Thursday, April 06, 2006
Mets 10, Nationals 5
Pedro Martinez may not be of this world, but apparently even he can benefit from a bit of Spring Training. Having missed almost all of the time he could've spent preparing for the season down in Florida due to toe troubles, Pedro struggled in his season debut. Like the Mets' previous two starters, he lasted six innings. Unlike them, he gave up five runs along the way. He was quite wild, walking five batters and hitting three more. He did strike out six along the way. It's too early to be very concerned about Pedro's effectiveness this season, but it may take him a little while longer to pitch like the ace the Mets need him to be.
Fortunately, the Mets' offense bailed their pitcher out with their biggest offensive explosion of this young season. Five Mets had at least two hits, including Jose Reyes and David Wright racking up three each. In fact, only one Met starter went without a hit in this game, meaning only one Met remains without one for the year. That Met is, of course, Anderson Hernandez, who's been even more prolific at making outs with his bat than he has with his glove.
But, if you've been paying attention, you realize that means that Carlos Beltran finally broke through. And he did it in a big way, driving a two-run home run in the seventh inning to add some padding to the Mets' one-run lead. He had been in danger of finishing this game with fewer hits on the season than Pedro, who drove in a run with a single in the fourth. But it was a good night to be named Carlos, as Carlos Delgado also went deep, doing so for the second consecutive night. Three other Mets had extra-base hits, with a Reyes triple and doubles by Xavier Nady and Cliff Floyd.
The Met bullpen had its most effective night of the season, tossing three scoreless frames. Duaner Sanchez came back with two more good innings tonight, as he struck out four while allowing one hit, one walk and one hit batter. Chad Bradford finished things off with a scoreless ninth including one hit and two strikeouts.
Another division rival comes to town this weekend as the Mets (2-1) host the Marlins (1-2). Steve Trachsel (1-4, 4.14 in 2005) will start the first game for the Mets, trying to reestablish himself as a dependable starter after an injury-shortened 2005. Jason Vargas (5-5, 4.03) goes for Florida. ¶ joe | 11:04 PM |
Pedro Martinez may not be of this world, but apparently even he can benefit from a bit of Spring Training. Having missed almost all of the time he could've spent preparing for the season down in Florida due to toe troubles, Pedro struggled in his season debut. Like the Mets' previous two starters, he lasted six innings. Unlike them, he gave up five runs along the way. He was quite wild, walking five batters and hitting three more. He did strike out six along the way. It's too early to be very concerned about Pedro's effectiveness this season, but it may take him a little while longer to pitch like the ace the Mets need him to be.
Fortunately, the Mets' offense bailed their pitcher out with their biggest offensive explosion of this young season. Five Mets had at least two hits, including Jose Reyes and David Wright racking up three each. In fact, only one Met starter went without a hit in this game, meaning only one Met remains without one for the year. That Met is, of course, Anderson Hernandez, who's been even more prolific at making outs with his bat than he has with his glove.
But, if you've been paying attention, you realize that means that Carlos Beltran finally broke through. And he did it in a big way, driving a two-run home run in the seventh inning to add some padding to the Mets' one-run lead. He had been in danger of finishing this game with fewer hits on the season than Pedro, who drove in a run with a single in the fourth. But it was a good night to be named Carlos, as Carlos Delgado also went deep, doing so for the second consecutive night. Three other Mets had extra-base hits, with a Reyes triple and doubles by Xavier Nady and Cliff Floyd.
The Met bullpen had its most effective night of the season, tossing three scoreless frames. Duaner Sanchez came back with two more good innings tonight, as he struck out four while allowing one hit, one walk and one hit batter. Chad Bradford finished things off with a scoreless ninth including one hit and two strikeouts.
Another division rival comes to town this weekend as the Mets (2-1) host the Marlins (1-2). Steve Trachsel (1-4, 4.14 in 2005) will start the first game for the Mets, trying to reestablish himself as a dependable starter after an injury-shortened 2005. Jason Vargas (5-5, 4.03) goes for Florida. ¶ joe | 11:04 PM |
