Mets Drop Series Opener to Lowly Rockies

Monday, August 20 2012

Final Score: Colorado Rockies: 3 New York Mets: 1

Mets Drop Series Opener to Lowly Rockies

What started out as a promising season has hit a new low for the Mets, who dropped to a season high eight games under .500 after Monday night’s 3-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies.  With the season going down the drain fast, even individual awards for players such as R.A. Dickey seem to be joining them.  With the loss, the Philadelphia Phillies have tied the Mets for third place in the NL East.

Dickey’s pursuit of 20 victories for the season became a little more difficult after receiving a tough luck no-decision Monday night.  Dickey surrendered a fifth inning solo homerun to Tyler Colvin in the 5^th inning to tie the game up and the Mets offense was unable to back their ace, resulting in Dickey’s total for wins staying at 15.

Dickey was staked to a one run lead after the first inning thanks to a Daniel Murphy single scoring David Wright.  That was the only scoring the Mets were able to do for Dickey, as they squandered their other good chance in the 7^th inning when Dickey was lifted for pinch hitter Justin Turner.

The final stat line for Dickey was great again, as he went seven innings, giving up only three hits and two walks and one earned run while striking out six.  Dickey will get his next crack at win 16 Saturday against the Houston Astros, as he is the only pitcher that will continue on regular rest as the rest of the team has moved to a six-man rotation.

After Dickey was relieved, it did not take long for the Mets bullpen to do what they have done best this season and surrender leads and tie games.  Josh Edgin surrendered an unearned run, after his shovel to first base allowed Jonathan Herrera to get to second base.  Herrera was then bunted over to third and scored after Edgin unleashed a pitch Kelly Shoppach could not handle.

Jon Rauch would surrender another run in the 9^th inning, only his second in his last 22 appearances to give the Rockies a two-run edge.

While the hitting may have been underwhelming, the Mets did flash the leather in the field.  David Wright and Ruben Tejada both made outstanding plays in the 5^th inning, robbing Wilin Rosario and D.J. LeMahieu.  Mike Baxter would add a nice sliding catch in the 6^th inning to rob Guillermo Moscoco of a hit of his own.

The Mets and Rockies will play the second game of their four game series Tuesday night with Chris Young (3-6, 4.50 ERA) being opposed by Jhoulys Chacin (0-3, 7.30 ERA).

Mets Drop Series Opener in San Diego

Friday, August 3^rd, 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 1 San Diego Padres: 3

Mets Drop Opener in San Diego

After exploding for nine runs against the Giants yesterday afternoon, the Mets struggled to get anything going tonight, falling to the Padres 3-1. Tonight was another tough luck loss for the Mets who are clawing to get back to the .500 mark and stay in the playoff race. 

R.A. Dickey had a strong performance tonight, but was let down by his offense.  Dickey held the Padres hitless until Yonder Alonso’s single in the 5^th inning and didn’t allow a run until the 6^th inning. 

In the 7^th inning he allowed a one-out single to Carlos Quentin, which was followed up by an Alonso double that barely evaded a diving Scott Hairston.  Quentin attempted to score all the way from first and looked to be dead to rights as he was several steps away from the plate as catcher Josh Thole was receiving the relay throw from Ronny Cedeno. 

Disappointingly for the Mets, Thole dropped the ball as it was dislodged when Quentin came in hard and strong.  Thole was charged with an error on the play for not holding onto the baseball.  Alonso would score shortly after on a single by John Baker, who was the next batter. 

Thole had suffered a concussion earlier in the season, which likely was his fourth of his baseball career, in Philadelphia on May 7^th courtesy of Ty Wigginton.  Injuries like that can cause a player to become more cautious around the plate when it comes to collisions.

Dickey would be pulled for a pinch-hitter in the next half inning, ending his night with a stat line of seven innings pitched, four hits and three walks resulting in three runs, two of which were earned, and nine strikeouts. 

The Mets lone run of the night came courtesy of a Ronny Cedeno RBI single on an infield hit that plated David Wright.

The Mets were able to get the first two men on in the 8^th inning thanks to back-to-back singles by Cedeno and pinch-hitter Justin Turner.  Nothing came from the strong start, as Luke Gregerson struck out Andres Torres and David Wright; which was followed by Padres closer Houston Street entering and retiring pinch-hitter Jordany Valdespin on a groundout to second base. 

Next up in the second game in the series between the Mets and Padres is a match-up between Jeremy Hefner (1-4, 5.52 ERA) and Edison Volquez (7-7, 3.51 ERA). 

Mets Drop Second Game in San Francisco

Tuesday July 31^st, 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 1 San Francisco Giants: 4

Mets Drop Second Game in San Francisco

After taking the first game of the series in San Francisco, the Mets dropped the second one 4-1.  The Mets were unable to give any support to Matt Harvey, who was making his second career major league start and suffered his first career loss.  Lack of defensive awareness and a lack of pop at the plate put the Mets behind the eight-ball.

Harvey threw another good game for the Mets, even though it resulted in a loss.  He shattered the Mets franchise record for strikeouts in his first two starts, racking up 19.  Harvey finished the game with six innings, four hits, three runs (two of which were earned), three walks and seven strikeouts.

Harvey put the blame on himself for the loss but was being unfair and tough on himself.  The defense just did not show up behind him tonight.  There were plays that resulted in errors and mental mistakes throughout the game.  Jordany Valdespin miss played a line drive in the second inning, allowing Buster Posey to get to first on a single.  The bases would eventually be loaded and Harvey would get the groundball for the double play but the defense again let him down.  Ruben Tejada misfired his throw to first, missing out on an opportunity to end the inning on a double play. 

The third run was surrendered in the sixth inning with the bases loaded when Harvey got Marco Scutaro to ground into a double play.  Harvey relied on his changeup more this time around than in his first start and the results would have been as good if not for spotty defense.

Harvey will make his next start in the finale of the road trip Sunday in San Diego against the Padres and Jason Marquis.

Outside of an RBI double by Justin Turner knocking in Scott Hairston in the second inning, the Mets offense was held in check by Tim Lincecum.  David Wright was given the night off for only the sixth time this season but appeared as a pinch hitter.

Wright came on with the bases loaded and was struck out by Lincecum on one of the best curveballs a pitcher can throw.  The strikeout ended really any chance the Mets had at a comeback. 

Lincecum finished the game with seven innings pitched, allowing six hits and one walk equaling one earned run while striking out seven.  This is Lincecum’s fifth win of the season and second against the Mets.

Next up for the Mets and Giants is the third game in the four game series.  The Mets will again have a hard time scoring runs as Jon Niese (7-5, 3.68 ERA) will be opposed by Giants starter and All-Star game starter Matt Cain (10-3, 2.80 ERA). 

Mets Beat Giants in Extras

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Mets vs Giants Post Game Recap 7/30

The Mets were able to pick up the first game of the series in San Fran beating the Giants in extra innings by a score of 8-7.

Starter Jeremy Hefner had a tough night on mound for the Mets while picking up the no decision. Hefner went 5.2 innings allowing ten hits, three walks, four runs, and had five strikeouts.

Bobby Parnell was unable to close the game for the Mets despite the blown save going to Josh Edgin who later got his first win of the season. Parnell was only able to get one out while allowing two hits, one run, and then was pulled by Terry Collins.

Manny Acosta would pick up the save in extra innings for his 1^st of the season, but made it very interesting allowing one hit, two walks, and one run.

Offensively for the Mets it was the Scott Hairston show, as Hairston went 2 for 5 with the game tying two-run homerun in the 8^th inning, and then the go ahead solo homerun in the 10^th giving him 14 now for the season.

Ike Davis had another rough night at the plate going 0 for 4 with four strikeouts getting himself a golden sombrero.

Justin Turner was able to rekindle some of last years clutch magic with a pinch hit double in the 8^th inning scoring Jason Bay.

Mets will look to make it three straight wins as Matt Harvey will be making his second start in the majors against Tim Lincecum (4-11, 5.88).

Johan Santana Lands on 15-Day DL

Johan Santana Lands on 15-day DL

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Mets starting pitcher Johan Santana was placed on the 15-day DL this morning with a sprained right ankle.

Santana suffered the injury July 6^th against the Chicago Cubs when he awkwardly fell while trying to cover first base on a groundball to first baseman Justin Turner.

People around the Mets believe that the ankle injury has messed up Santana’s delivery, as he has had to rely on his surgically repaired left arm more during his windup.  This in turn has caused fatigue in the arm, so in addition to healing up the ankle Santana needs rest to build back up arm strength in the arm.

“Ever since the ankle injury, basically he’s lost his command,” said Mets manager Terry Collins.  “We don’t think he can land properly … he is using all arm to pitch with, causing some fatigue in his shoulder, (but) no pain.  There’s just nothing there.  So we’re gonna disable him and get him some rest.  Let the ankle heal and rebuild the arm strength back a little bit.”

Replacing Santana will be a tough task for Collins and GM Sandy Alderson to decide upon.  With Dillon Gee already on the DL, the Mets were scrambling for starting pitching help.  Miguel Batista was making the start for Gee Saturday afternoon and Jeremy Hefner has been called up to replace Santana on the roster.  Hefner is tentatively scheduled to start in place of Santana Wednesday in Washington.  The addition to Santana to the DL will also add fuel to the fire of prospect Matt Harvey being called up to make his major league debut.

Since throwing the first no-hitter in Mets franchise history, Johan Santana has struggled mightily. 

He has given up five or more earned runs in three straight starts and has compiled an ERA of 6.54 in eight starts since the 134 pitch no hitter.  Those eight starts include surrendering 11 homeruns in only 42 2/3 innings.  

New York Mets vs Los Angeles Dodgers Post Game Recap 7-1

Final Score: New York Mets: 3 Los Angeles Dodgers: 8

The Mets were unable to pull of the sweep of the Dodgers, falling 8-3 on Sunday Night Baseball. Sloppy fielding and poor play overall played a part in the squandering of a 2-0 early lead.  Behind a strong performance from All-Star and reigning MVP Clayton Kershaw and three Mets errors, the Dodgers salvaged the last game of the series.

Errors by second baseman Ronny Cedeno and first baseman Justin Turner led to the first two Dodger runs to tie the score.  The Dodgers, who had been shut out in five of their last six games, will take runs in any way possible. 

The next inning, the Dodgers were able to manufacture another run, giving them their first lead in 66 innings before Juan Rivera touched home plate in the 6^th inning on a James Loney groundout.

The Mets were only trailing by one run at that point, but more sloppy play in the 7^th inning blew the game open making it a laugher.  Miguel Batista entered the game with one out after relievers Ramon Ramirez and Justin Hampson loaded the bases.

Batista was able to cause a come-backer, but catcher Mike Nickeas missed the ball and was charged with an error. Instead of having an inning ending double play, the Mets deficit was expanded.  The Dodgers would add two more runs before the inning ended, making for an 8-3 lead.

Overall, the Mets finished their road trip 4-3, a good record when you consider how poorly the trip had started.  The Mets can be confident in themselves heading back to Queens for a series against the Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins heading into the All-Star break.

After an off day on Monday, the Mets will be back at it Tuesday against the Phillies. Jon Niese (6-3 3.55 ERA) is expected to take the mound for the Mets against Vance Worley (4-4 2.92 ERA) of the Phillies.