Thursday, October 12, 2006
Mets 2, Cardinals 0
(Mets lead NLCS 1-0)
Both starting pitchers cruised through the early part of this game, aided in part by an inconsistent, sometimes large, strike zone. In fact, for five and two-thirds innings, Jeff Weaver seemed in total control. He'd allowed just one hit and one walk, striking out one.
But with two down in the sixth, he gave up a single to Paul Lo Duca. Carlos Beltran came to the plate having lined out and grounded out in his first two at bats. Then Weaver's 2-2 pitch wound up in a very enticing area of the strike zone only to be quickly relocated to a spot on the right field scoreboard. Carlos Delgado followed with a double but after an intentional walk to David Wright, reliever Tyler Johnson was able to retire Endy Chavez to end the inning. Still, Beltran's two-run home run provided a comfortable lead.
Comfortable because Tom Glavine gave the Mets another excellent performance. After six shutout innings in the NLDS, Glavine blanked the Cardinals for seven. He allowed four hits and two walks and struck out two. He was in a couple of jams, including putting two on with one out in the third. But he got a line drive double play to get out of that. Glavine is etching his name in Mets playoff lore with these performances. If there's a game five, we'll see if he can keep it up on three days rest.
The Mets' offense didn't add anymore runs, though they did threaten against the St. Louis bullpen. They put runners on second and third with one out in the eighth as a result of Lo Duca's second single and Delgado's second double. But Wright and Chavez were unable to capitalize. They had just six hits in the game, but thanks to Glavine, Beltran's bomb was all they needed.
Guillermo Mota relieved Glavine in the eighth and did make things interesting for a few moments. With two outs, he walked David Eckstein on four pitches and threw three balls to Preston Wilson. Believe it or not, those are the guys batting directly in front of Albert Pujols. But Mota was able to avert disaster and got Wilson to pop out foul on a 3-2 pitch. Billy Wagner got Pujols to line out to start the ninth and finished things off, allowing just a walk to Scott Rolen.
This game wasn't all good news, however. Willie Randolph's plan to start Cliff Floyd in left field did not work out well. He apparently tweaked his Achilles rounding first on a foul ball in the second and had to be removed from the game. Chavez is a fine replacement and Shawn Green had a good offensive game with a single, a walk and a stolen base. But if Floyd can't return in this series, that does leave the Mets' bench short a man. And given that the bench already featured Michael Tucker and Anderson Hernandez, it wasn't the deepest to begin with.
Game two will be played tomorrow night and it features another seemingly mismatched pitching matchup. Chris Carpenter (15-8, 3.09 regular season, 2-0, 2.02 NLDS) gets to pitch early as a result of Wednesday's rainout. He'll be opposed by John Maine (6-5, 3.60 regular season, 0-0, 2.08 NLDS). The Mets' offense didn't quite inspire confidence with their failure to pummel Jeff Weaver, but the Cardinals' bats aren't too fearsome either. Another low-scoring thriller may be in the offing. ¶ joe | 11:46 PM |
(Mets lead NLCS 1-0)
Both starting pitchers cruised through the early part of this game, aided in part by an inconsistent, sometimes large, strike zone. In fact, for five and two-thirds innings, Jeff Weaver seemed in total control. He'd allowed just one hit and one walk, striking out one.
But with two down in the sixth, he gave up a single to Paul Lo Duca. Carlos Beltran came to the plate having lined out and grounded out in his first two at bats. Then Weaver's 2-2 pitch wound up in a very enticing area of the strike zone only to be quickly relocated to a spot on the right field scoreboard. Carlos Delgado followed with a double but after an intentional walk to David Wright, reliever Tyler Johnson was able to retire Endy Chavez to end the inning. Still, Beltran's two-run home run provided a comfortable lead.
Comfortable because Tom Glavine gave the Mets another excellent performance. After six shutout innings in the NLDS, Glavine blanked the Cardinals for seven. He allowed four hits and two walks and struck out two. He was in a couple of jams, including putting two on with one out in the third. But he got a line drive double play to get out of that. Glavine is etching his name in Mets playoff lore with these performances. If there's a game five, we'll see if he can keep it up on three days rest.
The Mets' offense didn't add anymore runs, though they did threaten against the St. Louis bullpen. They put runners on second and third with one out in the eighth as a result of Lo Duca's second single and Delgado's second double. But Wright and Chavez were unable to capitalize. They had just six hits in the game, but thanks to Glavine, Beltran's bomb was all they needed.
Guillermo Mota relieved Glavine in the eighth and did make things interesting for a few moments. With two outs, he walked David Eckstein on four pitches and threw three balls to Preston Wilson. Believe it or not, those are the guys batting directly in front of Albert Pujols. But Mota was able to avert disaster and got Wilson to pop out foul on a 3-2 pitch. Billy Wagner got Pujols to line out to start the ninth and finished things off, allowing just a walk to Scott Rolen.
This game wasn't all good news, however. Willie Randolph's plan to start Cliff Floyd in left field did not work out well. He apparently tweaked his Achilles rounding first on a foul ball in the second and had to be removed from the game. Chavez is a fine replacement and Shawn Green had a good offensive game with a single, a walk and a stolen base. But if Floyd can't return in this series, that does leave the Mets' bench short a man. And given that the bench already featured Michael Tucker and Anderson Hernandez, it wasn't the deepest to begin with.
Game two will be played tomorrow night and it features another seemingly mismatched pitching matchup. Chris Carpenter (15-8, 3.09 regular season, 2-0, 2.02 NLDS) gets to pitch early as a result of Wednesday's rainout. He'll be opposed by John Maine (6-5, 3.60 regular season, 0-0, 2.08 NLDS). The Mets' offense didn't quite inspire confidence with their failure to pummel Jeff Weaver, but the Cardinals' bats aren't too fearsome either. Another low-scoring thriller may be in the offing. ¶ joe | 11:46 PM |
