Mets Disappoint in Opener of Important Stretch

Friday, July 13th 2012
Final Score: New York Mets: 5 Atlanta Braves: 7

Mets Disappoint in Opener of Important Stretch

The Mets started a stretch of games that could determine the outcome of their season on a loss, falling to the Atlanta Braves 7-5.  This series against the Braves starts a stretch of four series in which the Mets will play teams directly connected to their own playoff hopes, heading to Washington following this trip to Atlanta and finishing it up in Queens against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Nationals again.

“The next month will determine a lot,” said Mets manager Terry Collins.  “We’ve got Washington three times, I think.  We’ve got the Braves twice. We’ve got the Dodgers.  We go on the West Coast swing.  You know what that can mean.  You’re talking about Arizona, who is playing better.  The Giants, who are fighting.  You’ve got to go play San Diego in their place.  Even though they’re not playing the way they want to, certainly, they can always be tough out there, and that’s at the end of an 11-day road trip.  That’s a tough trip.  We’re going to know how we’re standing when we get to August 1^st, if we’re still in the dogfight.”

Collins will have plenty of tough decisions to make leading up to and during that time, and the first one was made tonight.  Collins was persistent in saying that he would not hesitate using lefty call-up Josh Edgin in a pressure situation and he kept his word.

Edgin came in after Miguel Batista, who walked four batters in 1.1 innings of work, made a mess of things with the bases loaded and retired the Braves to keep the Mets deficit at 5-4.  He came back for the next inning and was successful at the start, but could not finish the inning.

After retiring the first two batters of the inning, Edgin served up a homerun to Chipper Jones, which was followed by a Freddie Freeman double.  Collins had seen enough and pulled Edgin. 

Edgin was charged with two runs after Ramon Ramirez came in and surrendered a single which knocked in Freeman.

Another tough decision Collins will have to make is with the starting rotation because of Dillon Gee’s injury.  The decision was not made any easier after Chris Young’s performance tonight.

Young had his shortest outing of the season, surrendering five earned runs in three innings.  It was a rough night for Young, who surrendered three walks and six hits in his short outing only striking out two Braves. 

The poor performance could have been because of a lack of readiness, as Young was the third person in line for this start. Johan Santana was originally named but his ankle would not allow him to go.  Next in line Gee was diagnosed with a blood clot in his arm, rendering him unavailable to make the start.

Some positives for the Mets was that Andres Torres was able to return.  It was his first action since July 4^th because of discomfort in his back.

Ruben Tejada, David Wright and Scott Hairston were all able to get two hits for the Mets, who were just unable to keep the Braves in check when needed.

Next up for the Mets and Braves is an afternoon game Saturday on Fox Saturday Baseball game of the week at 4:05 P.M. ET.  R.A. Dickey (12-1, 2.40 ERA) will make his first start of the second half, being opposed by Braves starter Tommy Hanson (10-5, 3.71 ERA).

Mets Bounce Back Against Cubs Behind Gee

Final Score: Chicago Cubs: 1 New York Mets: 3

The Mets were able to build off of their momentum in the 9^th inning last night and translate that effort into a hard fought 3-1 victory this afternoon over the Cubs.

Dillon Gee pitched outstanding for the Mets this afternoon, tying his career high outing going eight innings.  The last time Gee went eight innings was against the Pittsburgh Pirates June 10th, 2011.

Gee took a scoreless outing into the sixth inning, where he surrendered his only run on a single by David DeJesus.  Gee’s stat line for the game was eight innings pitched, seven hits, no walks and four strikeouts.  Gee will get a lengthy rest, as he is not scheduled to start again until either July 15^th or July 17^th because of the All-Star game.

Gee’s effort did not go to waste as he was backed up by long balls from the Mets offense.

Jordany Valdespin knocked a homerun into right centerfield, almost the exact same spot as his homerun in Friday night’s game.   Valdespin has shown some power with the Mets this season, as he now has four homeruns in only 67 at bats and producing 14 RBI’s.  Since being called backup, his approach at the plate has also looked much better, as he is now earning more playing time and at-bats.

The other runs for the Mets were courtesy of a two-run homerun off the bat of Ike Davis.  It was Davis’s 12^th homerun of the season, tying him with Lucas Duda and Scott Hairston for the team lead. 

Every Met in the lineup today was able to get a hit except catcher Josh Thole and Gee.  

The Mets also made some history today, starting an all homegrown lineup for the 4^th time in franchise history and the second time this season.  The first two occurrences were in a September series in 1971 against Pittsburgh, and the one this season came with the same starting lineup, just with Jon Niese pitching on April 26^th. 

Next up for the Mets is the last game before the All-Star break against the Cubs.  Jon Niese (7-3 3.35 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets as they look to end the first half on a strong note against Cubs starting pitcher Ryan Dempster (3-3 2.11 ERA) who is making his return off the disabled list.  With a win tomorrow afternoon, the Mets can get a season-high eight games over .500.

New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Post Game Recap 6-30

Final Score: New York Mets: 5 Los Angeles Dodgers: 0

The Mets ran their winning streak to four games at the expense of the reeling Dodgers with yet another shut out, winning 5-0.  Tonight’s win moved the Mets one game closer to their first ever four game sweep of the Dodgers.

The Dodgers have suffered shutouts in five of the last six games without All-Star hitters Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier in the lineup.  Tonight the Dodgers offense was unable to get anything going because of the stellar performance of Johan Santana.

Santana pitched eight shutout innings, scattering three hits and two walks to go along with three strikeouts.  Santana now has career numbers of 5-0 with a 0.50 ERA against the Dodgers, closing out June with almost as dominant performance as he started it with (Santana threw the first no hitter in Mets franchise history on June 1^st).

The Mets offense tonight was led by Ike Davis. Davis took advantage of the Dodgers intentionally walking David Wright in front of him in the 6^th inning, hitting a three run homerun, his 11^th of the season.  Davis would finish the game 2-4, getting his batting average over the Mendoza line for the second time this season at .203.

Daniel Murphy and Josh Thole both knocked in RBI’s with sacrifice flies in the 2^nd and 5^th innings to round out the offense for the Mets. 

The Mets’ defense struggled in Chicago, but tonight was on point against the Dodgers.  Santana made two stellar plays in the field to help his own cause and were was also helped by David Wright and Daniel Murphy. 

In the 2^nd inning, Murphy ranged to his right to start up a 4-6-3 double play.  It does not seem like much but it is encouraging to see Murphy becoming more comfortable playing 2^nd base as it has been a work in progress for Murphy on defense.  Wright was able to make a barehanded on a bunt attempt in the 4^th inning, throwing out speedster Elian Herrera at first base.

Not everything was great about the Mets as a whole tonight, as Andres Torres struggled on the base paths.  In the first inning, Torres was doubled off first pass on a fly out to right field by Wright. Torres was able to get on base in his next at-bat in the 3^rd inning, but was picked off first base by Dodgers catcher A.J Ellis. 

Next up for the Mets is the 4^th game of their series against the Dodgers on Sunday night baseball.  The only thing between the Mets and a sweep is reigning NL Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw (5-4 2.72 ERA).  Dillon Gee (5-6 4.42 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets.

New York Mets vs. Chicago Cubs Post Game Recap 6-26

Final Score: New York Mets: 3 Chicago Cubs: 5

Another lackluster performance for the Mets leads to another loss to the lowly Chicago Cubs.  The Mets had a few mental mistakes that led to costly errors and sloppy play.

Dillon Gee’s career high streak of seven straight quality starts was snapped as he labored through five innings giving up four earned runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out six. 

The tiebreaking hit was given up by Gee in the 4^th inning off the bat of top prospect and recently called up Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo.  Rizzo ripped a double to centerfield, knocking in his first RBI as a Cub. He would end the night 2-4.

The Cubs were able to add another run in the 8^th inning off a Reuben Tejada throwing error.  That error occurred because of a missed call by first base umpire Manny Gonzalez, who called Cubs catcher Steve Clevenger safe even after Ike Davis tagged him before reaching base.  Davis was subsequently thrown out of the game for placing his glove on Gonzalez.

In addition to Gee losing his consecutive quality starts streak, David Wright’s hitting streak ended at 15.  Wright ended the game 0-3, but was able to produce an RBI with a sac fly in the 4^th inning and drew a walk to lead off the 9^th. 

The Mets once again were able to do damage with two outs.  With an MLB leading 161 two-out runs entering the game, the Mets added to that total in the 2^nd inning thanks to four straight hits including RBI singles by catcher Josh Thole and Gee. 

The Mets were unable to keep up the offense, as they ended the game on an 0-13 streak with runners on base, one of the many problems the Mets encountered tonight.  After knocking out Cubs starting pitcher Randy Wells after three innings, the Mets were unable to capitalize off the Cubs bullpen, as they combined to pitch six shutout innings, allowing only four base runners total; two hits and two walks.

The Mets look to avoid getting swept at Wrigley Field for the first time since 2004 in a Wednesday matinee.  Jon Niese (5-3 3.75 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets and will be opposed by Cubs starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija (5-6, 4.34 ERA). 

New York Mets vs. Chicago Cubs Post Game Recap 6-25

Final Score: New York Mets:1 Chicago Cubs: 6

Mets manager Terry Collins let his players know how he felt about their play recently, calling it admirable because the Mets just ended a streak of eight straight series against teams with win.  What Collins feared most, a letdown by his team, may be starting to materialize after a very lackluster performance against the Chicago Cubs, owners of the worst record in the MLB.

The Mets were able to only muster six hits against the Cubs with shortstop Ronny Cedeno and Mike Nickeas each getting two apiece.  It took the Mets until the 9^th inning to even score their run as it came on Ike Davis’s 9^th homerun of the season. 

The Mets were also very sloppy in the field, committing three errors, all of which came in a disastrous 7^th inning when the wheels really fell off for the Mets.   

Johan Santana pitched admirably for the Mets, by once again was let down by a lack of offense.  Santana pitched six innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out six.

The big blow for the Cubs came in the 4^th inning when Joe Mather launched a 2-run homerun off Santana after he issued a two out walk to Cubs catcher Geovany Soto.

The Mets bullpen had a comeback and debut tonight.  The comeback was made by Ramon Ramirez, who was returning off the DL from a strained right hamstring, had a rough outing allowing both of his inherited runners to score in the 7^th inning.  The debut was made by Justin Hampson, who was called up from Triple-A Buffalo to be paired with Tim Byrdak as lefties in the Mets bullpen.  Hampson surrendered a two out triple to Reed Johnson, was able to get out of the inning unscathed, also recording a strikeout.

Travis Wood pitched seven innings of shutout ball for the Cubs, giving up five hits and only walking one batter while adding six strikeouts.

Up next for the Mets is the middle game of their series against the Cubs.  Dillon Gee (5-5 4.27 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets while right-hander Randy Wells (1-2 4.91 ERA) will take the mound for the Cubs.