Sunday, August 06, 2006
Phillies 5, Mets 3
Mets 4, Phillies 3
Mets 8, Phillies 1
The Mets' starting pitching was pretty solid all weekend, but one pitcher clearly stood above the rest. Orlando Hernandez and Tom Glavine had decent outings on Friday and Saturday, respectively. But John Maine continued to make the case for a spot in the playoff rotation with another excellent start on Sunday night.
Hernandez gave up three runs in six innings of work, which was enough to keep the Mets in the game until the bullpen blew it. He allowed seven hits and three walks and struck out seven. But the Mets also managed just three runs and both Darren Oliver and Pedro Feliciano allowed a run in relief.
Jose Reyes had three of the Mets' ten hits. Paul Lo Duca had two. Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado each hit a double. And David Wright drew two walks, one of which was intentional. Despite all these base runners, Randy Wolf and four relievers were largely able to escape without allowing much damage.
Glavine was similarly effective on Saturday, but got a bit more offensive support. He gave up three runs in seven innings, allowing five hits and two walks. He struck out two. After getting smacked around in his previous two starts and giving up three runs in the first inning of this game, it was a bit reassuring to see Glavine settle down and pitch the next six scoreless.
The Mets' offense had a bit less success and a lot more luck on Saturday than Friday. They had just six hits and drew nary a walk. Reyes had a double, as did Endy Chavez. But a throwing error by pitcher Jon Lieber with two outs in the sixth inning and some subsequent bad defense allowed the Mets to put three runs on the board, assuming a lead they would not relinquish.
The bats did pretty well on Sunday, but the real story was Maine's continued dominance. He pitched six innings allowing no runs on three hits and three walks, striking out four. His streak of scoreless innings is now at twenty-three innings dating back nearly a month. During the streak he's struck out fifteen, walked eight and allowed eleven hits. His emergence as the best pitcher on the team over the last month is awfully surprising and likely unsustainable, but right now he seems as good a bet to get people out in October as anyone else on the team. If he continues to pitch well for the rest of the season, I hope he'll get as much consideration as the older folks for a chance to start game three of the Division Series.
As for the offense, well, they awoke from their brief slumber with a seven-run fourth inning to knock Phillies starter Scott Mathieson out of the game. Eleven Mets came to bat in the inning. Lo Duca was the only one to record two hits in the frame with a double to lead it off and a single the next time around and he added a third hit in the seventh. The Mets had just five hits in the inning, but two walks and an error by Mathieson added to the offensive explosion. Wright's double drove in the first run of the inning and a grand slam by Reyes drove in the last four. Jose Valentin had a single in the fourth and a home run in the fifth.
Also on Sunday, the Mets signed Wright to a six-year, $55 million contract extension, following up the four-year, $23.5 million deal they gave to Reyes on Thursday. Both deals seem pretty reasonable for all concerned and while I wasn't too worried about either guy slipping away any time soon, it's nice all the same to have them locked up for a while. No matter the roster surrounding them, those two are going to make the Mets fun to watch for years to come.
Having extended their division lead back to thirteen games, the Mets (66-44) will take Monday off before welcoming an old friend back to Shea Stadium. Mike Piazza and the NL West-leading Padres (58-53) will be in town for three games starting on Tuesday. Steve Trachsel (10-5, 5.12) will take on Clay Hensley (7-8, 4.33) in the series opener. ¶ joe | 11:18 PM |
Mets 4, Phillies 3
Mets 8, Phillies 1
The Mets' starting pitching was pretty solid all weekend, but one pitcher clearly stood above the rest. Orlando Hernandez and Tom Glavine had decent outings on Friday and Saturday, respectively. But John Maine continued to make the case for a spot in the playoff rotation with another excellent start on Sunday night.
Hernandez gave up three runs in six innings of work, which was enough to keep the Mets in the game until the bullpen blew it. He allowed seven hits and three walks and struck out seven. But the Mets also managed just three runs and both Darren Oliver and Pedro Feliciano allowed a run in relief.
Jose Reyes had three of the Mets' ten hits. Paul Lo Duca had two. Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado each hit a double. And David Wright drew two walks, one of which was intentional. Despite all these base runners, Randy Wolf and four relievers were largely able to escape without allowing much damage.
Glavine was similarly effective on Saturday, but got a bit more offensive support. He gave up three runs in seven innings, allowing five hits and two walks. He struck out two. After getting smacked around in his previous two starts and giving up three runs in the first inning of this game, it was a bit reassuring to see Glavine settle down and pitch the next six scoreless.
The Mets' offense had a bit less success and a lot more luck on Saturday than Friday. They had just six hits and drew nary a walk. Reyes had a double, as did Endy Chavez. But a throwing error by pitcher Jon Lieber with two outs in the sixth inning and some subsequent bad defense allowed the Mets to put three runs on the board, assuming a lead they would not relinquish.
The bats did pretty well on Sunday, but the real story was Maine's continued dominance. He pitched six innings allowing no runs on three hits and three walks, striking out four. His streak of scoreless innings is now at twenty-three innings dating back nearly a month. During the streak he's struck out fifteen, walked eight and allowed eleven hits. His emergence as the best pitcher on the team over the last month is awfully surprising and likely unsustainable, but right now he seems as good a bet to get people out in October as anyone else on the team. If he continues to pitch well for the rest of the season, I hope he'll get as much consideration as the older folks for a chance to start game three of the Division Series.
As for the offense, well, they awoke from their brief slumber with a seven-run fourth inning to knock Phillies starter Scott Mathieson out of the game. Eleven Mets came to bat in the inning. Lo Duca was the only one to record two hits in the frame with a double to lead it off and a single the next time around and he added a third hit in the seventh. The Mets had just five hits in the inning, but two walks and an error by Mathieson added to the offensive explosion. Wright's double drove in the first run of the inning and a grand slam by Reyes drove in the last four. Jose Valentin had a single in the fourth and a home run in the fifth.
Also on Sunday, the Mets signed Wright to a six-year, $55 million contract extension, following up the four-year, $23.5 million deal they gave to Reyes on Thursday. Both deals seem pretty reasonable for all concerned and while I wasn't too worried about either guy slipping away any time soon, it's nice all the same to have them locked up for a while. No matter the roster surrounding them, those two are going to make the Mets fun to watch for years to come.
Having extended their division lead back to thirteen games, the Mets (66-44) will take Monday off before welcoming an old friend back to Shea Stadium. Mike Piazza and the NL West-leading Padres (58-53) will be in town for three games starting on Tuesday. Steve Trachsel (10-5, 5.12) will take on Clay Hensley (7-8, 4.33) in the series opener. ¶ joe | 11:18 PM |
