Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Phillies 3, Mets 0
Twelve games. The lead is still twelve games. There is no reason to be alarmed. Better to play like crap now than in the middle of October. Etc.
Tom Glavine pitched another decent game, but got no support from his offense. He went seven innings and allowed three runs on six hits and two walks, one intentional. He struck out three. A second-inning two-run home run by Chris Coste was the only major misstep, but given the way Jon Lieber dominated the Mets' bats, that was plenty.
Five Mets each had one hit, all of them singles. Lieber did not walk anyone. The Mets have now scored just fourteen runs over their last six games and have fallen behind the Phillies for the league lead in runs scored. The heart of the Mets' lineup has basically taken the week off.
In the last six games, the men who usually hit second through sixth in the batting order--Paul Lo Duca, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, David Wright and Jose Valentin--have a batting average of .156 and an on-base percentage of .206. The five of them have combined for one home run. Lo Duca hit it on Friday. Beltran, at five for twenty with a double, a triple and three walks, has been the most productive of the group. But only Jose Reyes has done much to pick up the slack and he can't hit three home runs every night.
Of course every player and team is bound to go through a slump every now and then. Some of these struggles date back further than six days, like Delgado's. But in general, the middle of August is a pretty opportune time for a team like the Mets to have a bad week.
They'll try to slink out of town with a win tomorrow. Starting the afternoon game will be John Maine (2-3, 3.64), who finally gave up a run last time out. Phillies starter Scott Mathieson (1-3, 6.48), on the other hand, has given up at least three runs in every one of his major league starts. ¶ joe | 11:43 PM |
Twelve games. The lead is still twelve games. There is no reason to be alarmed. Better to play like crap now than in the middle of October. Etc.
Tom Glavine pitched another decent game, but got no support from his offense. He went seven innings and allowed three runs on six hits and two walks, one intentional. He struck out three. A second-inning two-run home run by Chris Coste was the only major misstep, but given the way Jon Lieber dominated the Mets' bats, that was plenty.
Five Mets each had one hit, all of them singles. Lieber did not walk anyone. The Mets have now scored just fourteen runs over their last six games and have fallen behind the Phillies for the league lead in runs scored. The heart of the Mets' lineup has basically taken the week off.
In the last six games, the men who usually hit second through sixth in the batting order--Paul Lo Duca, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, David Wright and Jose Valentin--have a batting average of .156 and an on-base percentage of .206. The five of them have combined for one home run. Lo Duca hit it on Friday. Beltran, at five for twenty with a double, a triple and three walks, has been the most productive of the group. But only Jose Reyes has done much to pick up the slack and he can't hit three home runs every night.
Of course every player and team is bound to go through a slump every now and then. Some of these struggles date back further than six days, like Delgado's. But in general, the middle of August is a pretty opportune time for a team like the Mets to have a bad week.
They'll try to slink out of town with a win tomorrow. Starting the afternoon game will be John Maine (2-3, 3.64), who finally gave up a run last time out. Phillies starter Scott Mathieson (1-3, 6.48), on the other hand, has given up at least three runs in every one of his major league starts. ¶ joe | 11:43 PM |
