on base, he's unquestionably exciting to watch. Hell, when he gets to a three-ball count he's pretty exciting. The crowd got rather loud when he got to 3-1 in the ninth inning, but he wound up grounding out sharply after taking a second strike. He's still without a walk on the season and batting him leadoff continues to make about as much sense as batting David Wright seventh. Wright did finally get moved ahead of Doug Mientkiewicz in the lineup against a right hander pitcher tonight, hitting in the fifth slot with Mike Piazza taking the day off. But lineup construction continues to be one of Willie Randolph's weaker points as a manager.
Tomorrow the Mets try to keep this modest winning streak going, though they'll have to send one of The Other Guys out to pitch. This time it's Tom Glavine (1-3, 5.67) taking on Brett Myers (1-1, 1.35). Glavine has never pitched for the Phillies, so it's possible he might be able to get some of them out. ¶ joe | 12:03 AM |
