Sunday, May 28, 2006
Marlins 5, Mets 1
Mets 7, Marlins 4
Mets 7, Marlins 3
Winning two out of three from Florida is no cause for great celebration. Any good team should do at least that well against the fifteen million dollar men. In fact, the Mets' continued inability to pull off a three-game series sweep when presented with a golden opportunity is a bit disappointing. But at least they scored some runs against a rookie starting pitcher for once.
Friday was not the day that they did that, however. No, it was business as usual as inexperienced hurler Josh Johnson held the Mets to one run on two hits and two walks over seven innings. This was how the Mets wasted another good start from Pedro Martinez, who was finally saddled with his first loss of the season. He lasted seven innings and allowed just two runs on five hits with ten strikeouts and no walks. Duaner Sanchez pitched one awful inning of relief, allowing three runs on four hits and one walk with one strikeout.
On Saturday, the Mets got similarly good starting pitching and this time backed it up with some offense. Tom Glavine lasted seven and two-thirds innings and gave up three runs on six hits with nine strikeouts and no walks. He didn't give up his first hit until the sixth inning.
The offense was able to give him a big enough lead that even when he lost it a bit in the eighth, the lead wasn't in much peril. David Wright had a huge game with four hits, including two doubles, and one intentional walk. Carlos Beltran had two doubles of his own and Ramon Castro hit his second home run of the season. Julio Franco got the start at first base and had two hits.
Sunday was the day when the Mets finally solved the rookie pitcher conundrum, teeing off on young Ricky Nolasco. Jose Reyes led the way, literally and figuratively, as he singled to start the game and scored the first run of the game. He had only the one run, but he added two more singles later in the game. Wright had two hits including a double. Beltran had three more hits including his fourteenth home run.
Carlos Delgado continued to struggle this weekend, as he had just one hit in nine at bats in the two games he played. He hit just .105/.261/.263 over the last week and a mere .230/.337/.460 in the month of May, cooling off considerably after an excellent April. But Beltran (.321/.367/.607), Wright (.435/.458/.913) and, at long last, Cliff Floyd (.375/.524/.813) all had excellent weeks to keep the offense afloat without Delgado.
Sunday also saw the debut of the Mets' second new Cuban pitcher in less than a week with Orlando Hernandez taking the mound. El Duque did not inspire the same sort of optimism as Alay Soler did in his first start, but he didn't embarrass himself. He lasted just five innings and allowed three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out seven. If that's the best he can do against the Marlins, the thought of him facing a real major league offense is a bit scary. But he did settle in somewhat after an awful second inning, so perhaps there's still hope.
Speaking of pitchers who don't inspire confidence lately, Steve Trachsel (2-4, 4.99) starts tomorrow for the Mets (30-19) as they begin a series at home against the Diamonbacks (29-20). Claudio Vargas (5-2, 4.93) gets the start for Arizona in this battle of first place teams. Hopefully the Mets will get a chance to take some swings against Jorge Julio before this series is over. ¶ joe | 11:50 PM |
Mets 7, Marlins 4
Mets 7, Marlins 3
Winning two out of three from Florida is no cause for great celebration. Any good team should do at least that well against the fifteen million dollar men. In fact, the Mets' continued inability to pull off a three-game series sweep when presented with a golden opportunity is a bit disappointing. But at least they scored some runs against a rookie starting pitcher for once.
Friday was not the day that they did that, however. No, it was business as usual as inexperienced hurler Josh Johnson held the Mets to one run on two hits and two walks over seven innings. This was how the Mets wasted another good start from Pedro Martinez, who was finally saddled with his first loss of the season. He lasted seven innings and allowed just two runs on five hits with ten strikeouts and no walks. Duaner Sanchez pitched one awful inning of relief, allowing three runs on four hits and one walk with one strikeout.
On Saturday, the Mets got similarly good starting pitching and this time backed it up with some offense. Tom Glavine lasted seven and two-thirds innings and gave up three runs on six hits with nine strikeouts and no walks. He didn't give up his first hit until the sixth inning.
The offense was able to give him a big enough lead that even when he lost it a bit in the eighth, the lead wasn't in much peril. David Wright had a huge game with four hits, including two doubles, and one intentional walk. Carlos Beltran had two doubles of his own and Ramon Castro hit his second home run of the season. Julio Franco got the start at first base and had two hits.
Sunday was the day when the Mets finally solved the rookie pitcher conundrum, teeing off on young Ricky Nolasco. Jose Reyes led the way, literally and figuratively, as he singled to start the game and scored the first run of the game. He had only the one run, but he added two more singles later in the game. Wright had two hits including a double. Beltran had three more hits including his fourteenth home run.
Carlos Delgado continued to struggle this weekend, as he had just one hit in nine at bats in the two games he played. He hit just .105/.261/.263 over the last week and a mere .230/.337/.460 in the month of May, cooling off considerably after an excellent April. But Beltran (.321/.367/.607), Wright (.435/.458/.913) and, at long last, Cliff Floyd (.375/.524/.813) all had excellent weeks to keep the offense afloat without Delgado.
Sunday also saw the debut of the Mets' second new Cuban pitcher in less than a week with Orlando Hernandez taking the mound. El Duque did not inspire the same sort of optimism as Alay Soler did in his first start, but he didn't embarrass himself. He lasted just five innings and allowed three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out seven. If that's the best he can do against the Marlins, the thought of him facing a real major league offense is a bit scary. But he did settle in somewhat after an awful second inning, so perhaps there's still hope.
Speaking of pitchers who don't inspire confidence lately, Steve Trachsel (2-4, 4.99) starts tomorrow for the Mets (30-19) as they begin a series at home against the Diamonbacks (29-20). Claudio Vargas (5-2, 4.93) gets the start for Arizona in this battle of first place teams. Hopefully the Mets will get a chance to take some swings against Jorge Julio before this series is over. ¶ joe | 11:50 PM |
