Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Mets 9, Phillies 8 (16)
The Mets' offense looked great for the first eight innings of this game. It was the next eight that were the problem. As Mets pitchers gave up run after run, the bats kept getting them back in the game. Home runs from David Wright (7), Cliff Floyd (5) and Jose Reyes (4) as well as doubles from Floyd, Kazuo Matsui and Chris Woodward helped the Mets put eight runs on the board against the first five Phillies pitchers. The sixth gave them a bit more trouble.
Ryan Madson entered in the ninth inning and shut the Mets down for seven innings, allowing just three hits and four walks prior to the sixteenth inning. But the Mets' bullpen was just as good in extra-innings, with Darren Oliver's four scoreless frames leading the way. Thus Carlos Beltran was able to step to the plate to lead off the bottom of the sixteenth with the game still tied. Already with two singles, a walk and a stolen base in the game, Beltran was one of the most productive Mets. And he capped off his night by launching Madson's final pitch over the right field wall to end this marathon game.
In the end, it was a great win for the Mets, but even in winning, the non-Pedro/Glavine portions of the starting rotation continue to be a problem. After an excellent start six days ago, Steve Trachsel's struggles resumed tonight. He lasted just five innings and allowed six runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out two.
In Trachsel's defense, four of those runs could have been avoided if Paul Lo Duca could field his position. With two outs in the fifth inning, the score tied at two and runners on first and second, Shane Victorino singled to right. Endy Chavez's throw beat Pat Burrell to the plate by a wide margin, but it bounced once off of the ground and a second time off of the glove of Lo Duca. It was not an easy play--though it might have been had Lo Duca been in better position--but it was a play that should have been made. The official scorer would not have been out of line to charge an error. Lo Duca's hitting has been solid so far this year, but his defense, both in terms of throwing and catching, has not been good.
Still, Trachsel followed up that play in the worst way possible, allowing a three-run home run to David Bell. Trachsel hasn't been nearly as bad as some of the pitchers the Mets have allowed to start this season, but his ERA is now 4.99. The Mets are counting on him to be their third best starter, but if that is the case and he keeps pitching like this, the team is not going to keep winning. Either Trachsel needs to get it together or someone else needs to step up if this is going to be a playoff caliber rotation. And neither of those options seems extremely likely at the moment.
But the Mets prevailed anyway, due in no small part, I think, to the fact that they were wearing the classic blue hats for the second consecutive night. Blue hats in night games have been a rarity in recent years due to some silly thought that they don't match the Mets' ugly black jackets. But rather than redesign the jackets, the team has apparently just decided to risk angering the baseball fashion gods. This new attitude has earned them two wins already. We'll see how it works out tonight, as the Mets have brought their blue-hatted insouciance to the park again for Alay Soler's major league debut. ¶ joe | 8:01 PM |
The Mets' offense looked great for the first eight innings of this game. It was the next eight that were the problem. As Mets pitchers gave up run after run, the bats kept getting them back in the game. Home runs from David Wright (7), Cliff Floyd (5) and Jose Reyes (4) as well as doubles from Floyd, Kazuo Matsui and Chris Woodward helped the Mets put eight runs on the board against the first five Phillies pitchers. The sixth gave them a bit more trouble.
Ryan Madson entered in the ninth inning and shut the Mets down for seven innings, allowing just three hits and four walks prior to the sixteenth inning. But the Mets' bullpen was just as good in extra-innings, with Darren Oliver's four scoreless frames leading the way. Thus Carlos Beltran was able to step to the plate to lead off the bottom of the sixteenth with the game still tied. Already with two singles, a walk and a stolen base in the game, Beltran was one of the most productive Mets. And he capped off his night by launching Madson's final pitch over the right field wall to end this marathon game.
In the end, it was a great win for the Mets, but even in winning, the non-Pedro/Glavine portions of the starting rotation continue to be a problem. After an excellent start six days ago, Steve Trachsel's struggles resumed tonight. He lasted just five innings and allowed six runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out two.
In Trachsel's defense, four of those runs could have been avoided if Paul Lo Duca could field his position. With two outs in the fifth inning, the score tied at two and runners on first and second, Shane Victorino singled to right. Endy Chavez's throw beat Pat Burrell to the plate by a wide margin, but it bounced once off of the ground and a second time off of the glove of Lo Duca. It was not an easy play--though it might have been had Lo Duca been in better position--but it was a play that should have been made. The official scorer would not have been out of line to charge an error. Lo Duca's hitting has been solid so far this year, but his defense, both in terms of throwing and catching, has not been good.
Still, Trachsel followed up that play in the worst way possible, allowing a three-run home run to David Bell. Trachsel hasn't been nearly as bad as some of the pitchers the Mets have allowed to start this season, but his ERA is now 4.99. The Mets are counting on him to be their third best starter, but if that is the case and he keeps pitching like this, the team is not going to keep winning. Either Trachsel needs to get it together or someone else needs to step up if this is going to be a playoff caliber rotation. And neither of those options seems extremely likely at the moment.
But the Mets prevailed anyway, due in no small part, I think, to the fact that they were wearing the classic blue hats for the second consecutive night. Blue hats in night games have been a rarity in recent years due to some silly thought that they don't match the Mets' ugly black jackets. But rather than redesign the jackets, the team has apparently just decided to risk angering the baseball fashion gods. This new attitude has earned them two wins already. We'll see how it works out tonight, as the Mets have brought their blue-hatted insouciance to the park again for Alay Soler's major league debut. ¶ joe | 8:01 PM |
