A pitchers duel that went down to the final out, but for the Mets it was too little, too late.
The Mini Recap
Johan Santana squared off against Josh Johnson, and both pitchers brought their A games. The game only lasted a tad over two hours, but unfortunately for the Mets, a misplay in left field cost them the game. Daniel Murphy flubbed a can of corn on the warning track, allowing a run to score. Another run followed on a single.
The Mets rallied late, but fell just short.
That means...
Just sayin'...
It will never be seen if this is why the corner outfielders are performing like they are, but the signing of Gary Sheffield might be the best motivator ever.
Through five games, here are how the starting corner outfielders are performing:
Not too shabby. Sheffield, on the other hand, is 0-1 with a walk and a strikeout in two plate appearances. Sheffield will not play in the field until Wednesday, when he will get the start at Citi Field with Oliver Perez on the mound.
Again, it cannot be known if these players are performing like they are because they don’t want Sheffield to creep up behind them and swipe their roster spot, but it’s entirely possibly and plausible.
Who would’ve though Livan Hernandez would be the first Mets starting pitcher to see the seventh inning?
The Mini Recap
Hernandez pitched 6 2-3 innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits, three walks while striking out four. Meanwhile, Jose Reyes drove in three runs, Luis Castillo scored three times and went 4-4.
For the full recap, head over to Baseball Digest…
Even though tonight’s game between the Florida Marlins and the New York Mets will begin at 6:25 p.m., it will not show up on SNY until 7:05 p.m.
Why? Because of a Flo Rida concert. Read my article about it over at Baseball Digest.
Remember: The game will be joined in progress on SNY at 7:05 p.m. Stupid Marlins.
The Web site PitchInForAGoodCause.org has just added a new T-shirt to their collection. It honors Hall of Famer and longtime Mets broadcaster Ralph Kiner.
Check out the shirt here! All proceeds go to the Mets broadcasters (Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling) favorite charities.
The Mets are 2-2 in this young season and a major problem has already shown itself. Leaving runners on base, a problem this team has struggled with in the past.
In the first game of the season, the Mets managed to squeak out a 2-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds while leaving 12 runners on base. The Mets then left 12 runners on base combined between the next two games against the Reds. They split those two games against Cincy.
In the first game against the Marlins, the spotlight shone on this inability once more. The Mets left 14 runners on base and eventually lost the close game in the bottom of the ninth inning.
This, as you can obviously tell, is not a good sign.
While it is nice that they are, at least, getting runners on base with 40 hits and 22 walks so far this year, they can’t seem to get enough runners to touch home plate.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The Mini Recap
The Mets were down by one heading into the top of the 9th inning. Jeremy Reed delivered with an RBI single to tie the game. Jorge Cantu ended the game in the bottom of the 9th with a single to left, scoring Emilio Bonifacio from second base.
On The Mound
The Mets should be encouraged by John Maine’s start. He allowed solo home runs in each of the first two innings, one to Hanley Ramirez and another to Dan Uggla, but nothing else. Maine needed 83 pitches to get through five innings and allowed only those two hits. He walked only one and struck out five.
With all the worry over Maine’s mechanics and issues this spring training, this is a good sign for the Mets.
Sean Green took over for the sixth inning and allowed three hits and a run to score. He struck out three in the inning. Bobby Parnell had some hard tonight. After two quick outs, a Bonifacio bunt and John Baker bloop led to an RBI single from Ramirez.
Just terrible luck for Parnell. A bunt and a bloop with two outs lead to a very crucial run.
J.J. Putz was the sole untouched pitcher, throwing one inning, allowing only one hit. Pedro Feliciano started the ninth inning, allowing a one out infield single to Bonifacio. He then got Baker to strike out before being removed for Darren O’Day. After issuing a walk to Ramirez, O’Day surrendered a single to left field. Bonifacio sped around from second base to score the game winner, with Daniel Murphy’s throw coming in too late to get the runner.
Poor O’Day. He’s really not having a good few days. Hopefully this doesn’t cost him his roster spot.
At The Plate
Leaving runners on base doomed the Mets again. They left 14 runners on base.
Anibel Sanchez shut out the Mets for all five innings he was on the mound. Carlos Beltran then greeted Dan Meyer with a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning. Beltran struck again in the seventh inning, grounding into a fielders choice with the bases loaded to drive in Murphy.
Beltran seems to love hitting in Dolphin Stadium, with a career .331 AVG with 33 RBI in 32 games in south Florida. He added to that with his three hit night tonight.
Fernando Tatis pinch hit with the bases loaded again in the seventh, and just missed getting all of a ball for a grand slam. Instead, he flew out to the warning track, allowing David Wright to score from third on his sacrifice fly.
In the top of the ninth, with the Mets trailing by one, Beltran and Church singled with one out off of Matt Lindstrom. After Ramon Castro fouled out, Reed came to the plate as the Mets last hope. He delivered by ripping a single to right field, allowing Beltran to trot around and tie the game.
Nice way to win over Mets fans, Reed. If he’s supposed to replace Endy Chavez, this is a good start. Church and Murphy also picked up three hits tonight.
Game Ball
Carlos Beltran: 3-5, 2 RBIs, 2 runs, 1 K.
On Deck
Livan Hernandez will face Ricky Nolasco tomorrow, with the game starting at 6:25 p.m. The game will not air on TV until 7:05 p.m. where it will be joined in progress.