Monday, August 28, 2006
Phillies 4, Mets 3
Mets 11, Phillies 5
The Mets dug deep into their reservoir of starting pitching to begin this series. The results weren't absolutely positive, but it was quite exciting for at least a few innings. And after a rough start, they have a chance to win this series by taking tomorrow's rain-postponed finale.
Brain Bannister made his first major league start since April on Friday and basically picked up where he left off. He gave up too many baserunners--nine in six innings--and struggled a bit with his control. But this time he wasn't quite able to get out of it, as he allowed four runs. He struck out four.
Carlos Beltran had an ordinary game offensively, hitting a double and a home run in four at bats. Paul Lo Duca also had two hits including a double. Both teams had seven hits and four walks in the game, but the Mets were only able to make three runs out of theirs and so they lost.
Oliver Perez made his Mets debut on Saturday night and was electric for four innings. He walked two of the first three batters he faced but then embarked upon perhaps the most riveting stretch of pitching by any Mets starter this season. At the end of the fourth, he'd allowed three walks and no hits and looked perfectly capable of keeping the Phillies hitless for nine innings if his pitch count cooperated. He already had six strikeouts. His control always seemed a bit elusive, but the strikes he was throwing were giving the Phillies a lot of trouble.
Sadly, things unraveled for him in the fifth. He entered the inning with a two-run lead that appeared to be sufficient. He walked two more batters, including a pitcher trying to bunt, but also got two outs with allowing a run. Then, all of a sudden, a single, a hit batsman and an unfortunate 0-2 pitch to Ryan Howard had him in a 5-2 hole. He struck out the next batter but did not return for the sixth inning.
People just looking at a box score might think Perez somehow comparable to Victor Zambrano with the talk of "potential" and "stuff" undone by a lack of control. But watching Perez and looking at his record of past success, it's clear he's something more than that. The unhittable pitcher he was in the second, third and fourth innings on Saturday he was for nearly two hundred innings two years ago. I am very excited to see what will come of him spending the next month in the majors with Rick Peterson. If Perez can rediscover the dimensions of the strike zone, the Mets will have a very dangerous new arm for October.
And even if things with Perez don't go quite that well, the Mets can score eleven runs every now and then, too. This time five Mets had multiple hits. Carlos Delgado homered for the thirty-third time and Beltran for the thirty-eight, putting him just three shy of the club record. Endy Chavez had four hits including a double. Jose Reyes and Shawn Green each had a double and a single. Lo Duca had a pair of singles.
Sunday's game was rained out, so they'll try it again Monday at noon. Jamie Moyer (7-12, 4.39), who had a solid Phillies debut last week, allowing three runs in six innings, will get the start. John Maine (3-3, 3.58) will try to rebound from the pounding he sustained last time out for the Mets. ¶ joe | 12:12 AM |
Mets 11, Phillies 5
The Mets dug deep into their reservoir of starting pitching to begin this series. The results weren't absolutely positive, but it was quite exciting for at least a few innings. And after a rough start, they have a chance to win this series by taking tomorrow's rain-postponed finale.
Brain Bannister made his first major league start since April on Friday and basically picked up where he left off. He gave up too many baserunners--nine in six innings--and struggled a bit with his control. But this time he wasn't quite able to get out of it, as he allowed four runs. He struck out four.
Carlos Beltran had an ordinary game offensively, hitting a double and a home run in four at bats. Paul Lo Duca also had two hits including a double. Both teams had seven hits and four walks in the game, but the Mets were only able to make three runs out of theirs and so they lost.
Oliver Perez made his Mets debut on Saturday night and was electric for four innings. He walked two of the first three batters he faced but then embarked upon perhaps the most riveting stretch of pitching by any Mets starter this season. At the end of the fourth, he'd allowed three walks and no hits and looked perfectly capable of keeping the Phillies hitless for nine innings if his pitch count cooperated. He already had six strikeouts. His control always seemed a bit elusive, but the strikes he was throwing were giving the Phillies a lot of trouble.
Sadly, things unraveled for him in the fifth. He entered the inning with a two-run lead that appeared to be sufficient. He walked two more batters, including a pitcher trying to bunt, but also got two outs with allowing a run. Then, all of a sudden, a single, a hit batsman and an unfortunate 0-2 pitch to Ryan Howard had him in a 5-2 hole. He struck out the next batter but did not return for the sixth inning.
People just looking at a box score might think Perez somehow comparable to Victor Zambrano with the talk of "potential" and "stuff" undone by a lack of control. But watching Perez and looking at his record of past success, it's clear he's something more than that. The unhittable pitcher he was in the second, third and fourth innings on Saturday he was for nearly two hundred innings two years ago. I am very excited to see what will come of him spending the next month in the majors with Rick Peterson. If Perez can rediscover the dimensions of the strike zone, the Mets will have a very dangerous new arm for October.
And even if things with Perez don't go quite that well, the Mets can score eleven runs every now and then, too. This time five Mets had multiple hits. Carlos Delgado homered for the thirty-third time and Beltran for the thirty-eight, putting him just three shy of the club record. Endy Chavez had four hits including a double. Jose Reyes and Shawn Green each had a double and a single. Lo Duca had a pair of singles.
Sunday's game was rained out, so they'll try it again Monday at noon. Jamie Moyer (7-12, 4.39), who had a solid Phillies debut last week, allowing three runs in six innings, will get the start. John Maine (3-3, 3.58) will try to rebound from the pounding he sustained last time out for the Mets. ¶ joe | 12:12 AM |
