Mets 3, Astros 1
Astros 4, Mets 1
Astros 6, Mets 3

I did not intend for this to be the first time since Sunday that I posted anything. And while it may be true that I am lazy, I also have a variety of good excuses for why I haven't written anything since then. But you don't care about those, so on to baseball, where the Mets' offense also decided to take a little breather.

This series didn't exactly put the extremes of the Mets' starting pitching on display, as nobody had a really disastrous outing. But it did prove, once again, that one guy is on a whole other level from the rest of them. Pedro Martinez did finally give up a hit in the seventh inning of Tuesday's game, but even after his shot at a no-hitter went by the wayside, he continued to dominate the Astros. He finished his second complete game of the season with four consecutive strikeouts to bring his total for the game to twelve. He walked just one batter and gave up one run on two hits, with Chris Burke's first major league home run doing the only damage. His 2.45 ERA still isn't enough to lead the league but his 104 strikeouts in 88 innings certainly are.

The Mets did have a reasonably productive day at the plate despite their paltry run total. Those three runs were the product of twelve hits, though they only drew one walk. Mike Cameron and Cliff Floyd each had doubles in the first inning to get the Mets their first run and they, Carlos Beltran and Kazuo Matsui each had two hits on the night. That's not a whole lot to get excited about, but at least there's one pitcher in the Mets' rotation who can make such a score stand up.

On Wednesday, Victor Zambrano came back down to Earth following his best start of the season. He gave the Mets his standard six-inning performance and they didn't put enough runs on the board to salvage a win. He only walked two batters, which is the fewest free passes he's allowed in any start this season. But he only struck out three, and six hits added up on three runs. Three runs in six innings is a pretty standard performance for Zambrano, whose 4.26 ERA is a lot prettier than the 5.12 you get if you count the six unearned runs he's allowed. Zambrano may be settling into a level of mediocrity rather than abject awfulness, but I still wouldn't shed a tear if he were yanked from the rotation.

The Mets had a good offensive night in one respect in that they drew seven walks. But all seven were drawn by just three players--Cameron, who had three, Matsui and David Wright. And they only had six hits, with only two going for extra bases as Wright and Ramon Castro hit doubles. They again scored a run in the first inning, but this time they couldn't add to it and wound up outscored by the league's worst offense.

On Thursday the pendulum swung back to the middle as things were quite even until a Mets bullpen collapse. Tom Glavine had another decent game, lasting seven innings and allowing just three runs, though those were enough for him to be trailing as he left the game. He struck out five and walked just one, continuing his recent string of good control. And he allowed a reasonable seven hits, five of which were singles.

Again that wasn't quite enough for the Mets' offense, though Wright tried his best to carry them early on. Batting fifth with Mike Piazza on the sideline with a minor injury, Wright homered in his first at bat and drove in another run with a single in his second. But his next two at bats didn't go as well as he struck out both times, ending the game with his second K. He finally got some help in the bottom of the eighth as the Mets scored their third run to tie things up without hitting the ball out of the infield. Matsui got hit on the foot with a pitch and wound up scoring on a two-out infield single by Cameron.

Then Willie Randolph brought in Braden Looper to pitch the ninth inning of a tie game, a fine idea if ever there was one. And Looper pitched well, getting through two scoreless innings with just two hits allowed to keep the game even. But as the Mets' offense continued to flounder against the Houston bullpen, Heath Bell entered to relieve Looper and things quickly went sour. The first two batters hit singles which could perhaps be chalked up to bad luck. But Morgan Ensberg's subsequent RBI double was a little more than just fortunate placement. Bell struck out the fourth batter he faced to finally get an out, but the next one singled to drive in two more runs and end Bell's night. Aaron Heilman came in to mop things up, hardly an efficient use of his talents.

So, the Mets lost two out of three to one of the worst teams in the league, thanks in large part to putting only seven runs on the board. The Mets still rate in the upper half of the league's offenses and three games aren't the end of the world. But in such a tight division, they really need to take advantage of opportunities like an extra series with the Astros when they come along.

The heart-pounding excitement of interleague play returns to Shea as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from Orange County which is in California, one of the United States of America (34-25) come to town. The Mets (31-29) aren't exactly putting their best foot forward, as Kazuhisa Ishii (1-4, 5.14, K:BB 20:23) gets the first start. The resurgent Bartolo Colon (7-3, 3.10) goes for the Angels. Colon's ERA is down nearly two full points from last year's 5.01 as he's improved his strikeout rate and cut down on the walks and home runs. This doesn't quite seem like the perfect opportunity for the Mets to get their offense back on track.  ¶ joe | 11:12 PM |