Thursday, July 06, 2006
Mets 7, Pirates 5
Steve Trachsel continues to find ways to win that don't involve pitching especially well. This time he gave up seven hits and four walks and hit one batter in six and one-third innings. But at the time he left the game, he had allowed just two runs. He didn't get a ton of support from his bullpen, but the Mets did score seven runs, so in the end he won his sixth consecutive start.
Trachsel left the game with runners on first and second and one out in the seventh, handing things over to Aaron Heilman. Heilman continued his impression of a guy who should not be brought into a game with runners on base. He gave up a a run-scoring hit to the first batter he faced but retired the next two. He gave up two more hits and a run in the eighth.
Billy Wagner gave up another run in the ninth, but with some competent defense and/or managing, he might not have. Eli Marrero got the start in center field, which was odd enough. Giving Carlos Beltran a day off is fine, but replacing him with someone other than Endy Chavez makes very little sense. Not sending Beltran or Chavez in as a defensive replacement for the former catcher Marrero in the ninth inning of a close game is just baffling.
After Wagner struck out the first batter he faced, Joe Randa hit a long fly ball to center field. Chavez or Beltran almost certainly would have caught it and the way you know that is that even Marrero got close enough to it for it to bounce off of his glove. Marrero's not a complete disaster in the outfield, but he's no center fielder and it showed on this play on which he nearly tripped over the ground or perhaps his own feet while failing to catch the ball. A hit and a fielder's choice later, the Pirates had scored a run. Wagner closed it out without further damage, but things did not need to be that difficult.
Of course, the only reason the Mets escaped this game with a win was that the offense had another good game. For the second consecutive night they had more runs that hits. They scored seven times on six hits, half of which went for extra bases, five walks and two hit batters. David Wright was the only Met with two hits as he hit his twenty-first double of the year and his nineteenth home run. Cliff Floyd had a double and took a pitch off of his forearm. Jose Reyes had a hit, a walk and two stolen bases.
Up next for the Mets (51-34) is a four-game series with the recently surging Marlins (36-46). The Marlins had a big month in June, but they've lost five of six since turning the page on their calendar. This series will be pretty interesting as they'll play four games in three days and the Mets have just about run out of pitchers. Pedro Martinez went on the DL today which will result in the major league debut of 2005 first round draft pick Mike Pelfrey on Saturday. Unfortunately, it seems he'll be pitching in the second game of that doubleheader, meaning the Fox Saturday afternoon blackout will prevent me from watching it. Of course, that's not as unfortunate as what will happen tomorrow as Jose Lima (0-3, 8.79) will start the first game of the series for the Mets. Picking up the win for the Marlins will be Dontrelle Willis (5-7, 3.96). ¶ joe | 11:42 PM |
Steve Trachsel continues to find ways to win that don't involve pitching especially well. This time he gave up seven hits and four walks and hit one batter in six and one-third innings. But at the time he left the game, he had allowed just two runs. He didn't get a ton of support from his bullpen, but the Mets did score seven runs, so in the end he won his sixth consecutive start.
Trachsel left the game with runners on first and second and one out in the seventh, handing things over to Aaron Heilman. Heilman continued his impression of a guy who should not be brought into a game with runners on base. He gave up a a run-scoring hit to the first batter he faced but retired the next two. He gave up two more hits and a run in the eighth.
Billy Wagner gave up another run in the ninth, but with some competent defense and/or managing, he might not have. Eli Marrero got the start in center field, which was odd enough. Giving Carlos Beltran a day off is fine, but replacing him with someone other than Endy Chavez makes very little sense. Not sending Beltran or Chavez in as a defensive replacement for the former catcher Marrero in the ninth inning of a close game is just baffling.
After Wagner struck out the first batter he faced, Joe Randa hit a long fly ball to center field. Chavez or Beltran almost certainly would have caught it and the way you know that is that even Marrero got close enough to it for it to bounce off of his glove. Marrero's not a complete disaster in the outfield, but he's no center fielder and it showed on this play on which he nearly tripped over the ground or perhaps his own feet while failing to catch the ball. A hit and a fielder's choice later, the Pirates had scored a run. Wagner closed it out without further damage, but things did not need to be that difficult.
Of course, the only reason the Mets escaped this game with a win was that the offense had another good game. For the second consecutive night they had more runs that hits. They scored seven times on six hits, half of which went for extra bases, five walks and two hit batters. David Wright was the only Met with two hits as he hit his twenty-first double of the year and his nineteenth home run. Cliff Floyd had a double and took a pitch off of his forearm. Jose Reyes had a hit, a walk and two stolen bases.
Up next for the Mets (51-34) is a four-game series with the recently surging Marlins (36-46). The Marlins had a big month in June, but they've lost five of six since turning the page on their calendar. This series will be pretty interesting as they'll play four games in three days and the Mets have just about run out of pitchers. Pedro Martinez went on the DL today which will result in the major league debut of 2005 first round draft pick Mike Pelfrey on Saturday. Unfortunately, it seems he'll be pitching in the second game of that doubleheader, meaning the Fox Saturday afternoon blackout will prevent me from watching it. Of course, that's not as unfortunate as what will happen tomorrow as Jose Lima (0-3, 8.79) will start the first game of the series for the Mets. Picking up the win for the Marlins will be Dontrelle Willis (5-7, 3.96). ¶ joe | 11:42 PM |
