Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Braves 3, Mets 1
Braves 4, Mets 3 (10)
Well that was a fun season, wasn't it? Pedro Martinez and his near no-hitters. Jose Reyes and his speed. And David Wright...ahh, David Wright. Yes, the 2005 season provided some memorable moments for Met fans and some reason to be hopeful about the future. And now that it's over, we can look back on those moments and smile without feeling all stressed out about the games to come. But first, let's look back on the series that ended the Mets' season.
Game two of the series had basically the same story as game one, and the same as most recent Met losses, for that matter: decent pitching, indecent hitting. Pedro didn't blow the Braves away on Tuesday, but he pitched pretty well, and his line could have looked even better if not for his defense failing to turn some double plays behind him. In the end, he lasted six innings and gave up three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out two.
The Met offense managed just one run on eight hits. They did have four doubles among those, but still were unable to put together much of an offensive assault. Kazuo Matsui led the way with two hits including a double and Wright, Cliff Floyd and Doug Mientkiewicz also made it to second base all by themselves. Carlos Beltran had a single and drew the Mets' only walk.
Wednesday was a new twist on the old formula, as the Mets' crappy hitting and good hitting added up to a lead after eight and one half innings. Tom Glavine actually tamed his former franchise, going seven and one-third and allowing just one run on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts. And Roberto Hernandez finished off the eighth with ease, retiring both batters he faced.
The Mets had put two runs on the board in the first inning and that had been enough. Overall, they had twelve hits on the night, though eleven of those were singles. Victor Diaz had the lone double. Matsui, Beltran and Wright each had two hits and Wright added a walk. Floyd had a hit and two walks.
So after eight innings, all the Mets needed was for the man they call their closer to do his job. Instead, Braden Looper gave up doubles to two of the first three batters he faced. He escaped the ninth with the game still tied, having allowed two hits and one walk and thrown thirty-four pitches.
Miraculously, the Mets didn't give up. With one out in the top of the tenth, four straight Mets reached base, three with singles, one via the base on balls. Sadly, the Mets got the bare minimum of runs out of this situation as Ramon Castro ended things by lining into a double play.
Then, as you can probably guess, Looper went back to work. He gave up a single to Larry. He plunked Andruw. And he walked Julio Franco. It was at this point that the Mets' manager sprung into action. Yes, he brought in Shingo Takatsu. Guess how that worked out!
After teasing everyone by getting two outs, Takatsu gave up a single to Ryan Langerhans, which drove in two runs and ended the game. Willie Randolph was probably surprised by this. Aaron Heilman probably had a really comfortable chair to watch it from, as did all the other Met relievers who might conceivably strike somebody out.
The Mets (70-69) are now five games out of the Wild Card. And they get to celebrate with a relaxing trip to St. Louis, Missouri, "The Gateway To The West." St. Louis's local baseball franchise, the Cardinals (88-51), will introduce the Mets to local landmarks like the "Gateway Arch" and the "Underside of .500", the latter of which was the longtime home of the city's NFL franchise before they moved to Arizona. The starting pitchers in game one will be Chris Carpenter (20-4, 2.28) on the winning end and Kris Benson (9-6, 3.99) on the losing end. Happy football season everybody! Go Big Blue! ¶ joe | 11:32 PM |
Braves 4, Mets 3 (10)
Well that was a fun season, wasn't it? Pedro Martinez and his near no-hitters. Jose Reyes and his speed. And David Wright...ahh, David Wright. Yes, the 2005 season provided some memorable moments for Met fans and some reason to be hopeful about the future. And now that it's over, we can look back on those moments and smile without feeling all stressed out about the games to come. But first, let's look back on the series that ended the Mets' season.
Game two of the series had basically the same story as game one, and the same as most recent Met losses, for that matter: decent pitching, indecent hitting. Pedro didn't blow the Braves away on Tuesday, but he pitched pretty well, and his line could have looked even better if not for his defense failing to turn some double plays behind him. In the end, he lasted six innings and gave up three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out two.
The Met offense managed just one run on eight hits. They did have four doubles among those, but still were unable to put together much of an offensive assault. Kazuo Matsui led the way with two hits including a double and Wright, Cliff Floyd and Doug Mientkiewicz also made it to second base all by themselves. Carlos Beltran had a single and drew the Mets' only walk.
Wednesday was a new twist on the old formula, as the Mets' crappy hitting and good hitting added up to a lead after eight and one half innings. Tom Glavine actually tamed his former franchise, going seven and one-third and allowing just one run on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts. And Roberto Hernandez finished off the eighth with ease, retiring both batters he faced.
The Mets had put two runs on the board in the first inning and that had been enough. Overall, they had twelve hits on the night, though eleven of those were singles. Victor Diaz had the lone double. Matsui, Beltran and Wright each had two hits and Wright added a walk. Floyd had a hit and two walks.
So after eight innings, all the Mets needed was for the man they call their closer to do his job. Instead, Braden Looper gave up doubles to two of the first three batters he faced. He escaped the ninth with the game still tied, having allowed two hits and one walk and thrown thirty-four pitches.
Miraculously, the Mets didn't give up. With one out in the top of the tenth, four straight Mets reached base, three with singles, one via the base on balls. Sadly, the Mets got the bare minimum of runs out of this situation as Ramon Castro ended things by lining into a double play.
Then, as you can probably guess, Looper went back to work. He gave up a single to Larry. He plunked Andruw. And he walked Julio Franco. It was at this point that the Mets' manager sprung into action. Yes, he brought in Shingo Takatsu. Guess how that worked out!
After teasing everyone by getting two outs, Takatsu gave up a single to Ryan Langerhans, which drove in two runs and ended the game. Willie Randolph was probably surprised by this. Aaron Heilman probably had a really comfortable chair to watch it from, as did all the other Met relievers who might conceivably strike somebody out.
The Mets (70-69) are now five games out of the Wild Card. And they get to celebrate with a relaxing trip to St. Louis, Missouri, "The Gateway To The West." St. Louis's local baseball franchise, the Cardinals (88-51), will introduce the Mets to local landmarks like the "Gateway Arch" and the "Underside of .500", the latter of which was the longtime home of the city's NFL franchise before they moved to Arizona. The starting pitchers in game one will be Chris Carpenter (20-4, 2.28) on the winning end and Kris Benson (9-6, 3.99) on the losing end. Happy football season everybody! Go Big Blue! ¶ joe | 11:32 PM |
