Thursday, August 04, 2005
Mets 9, Brewers 8 (11)
Brewers 6, Mets 4
Brewers 12, Mets 9
Who would've thought the Mets could score twenty-two runs over the course of three games and lose two of them? The Mets' offense set out to torpedo the team's aspirations toward extraordinary levels of mediocrity in this series. But not to worry, Willie Randolph and his bullpen were there to set things right and put the Mets right back where they belong--at .500.
Things started off pretty well for the Mets in this series. Well, that's not exactly true. Things started off rather terribly for the Mets in this series, but they way they responded to that adversity was enough to quickly erase its memory. Victor Zambrano got absolutely torched in the series opener, recording as many home runs allowed as outs with four of each. He didn't walk anyone, and half of his outs were recorded via the strikeout, but it was an atrocious night for the ghost of trade deadlines past. He gave up seven hits, and all but one of those guys scored.
But the Mets' offense responded, time and again. Down three runs after half an inning, they immediately put two of their own on the board with four singles and a walk in the bottom of the first. Down four runs after an inning and a half, they came back again, though this time they took their sweet time, waiting until the fourth to stage another four-hit, one-walk, two-run rally. In the sixth inning, Jose Santiago, the Mets' fourth pitcher of the evening, gave up another run on three hits and a walk. But another four-hit inning finally brought the Mets even in the bottom of the seventh, as they finally added some extra bases to the mix. David Wright's sixteenth home run of the season got things started and a couple of doubles and a single followed to tie things up.
Then came Roberto Hernandez. The star of the Mets' bullpen had to go two innings in this one and he gave up a home run in the top of the ninth to put the Brewers back on top. But Mike Cameron retied things in the bottom half with his eleventh home run, and to extra innings they went.
Braden Looper pitched a couple of scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out three. And in the bottom of the eleventh, he was removed for a pinch hitter with the bases loaded and just one out. Two singles and an intentional walk had put the Mets on the brink when Mike Piazza strode to the plate. And with all the flair for the dramatic he could muster, the Met catcher watched four pitches avoid the strike zone like they owed it money and then he walked down to first base with the game-winning walk. Cameron had the biggest offensive night, managing four hits. Miguel Cairo had three singles and a walk while four other Mets had two hits each. Carlos Beltran went hitless in six at bats.
The bats weren't quite as explosive on Tuesday night, but that's okay, because the Mets got some starting pitching. Cliff Floyd and Piazza each hit long home runs, their twenty-fifth and thirteenth, respectively. Doug Mientkiewicz had three hits including a double. And Wright drove in a pair of runs with a two-out, bases loaded single.
Pedro Martinez got the start and had a solid, if not dominant, game. He lasted seven innings and gave up three runs on eight hits and two walks. And he struck out eight batters. He gave up a solo home run in his final inning of work to cut the Mets' lead to 4-3, but he still exited with a lead, in line for his thirteenth win of the season.
Then came Roberto Hernandez. The star of the Mets' bullpen came in one night after throwing thirty-four pitches over the course of two innings and promptly gave up a game-tying home run. With one out in the eighth, Carlos Lee took him deep with the only hit Hernandez allowed. He struck out one batter. Braden Looper followed, one night after throwing thirty-five pitches over the course of two innings, and got knocked around as well. He didn't allow any long balls, but three singles and walk were enough to put two runs on the board. A throwing error by Wright allowed the first batter of the inning to reach base, but he was subsequently thrown out by Piazza attempting to steal third, so it's hard to pin too much blame on Wright. With two outs and no one on, Looper went single, single, walk, single, and that was too much for the Mets' to overcome. They were able to get runners on second and third with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Beltran took the first pitch he saw and grounded it to the first baseman, so that was that. He did double and score earlier in the game.
On Thursday afternoon it was back to the good offense, bad pitching model. Kris Benson got knocked around for eleven hits in five innings. He also walked two batters and that all added up to six runs. He struck out just two batters.
But the Mets' offense responded in kind and took a lead of 8-6 after six innings. The Brewers scored one in the eighth, but the Mets did likewise to make it 9-7. Beltran, Piazza and Cameron each homered. Piazza and Chris Woodward each had three hits including one double a piece. Jose Offerman had two doubles and Cameron and Beltran each added a single to their home run. Wright had just one single because he was too busy drawing three walks. So the Mets put up plenty of offense to support their struggling starter.
Then came Roberto Hernandez. The star of the Mets' bullpen entered in the top of the ninth with a two-run lead. I suppose the fact that he was preceded by both Dae-Sung Koo and Danny Graves should be taken as evidence that Randolph didn't really want to use him for a third day in a row, but maybe if Randolph hadn't used four pitches to get through the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, he wouldn't have needed to. Anyway, Randolph himself probably could have pitched about as effectively as the forty year-old Hernandez did on this day. The first batter he faced hit a ground rule double and it didn't get any better than that. He allowed a total of five runs on six hits and one walk, though, to be fair, that was intentional. Randolph can't be blamed entirely for this mess, of course. If a spot in his bullpen wasn't being occupied by the entirely useless Graves, maybe he'd have someone he could use in a situation such as this. With his closer and his top setup man having been worked quite hard in the first two games of this series, maybe this just-barely-afternoon game would have been a time for Heath Bell, currently of the Norfolk Tides. Randolph's bullpen usage hasn't been good by any measure, but having Graves on the roster is just inexcusable, and entirely Omar Minaya's fault.
This weekend, the Mets (54-54) host some more of their brothers in adequacy, the Chicago Cubs. Tom Glavine (7-9, 4.50) gets the start in game one. Shockingly, Dusty Baker's team will send out rookie Rich Hill (0-0, 3.78) to pitch. Yahoo maybe be lying to me, but I will take their word for it. ¶ joe | 9:54 PM |
Brewers 6, Mets 4
Brewers 12, Mets 9
Who would've thought the Mets could score twenty-two runs over the course of three games and lose two of them? The Mets' offense set out to torpedo the team's aspirations toward extraordinary levels of mediocrity in this series. But not to worry, Willie Randolph and his bullpen were there to set things right and put the Mets right back where they belong--at .500.
Things started off pretty well for the Mets in this series. Well, that's not exactly true. Things started off rather terribly for the Mets in this series, but they way they responded to that adversity was enough to quickly erase its memory. Victor Zambrano got absolutely torched in the series opener, recording as many home runs allowed as outs with four of each. He didn't walk anyone, and half of his outs were recorded via the strikeout, but it was an atrocious night for the ghost of trade deadlines past. He gave up seven hits, and all but one of those guys scored.
But the Mets' offense responded, time and again. Down three runs after half an inning, they immediately put two of their own on the board with four singles and a walk in the bottom of the first. Down four runs after an inning and a half, they came back again, though this time they took their sweet time, waiting until the fourth to stage another four-hit, one-walk, two-run rally. In the sixth inning, Jose Santiago, the Mets' fourth pitcher of the evening, gave up another run on three hits and a walk. But another four-hit inning finally brought the Mets even in the bottom of the seventh, as they finally added some extra bases to the mix. David Wright's sixteenth home run of the season got things started and a couple of doubles and a single followed to tie things up.
Then came Roberto Hernandez. The star of the Mets' bullpen had to go two innings in this one and he gave up a home run in the top of the ninth to put the Brewers back on top. But Mike Cameron retied things in the bottom half with his eleventh home run, and to extra innings they went.
Braden Looper pitched a couple of scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out three. And in the bottom of the eleventh, he was removed for a pinch hitter with the bases loaded and just one out. Two singles and an intentional walk had put the Mets on the brink when Mike Piazza strode to the plate. And with all the flair for the dramatic he could muster, the Met catcher watched four pitches avoid the strike zone like they owed it money and then he walked down to first base with the game-winning walk. Cameron had the biggest offensive night, managing four hits. Miguel Cairo had three singles and a walk while four other Mets had two hits each. Carlos Beltran went hitless in six at bats.
The bats weren't quite as explosive on Tuesday night, but that's okay, because the Mets got some starting pitching. Cliff Floyd and Piazza each hit long home runs, their twenty-fifth and thirteenth, respectively. Doug Mientkiewicz had three hits including a double. And Wright drove in a pair of runs with a two-out, bases loaded single.
Pedro Martinez got the start and had a solid, if not dominant, game. He lasted seven innings and gave up three runs on eight hits and two walks. And he struck out eight batters. He gave up a solo home run in his final inning of work to cut the Mets' lead to 4-3, but he still exited with a lead, in line for his thirteenth win of the season.
Then came Roberto Hernandez. The star of the Mets' bullpen came in one night after throwing thirty-four pitches over the course of two innings and promptly gave up a game-tying home run. With one out in the eighth, Carlos Lee took him deep with the only hit Hernandez allowed. He struck out one batter. Braden Looper followed, one night after throwing thirty-five pitches over the course of two innings, and got knocked around as well. He didn't allow any long balls, but three singles and walk were enough to put two runs on the board. A throwing error by Wright allowed the first batter of the inning to reach base, but he was subsequently thrown out by Piazza attempting to steal third, so it's hard to pin too much blame on Wright. With two outs and no one on, Looper went single, single, walk, single, and that was too much for the Mets' to overcome. They were able to get runners on second and third with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Beltran took the first pitch he saw and grounded it to the first baseman, so that was that. He did double and score earlier in the game.
On Thursday afternoon it was back to the good offense, bad pitching model. Kris Benson got knocked around for eleven hits in five innings. He also walked two batters and that all added up to six runs. He struck out just two batters.
But the Mets' offense responded in kind and took a lead of 8-6 after six innings. The Brewers scored one in the eighth, but the Mets did likewise to make it 9-7. Beltran, Piazza and Cameron each homered. Piazza and Chris Woodward each had three hits including one double a piece. Jose Offerman had two doubles and Cameron and Beltran each added a single to their home run. Wright had just one single because he was too busy drawing three walks. So the Mets put up plenty of offense to support their struggling starter.
Then came Roberto Hernandez. The star of the Mets' bullpen entered in the top of the ninth with a two-run lead. I suppose the fact that he was preceded by both Dae-Sung Koo and Danny Graves should be taken as evidence that Randolph didn't really want to use him for a third day in a row, but maybe if Randolph hadn't used four pitches to get through the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, he wouldn't have needed to. Anyway, Randolph himself probably could have pitched about as effectively as the forty year-old Hernandez did on this day. The first batter he faced hit a ground rule double and it didn't get any better than that. He allowed a total of five runs on six hits and one walk, though, to be fair, that was intentional. Randolph can't be blamed entirely for this mess, of course. If a spot in his bullpen wasn't being occupied by the entirely useless Graves, maybe he'd have someone he could use in a situation such as this. With his closer and his top setup man having been worked quite hard in the first two games of this series, maybe this just-barely-afternoon game would have been a time for Heath Bell, currently of the Norfolk Tides. Randolph's bullpen usage hasn't been good by any measure, but having Graves on the roster is just inexcusable, and entirely Omar Minaya's fault.
This weekend, the Mets (54-54) host some more of their brothers in adequacy, the Chicago Cubs. Tom Glavine (7-9, 4.50) gets the start in game one. Shockingly, Dusty Baker's team will send out rookie Rich Hill (0-0, 3.78) to pitch. Yahoo maybe be lying to me, but I will take their word for it. ¶ joe | 9:54 PM |
