Sunday, May 14, 2006
Brewers 9, Mets 6
Mets 9, Brewers 8
Brewers 6, Mets 5 (10)
This was not a good weekend for Mets pitching. Neither the starting rotation nor the bullpen distinguished itself, but at least they may have found an adequate fifth starter. Now if only they could come up with a third or fourth starter.
On Friday, it was Jose Lima getting the start, so of course that went poorly. Rather than watch this game, I went to see They Might Be Giants live in Philly and therefore I win. But from looking at the box score, I can see that Lima was even less successful than in his previous start. He lasted just four and two-thirds innings and gave up five runs on four hits and three walks. He also hit a batter and struck out just two. With Brian Bannister about to return from the disabled list, this will hopefully be the last we see of Lima.
Saturday's starter was Jeremi Gonzalez, and while calling his performance "good" might be a stretch, he certainly appeared less hopeless than Lima. He allowed three runs in five innings, but one of those runs scored after he was removed in the sixth. He allowed five hits, two of which were home runs, but he didn't walk anyone and he struck out four. At the very least, he deserves a second start more than Lima did.
Pedro Martinez had a chance to win this series for the Mets on Sunday, but he had some trouble with the long ball as well. The Brewers lead the National League in home runs and they hit three more on Sunday, two against Pedro. Those accounted for all four of the runs he allowed as he gave up just four hits in total. He walked two and struck out ten, but even with a bit of offense from the Mets, the bullpen could not preserve the win.
Poor performance by the bullpen was a theme of the series, as they allowed a total of eleven runs in the three games. On Friday the Mets scored enough runs to overcome those Lima allowed, but Chad Bradford, Darren Oliver and Heath Bell each exacerbated the problem by allowing at least one run. On Saturday Aaron Heilman not only allowed a runner inherited from Gonzalez to score, but he gave up another run as well. And Duaner Sanchez had an awful game, allowing four runs on one walk and three hits, two of which were home runs, while recording just one out. On Sunday Sanchez and Bradford were the culprits, allowing one run a piece after the Mets' offense had twice tied the game in the late innings.
Despite the losses, the offense had a pretty good weekend, putting twenty runs on the board. On Friday, Carlos Delgado had three hits including his thirteenth home run and Endy Chavez had three including a double. Carlos Beltran, Jose Valentin and Paul Lo Duca each homered and were among five Mets with two hits on Saturday. And Valentin had another good game starting in left field on Sunday as he led the team with four hits including a double. He got off to a terrible start, but right now he looks like he could be a decent bat on the Mets' bench.
After two disappointing series, the Mets (23-14) find themselves just one game ahead of the Phillies in the National League East. And things won't get any easier as they travel to St. Louis for three against the Cardinals (24-14), who lead the NL Central. In game one on Tuesday, Tom Glavine (5-2, 2.19) will take on Jeff Suppan (4-2, 4.58). ¶ joe | 11:37 PM |
Mets 9, Brewers 8
Brewers 6, Mets 5 (10)
This was not a good weekend for Mets pitching. Neither the starting rotation nor the bullpen distinguished itself, but at least they may have found an adequate fifth starter. Now if only they could come up with a third or fourth starter.
On Friday, it was Jose Lima getting the start, so of course that went poorly. Rather than watch this game, I went to see They Might Be Giants live in Philly and therefore I win. But from looking at the box score, I can see that Lima was even less successful than in his previous start. He lasted just four and two-thirds innings and gave up five runs on four hits and three walks. He also hit a batter and struck out just two. With Brian Bannister about to return from the disabled list, this will hopefully be the last we see of Lima.
Saturday's starter was Jeremi Gonzalez, and while calling his performance "good" might be a stretch, he certainly appeared less hopeless than Lima. He allowed three runs in five innings, but one of those runs scored after he was removed in the sixth. He allowed five hits, two of which were home runs, but he didn't walk anyone and he struck out four. At the very least, he deserves a second start more than Lima did.
Pedro Martinez had a chance to win this series for the Mets on Sunday, but he had some trouble with the long ball as well. The Brewers lead the National League in home runs and they hit three more on Sunday, two against Pedro. Those accounted for all four of the runs he allowed as he gave up just four hits in total. He walked two and struck out ten, but even with a bit of offense from the Mets, the bullpen could not preserve the win.
Poor performance by the bullpen was a theme of the series, as they allowed a total of eleven runs in the three games. On Friday the Mets scored enough runs to overcome those Lima allowed, but Chad Bradford, Darren Oliver and Heath Bell each exacerbated the problem by allowing at least one run. On Saturday Aaron Heilman not only allowed a runner inherited from Gonzalez to score, but he gave up another run as well. And Duaner Sanchez had an awful game, allowing four runs on one walk and three hits, two of which were home runs, while recording just one out. On Sunday Sanchez and Bradford were the culprits, allowing one run a piece after the Mets' offense had twice tied the game in the late innings.
Despite the losses, the offense had a pretty good weekend, putting twenty runs on the board. On Friday, Carlos Delgado had three hits including his thirteenth home run and Endy Chavez had three including a double. Carlos Beltran, Jose Valentin and Paul Lo Duca each homered and were among five Mets with two hits on Saturday. And Valentin had another good game starting in left field on Sunday as he led the team with four hits including a double. He got off to a terrible start, but right now he looks like he could be a decent bat on the Mets' bench.
After two disappointing series, the Mets (23-14) find themselves just one game ahead of the Phillies in the National League East. And things won't get any easier as they travel to St. Louis for three against the Cardinals (24-14), who lead the NL Central. In game one on Tuesday, Tom Glavine (5-2, 2.19) will take on Jeff Suppan (4-2, 4.58). ¶ joe | 11:37 PM |
