Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Phillies 6, Mets 3
On Wednesday, Jae Seo pitched one hell of a ball game. He lasted eight and one-third innings and allowed just one run on six hits and one walk while striking out nine. This dominant performance was enough to get his ERA down to a terrific 2.99 and earn him his sixth win of the year. Of course, he did all of these things in Toledo, Ohio for the Mets' AAA affiliate, the Norfolk Tides. Seo had the temerity to give up four runs in eighteen major league innings at the start of the season, which got him banished to Norfolk, apparently never to return.
In his stead, the Mets are stuck with Kazuhisa Ishii who, to the surprise of very few outside the Mets' front office, isn't good. Ishii, who gave up at least five runs in three of his first four starts this month, topped all of those efforts by not even getting through the fourth inning. He did tie his season low in hits allowed with two, but that hardly matters when you walk the first three batters of an inning. That's what he did to start the fourth, meaning that the single and the home run he subsequently allowed were enough to get him to the magic five run level. He failed to win any fabulous prizes for that feat, but after recording just ten outs he did get a nice early shower on what was a damp, hot, uncomfortable night. He had walked four batters in all while striking out just one, putting his K:BB ratio for the season at an equitable 37:32.
The Mets' offense wasn't quite so potent against Cory Lidle, though I suppose if he'd walked three guys before one of the two home runs he allowed, things might have gone better for them. The first long ball actually sprung from the bat of Jose Offerman in a pinch hitting role, making the man colorfully referred to as "Awfulman" a perfect two-for-two with two RBI as a Met, likely earning him more of the manager's confidence than he will ever deserve. Cliff Floyd hit the Mets' other bomb, his twenty-first of the year. The Mets only managed three other hits, and one of those was also Floyd's. Mike Cameron doubled and scored.
Tomorrow should go quite a bit more smoothly for the Mets, as the matinee will be started by Pedro Martinez (8-2, 2.72), who is in many ways the anti-Ishii. Jon Lieber (8-7, 4.93) goes for the Phillies in order to demonstrate the fact that all eight-win starting pitchers are not equal. Should they win this game, the Mets would be a game closer to not being in last place anymore. ¶ joe | 11:19 PM |
On Wednesday, Jae Seo pitched one hell of a ball game. He lasted eight and one-third innings and allowed just one run on six hits and one walk while striking out nine. This dominant performance was enough to get his ERA down to a terrific 2.99 and earn him his sixth win of the year. Of course, he did all of these things in Toledo, Ohio for the Mets' AAA affiliate, the Norfolk Tides. Seo had the temerity to give up four runs in eighteen major league innings at the start of the season, which got him banished to Norfolk, apparently never to return.
In his stead, the Mets are stuck with Kazuhisa Ishii who, to the surprise of very few outside the Mets' front office, isn't good. Ishii, who gave up at least five runs in three of his first four starts this month, topped all of those efforts by not even getting through the fourth inning. He did tie his season low in hits allowed with two, but that hardly matters when you walk the first three batters of an inning. That's what he did to start the fourth, meaning that the single and the home run he subsequently allowed were enough to get him to the magic five run level. He failed to win any fabulous prizes for that feat, but after recording just ten outs he did get a nice early shower on what was a damp, hot, uncomfortable night. He had walked four batters in all while striking out just one, putting his K:BB ratio for the season at an equitable 37:32.
The Mets' offense wasn't quite so potent against Cory Lidle, though I suppose if he'd walked three guys before one of the two home runs he allowed, things might have gone better for them. The first long ball actually sprung from the bat of Jose Offerman in a pinch hitting role, making the man colorfully referred to as "Awfulman" a perfect two-for-two with two RBI as a Met, likely earning him more of the manager's confidence than he will ever deserve. Cliff Floyd hit the Mets' other bomb, his twenty-first of the year. The Mets only managed three other hits, and one of those was also Floyd's. Mike Cameron doubled and scored.
Tomorrow should go quite a bit more smoothly for the Mets, as the matinee will be started by Pedro Martinez (8-2, 2.72), who is in many ways the anti-Ishii. Jon Lieber (8-7, 4.93) goes for the Phillies in order to demonstrate the fact that all eight-win starting pitchers are not equal. Should they win this game, the Mets would be a game closer to not being in last place anymore. ¶ joe | 11:19 PM |
