Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Mets 5, Phillies 4
Alay Soler's major league debut got off to a shaky start, but once he settled down, he was pretty impressive. After walking just three hitters in three AA starts, Soler walked the first three major league batters he faced. The fourth hit an RBI single, and things were not looking good. He then got Ryan Howard to ground into a double play, but Chris Woodward let the ball go through his legs, allowing two more runs to score. But Soler retired the next three batters in order and after that he was very effective.
Over the next five innings, he allowed just one walk and four hits. The Phillies were unable to add to the three runs they scored in the first. And he struck out five batters along the way. He was removed after six innings and 102 pitches with a 4-3 lead. His performance against the first four Phillies was awful, but given the way he pitched after that point, I think it is reasonable to blame his inability to find the plate on nervousness. His work over the next five innings provided plenty of reason for optimism. If he can continue to pitch like that, he can be a valuable part of this rotation.
Pedro Feliciano gave up a run on a Pat Burrell home run in the seventh, erasing the Mets' lead and taking the win away from Soler. But the Mets also scored in the seventh to regain the lead they would not relinquish. Carlos Beltran and David Wright both homered in this game, Beltran for the second consecutive game, Wright for the third. Wright had three hits in the game, Beltran two. Jose Reyes tripled and scored in the fourth.
After Feliciano, Aaron Heilman pitched the eighth inning and held the Phillies scoreless on just one run. Then Billy Wagner finally got the chance to close a game against his former team, and he did so without incident. He didn't strike anyone out, but he did pitch a perfect ninth to earn his tenth save.
The Mets will try to finish off the sweep of this series tomorrow afternoon. Jeremi Gonzalez (0-0, 10.13) will start against Brett Myers (2-2, 2.75) in what experts in the field might refer to as a "mismatch". But bad pitching hasn't been enough to stop the Mets lately, so who knows? Blue hats forever! ¶ joe | 11:24 PM |
Alay Soler's major league debut got off to a shaky start, but once he settled down, he was pretty impressive. After walking just three hitters in three AA starts, Soler walked the first three major league batters he faced. The fourth hit an RBI single, and things were not looking good. He then got Ryan Howard to ground into a double play, but Chris Woodward let the ball go through his legs, allowing two more runs to score. But Soler retired the next three batters in order and after that he was very effective.
Over the next five innings, he allowed just one walk and four hits. The Phillies were unable to add to the three runs they scored in the first. And he struck out five batters along the way. He was removed after six innings and 102 pitches with a 4-3 lead. His performance against the first four Phillies was awful, but given the way he pitched after that point, I think it is reasonable to blame his inability to find the plate on nervousness. His work over the next five innings provided plenty of reason for optimism. If he can continue to pitch like that, he can be a valuable part of this rotation.
Pedro Feliciano gave up a run on a Pat Burrell home run in the seventh, erasing the Mets' lead and taking the win away from Soler. But the Mets also scored in the seventh to regain the lead they would not relinquish. Carlos Beltran and David Wright both homered in this game, Beltran for the second consecutive game, Wright for the third. Wright had three hits in the game, Beltran two. Jose Reyes tripled and scored in the fourth.
After Feliciano, Aaron Heilman pitched the eighth inning and held the Phillies scoreless on just one run. Then Billy Wagner finally got the chance to close a game against his former team, and he did so without incident. He didn't strike anyone out, but he did pitch a perfect ninth to earn his tenth save.
The Mets will try to finish off the sweep of this series tomorrow afternoon. Jeremi Gonzalez (0-0, 10.13) will start against Brett Myers (2-2, 2.75) in what experts in the field might refer to as a "mismatch". But bad pitching hasn't been enough to stop the Mets lately, so who knows? Blue hats forever! ¶ joe | 11:24 PM |
