Sunday, August 20, 2006
Mets 6, Rockies 3
Mets 7, Rockies 4
Mets 2, Rockies 0
On a weekend when the Mets got some potentially devastating news about one of their ace pitchers, the rest of the rotation showed that perhaps all is not lost. Tom Glavine revealed Sunday that he has a blood clot in his left shoulder that will cause him to miss at least one start and possibly a lot more. This may turn out to be no big deal with Glavine returning soon, but if not, it will be a serious blow to the Mets' postseason rotation.
Steve Trachsel continued his recent string of solid performances on Friday, allowing three runs in seven innings. He gave up seven hits, including one home run, and three walks, one of which was intentional, and struck out six. Over his last four starts he has an ERA of 3.24 in twenty-five innings with fourteen strikeouts and seven walks. He's also given up five home runs. It's still hard to be extremely confident in his ability to get hitters out in the postseason, but right now he's looking like a decent choice to be the fourth starter the Mets send out.
The Mets' offense also fared well on Friday as four different players had two hits and everyone but Trachsel and Paul Lo Duca had at least one. Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Chris Woodward and Endy Chavez each had a pair of hits. Beltran and Wright doubled and Chavez hit his third home run of the season. Beltran also drew two walks, as did Carlos Delgado.
On Saturday the Mets celebrated the 20th anniversary of the 1986 World Champs and for a while it seemed the pre-game ceremony would be the only highlight on the night. Dave Williams pitched surprisingly well in his Mets debut, allowing three runs in five and two-thirds innings on six hits with no walks and two strikeouts. The last two of those runs scored after Williams left the game on a three-run home run by Garrett Atkins allowed by Roberto Hernandez.
Meanwhile, the New York bats were shut down over the first five innings by Colorado starter Jeff Francis. But Francis and the Rockies' defense came undone in the sixth as the Mets took advantage of two errors and four walks along with four hits to put six runs on the board. Two of the walks were intentional, but the other two came with the bases loaded. The only extra base hit in the inning was a double by Lo Duca. Lastings Milledge drove in a run with a single in the sixth and had two other hits in the game including his fourth home run in the seventh.
The best starting pitching performance of the series came from Orlando Hernandez on Sunday. El Duque was out after six innings having thrown 114 pitches, but he was excellent. He gave up just five hits and one walk and struck out eight. The most impressive moment was the fifth inning wherein he allowed a single and a double to start the frame only to strike out the next three batters, leaving the runners stranded.
The Mets didn't need much offense in this game, which was a good thing, because they didn't have much. Solo home runs by Delgado and Beltran accounted for all the scoring. The Mets had just two other hits, both singles by Hernandez and Milledge. The bullpen provided three scoreless innings, including Billy Wagner pitching in his fourth consecutive game. He saved every game of this series and has now allowed a run in just one of his last ten appearances.
Also on Sunday the Mets acquired Guillermo Mota from the Indians for some reason in exchange for a player to be named later and cash considerations. Mota hasn't been much good since being traded from the Dodgers to the Marlins in mid-2004. This season he has a 6.21 ERA in 37.2 innings with twenty-seven strikeouts, nineteen walks and nine home runs allowed.
This was a pretty good weekend for once excellent, recently awful pitchers acquired by the Mets, though. Oliver Perez was outstanding on Saturday for Norfolk, pitching seven shutout innings. He allowed just one hit, two walks and one hit by pitch while striking out eleven. His previous start was also very good as he allowed just one run in six innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. Two excellent minor league starts do not a playoff starter make, but he's suddenly worth keeping an eye on.
The Mets (75-48) have Monday off before beginning a three-game series at home against the team that's supposed to challenge them for National League supremacy, the Cardinals (66-57). Jeff Weaver (5-13, 6.07) will start for St. Louis. And with Glavine unavailable, it will apparently be John Maine (3-3, 2.68) going for the Mets. ¶ joe | 8:43 PM |
Mets 7, Rockies 4
Mets 2, Rockies 0
On a weekend when the Mets got some potentially devastating news about one of their ace pitchers, the rest of the rotation showed that perhaps all is not lost. Tom Glavine revealed Sunday that he has a blood clot in his left shoulder that will cause him to miss at least one start and possibly a lot more. This may turn out to be no big deal with Glavine returning soon, but if not, it will be a serious blow to the Mets' postseason rotation.
Steve Trachsel continued his recent string of solid performances on Friday, allowing three runs in seven innings. He gave up seven hits, including one home run, and three walks, one of which was intentional, and struck out six. Over his last four starts he has an ERA of 3.24 in twenty-five innings with fourteen strikeouts and seven walks. He's also given up five home runs. It's still hard to be extremely confident in his ability to get hitters out in the postseason, but right now he's looking like a decent choice to be the fourth starter the Mets send out.
The Mets' offense also fared well on Friday as four different players had two hits and everyone but Trachsel and Paul Lo Duca had at least one. Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Chris Woodward and Endy Chavez each had a pair of hits. Beltran and Wright doubled and Chavez hit his third home run of the season. Beltran also drew two walks, as did Carlos Delgado.
On Saturday the Mets celebrated the 20th anniversary of the 1986 World Champs and for a while it seemed the pre-game ceremony would be the only highlight on the night. Dave Williams pitched surprisingly well in his Mets debut, allowing three runs in five and two-thirds innings on six hits with no walks and two strikeouts. The last two of those runs scored after Williams left the game on a three-run home run by Garrett Atkins allowed by Roberto Hernandez.
Meanwhile, the New York bats were shut down over the first five innings by Colorado starter Jeff Francis. But Francis and the Rockies' defense came undone in the sixth as the Mets took advantage of two errors and four walks along with four hits to put six runs on the board. Two of the walks were intentional, but the other two came with the bases loaded. The only extra base hit in the inning was a double by Lo Duca. Lastings Milledge drove in a run with a single in the sixth and had two other hits in the game including his fourth home run in the seventh.
The best starting pitching performance of the series came from Orlando Hernandez on Sunday. El Duque was out after six innings having thrown 114 pitches, but he was excellent. He gave up just five hits and one walk and struck out eight. The most impressive moment was the fifth inning wherein he allowed a single and a double to start the frame only to strike out the next three batters, leaving the runners stranded.
The Mets didn't need much offense in this game, which was a good thing, because they didn't have much. Solo home runs by Delgado and Beltran accounted for all the scoring. The Mets had just two other hits, both singles by Hernandez and Milledge. The bullpen provided three scoreless innings, including Billy Wagner pitching in his fourth consecutive game. He saved every game of this series and has now allowed a run in just one of his last ten appearances.
Also on Sunday the Mets acquired Guillermo Mota from the Indians for some reason in exchange for a player to be named later and cash considerations. Mota hasn't been much good since being traded from the Dodgers to the Marlins in mid-2004. This season he has a 6.21 ERA in 37.2 innings with twenty-seven strikeouts, nineteen walks and nine home runs allowed.
This was a pretty good weekend for once excellent, recently awful pitchers acquired by the Mets, though. Oliver Perez was outstanding on Saturday for Norfolk, pitching seven shutout innings. He allowed just one hit, two walks and one hit by pitch while striking out eleven. His previous start was also very good as he allowed just one run in six innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. Two excellent minor league starts do not a playoff starter make, but he's suddenly worth keeping an eye on.
The Mets (75-48) have Monday off before beginning a three-game series at home against the team that's supposed to challenge them for National League supremacy, the Cardinals (66-57). Jeff Weaver (5-13, 6.07) will start for St. Louis. And with Glavine unavailable, it will apparently be John Maine (3-3, 2.68) going for the Mets. ¶ joe | 8:43 PM |
