Monday, July 24, 2006
Mets 7, Astros 0
Mets 4, Astros 3
Astros 8, Mets 4
I think at this point it's been scientifically proven that the Mets will win two out of every three games they play against NL Central opponents. This weekend it was the Astros playing the role of series loser. And, as an added bonus, the Mets had some reason to be encouraged by their pitching.
Most encouraging was John Maine's dominating performance on Friday night. Maine pitched the Mets' second complete game shutout of the season, allowing just four hits and one walk. He struck out four. This performance seemed like a culmination of some recent flashes of effectiveness from Maine as he was excellent all night long. It is worth mentioning that the last guy to throw a shutout for the Mets was Alay Soler and we all remember how that turned out. Also, the Astros are one of the worst offensive teams in the National League. But Maine was very impressive and may have given himself a leg up in the race to stay in the rotation when Pedro gets back.
He got plenty of offensive support as well. Jose Valentin hit his eleventh home run of the season, a grand slam, in the second inning to give the Mets a lead that would never be threatened. Carlos Delgado continued his resurgence with his twenty-fourth home run of the year and his second in as many days. Carlos Beltran and Paul Lo Duca each had doubles as every Met starter aside from Maine and Cliff Floyd had at least one hit. And Floyd still managed to score a run.
Orlando Hernandez did not get off to a good start on Saturday as he gave up three runs on two home runs in the first inning. But he averted disaster and was able to get things under control, not allowing another run in the game. He pitched seven innings and allowed four hits and two walks while striking out eight. It was not quite up to the standard Maine had set a day earlier, but it turned out to be a solid performance. And the Mets had just enough offense to make it stand up, thanks in large part to a three-run home run from Xavier Nady in the fourth inning.
Mike Pelfrey's results were not as impressive on Sunday, but he also gave reason for optimism. He lasted just four and one-third innings and allowed five runs on six hits, one walk and two hit batters. But the first two innings, in which he gave up nothing and struck out three, showed a glimpse of the promise of this twenty-two year old rookie. He showed that when he's at his best, he can dominate major league hitters just as he did minor leaguers. It may take him a while to be able to do that consistently. He might not get there by October. He might not ever get there. But this performance was the most exciting of his brief major league career for the brief peek at his upside in gave us.
Neither the Mets' offense nor their bullpen was able to salvage this game for Pelfrey. The bats did pretty well against Roy Oswalt, scoring four runs in five and two-third innings against him. Delgado had a home run, a single and two walks. Lo Duca had two doubles. Floyd had two singles and a walk.
But they weren't able to do further damage against the Astros relievers, whereas Aaron Heilman and Pedro Feliciano gave up three runs in three innings. Heilman gave up two runs on five hits in one and two-third before Feliciano bailed him out. Then Feliciano gave up three hits, a walk and a run of his own in the ninth.
The Mets (59-39) will get another shot at taking two out of three from a Centrally located opponent starting Monday. The hapless Cubs (37-60) will be in town to reprise a pitching matchup that worked out pretty well for the Mets last time. Steve Trachsel (9-4, 4.68) got the win 6-3 against Greg Maddux (7-11, 4.59) in the first game of the second half. Trachsel's streak of seven consecutive starts with a win has since been snapped, but he still hasn't lost since the 17th of May. I would not imagine the Cubs will be the team to stop him. ¶ joe | 12:04 AM |
Mets 4, Astros 3
Astros 8, Mets 4
I think at this point it's been scientifically proven that the Mets will win two out of every three games they play against NL Central opponents. This weekend it was the Astros playing the role of series loser. And, as an added bonus, the Mets had some reason to be encouraged by their pitching.
Most encouraging was John Maine's dominating performance on Friday night. Maine pitched the Mets' second complete game shutout of the season, allowing just four hits and one walk. He struck out four. This performance seemed like a culmination of some recent flashes of effectiveness from Maine as he was excellent all night long. It is worth mentioning that the last guy to throw a shutout for the Mets was Alay Soler and we all remember how that turned out. Also, the Astros are one of the worst offensive teams in the National League. But Maine was very impressive and may have given himself a leg up in the race to stay in the rotation when Pedro gets back.
He got plenty of offensive support as well. Jose Valentin hit his eleventh home run of the season, a grand slam, in the second inning to give the Mets a lead that would never be threatened. Carlos Delgado continued his resurgence with his twenty-fourth home run of the year and his second in as many days. Carlos Beltran and Paul Lo Duca each had doubles as every Met starter aside from Maine and Cliff Floyd had at least one hit. And Floyd still managed to score a run.
Orlando Hernandez did not get off to a good start on Saturday as he gave up three runs on two home runs in the first inning. But he averted disaster and was able to get things under control, not allowing another run in the game. He pitched seven innings and allowed four hits and two walks while striking out eight. It was not quite up to the standard Maine had set a day earlier, but it turned out to be a solid performance. And the Mets had just enough offense to make it stand up, thanks in large part to a three-run home run from Xavier Nady in the fourth inning.
Mike Pelfrey's results were not as impressive on Sunday, but he also gave reason for optimism. He lasted just four and one-third innings and allowed five runs on six hits, one walk and two hit batters. But the first two innings, in which he gave up nothing and struck out three, showed a glimpse of the promise of this twenty-two year old rookie. He showed that when he's at his best, he can dominate major league hitters just as he did minor leaguers. It may take him a while to be able to do that consistently. He might not get there by October. He might not ever get there. But this performance was the most exciting of his brief major league career for the brief peek at his upside in gave us.
Neither the Mets' offense nor their bullpen was able to salvage this game for Pelfrey. The bats did pretty well against Roy Oswalt, scoring four runs in five and two-third innings against him. Delgado had a home run, a single and two walks. Lo Duca had two doubles. Floyd had two singles and a walk.
But they weren't able to do further damage against the Astros relievers, whereas Aaron Heilman and Pedro Feliciano gave up three runs in three innings. Heilman gave up two runs on five hits in one and two-third before Feliciano bailed him out. Then Feliciano gave up three hits, a walk and a run of his own in the ninth.
The Mets (59-39) will get another shot at taking two out of three from a Centrally located opponent starting Monday. The hapless Cubs (37-60) will be in town to reprise a pitching matchup that worked out pretty well for the Mets last time. Steve Trachsel (9-4, 4.68) got the win 6-3 against Greg Maddux (7-11, 4.59) in the first game of the second half. Trachsel's streak of seven consecutive starts with a win has since been snapped, but he still hasn't lost since the 17th of May. I would not imagine the Cubs will be the team to stop him. ¶ joe | 12:04 AM |
