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 get Shutdown by Leake

usatoday.com

Mets vs. Reds Post Game Recap 8/15

The Mets were unable to get much offense going for the second game straight losing to the Red 6-1.

Cincinnati Reds starter Mike Leake was great against the Mets throwing a complete game. Leake went the full nine innings allowing four hits, one run, and had four strikeouts.

Cy Young candidate R.A Dickey had one of his worst outings of the year getting his 4th loss of the season. Dickey went six innings allowing ten hits, two walks, five runs, and had nine strikeouts. Dickey did also give up three solo homeruns to Scott Rolen, Todd Frazier, and Jay Bruce. The start did come with some controversy, as the umpires made Dickey remove two bracelets that his daughters made him.

Mike Baxter was able to have a multi-hit game in the leadoff spot going 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Ruben Tejada was the other Met to get a hit off Leake, also having a multi-hit game going 2 for 4.

The Mets will be looking to avoid the sweep, as they send rookie Matt Harvey (1-3, 3.63) to the mound to face Homer Bailey (10-7, 4.08).

Mets Salvage Last Game of Series vs. Marlins

Thursday, August 9^th, 2012

Final Score: Miami Marlins: 1 New York Mets: 6

Mets Salvage Final Game of Series vs. Marlins

The Mets were finally able to end their losing streak at Citi Field Thursday afternoon, defeating the Marlins 6-1.  This was the first win for the Mets at home since July 7^th against the Chicago Cubs and ended the eight game losing streak they were on at home.  The losing streak matched the sixth longest one in Mets franchise history. 

R.A. Dickey pitched like the ace he has been all season, throwing a masterful complete game.  It was the fourth complete game on the season for Dickey.  The only blemish for him was a solo homerun given up in the fourth inning to Justin Ruggiano. 

Dickey surrendered only five hits resulting in the one earned run with no walks and 10 strikeouts.  It was Dickey’s sixth double digit strikeout game of the season, giving him 166 strikeouts on the season against only 36 walks. 

Dickey is looking to become the first 20 game winner for the Mets since Frank Viola in 1990, notching his 15^th win of the season this afternoon, tying him with Jered Weaver for the MLB lead.  Dickey, even with the Mets struggles, is right in the hunt for the NL Cy Young award also with a 15-3 record and 2.72 ERA.

For the Mets at the plate Andres Torres shined.  Torres finished the game 3 for 3 with a walk, finishing a single short of hitting for the cycle.  Multiple Mets also had multi-hit games, with David Wright, Mike Baxter, and Josh Thole.

Ruben Tejada was also able to add two hits, upping his hitting streak to a career high 14 games.

The Mets were able to cool of Jose Reyes, who had his 26 game hitting streak ended Thursday afternoon.  Reyes also made a blunder in the field in the 4^th inning that enabled the Mets to retake the lead for good.

Next up for the Mets is a series against the rival Atlanta Braves.  Matt Harvey (1-2, 3.86 ERA) will be making his Citi Field debut against newly acquired Paul Maholm (9-7 3.75 ERA). 

Hefner Performs Well in Spot Start for Mets

Saturday, August 4^th, 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 6 San Diego Padres: 2

Hefner Performs Well in Spot Start

The Mets offense was able to wake up some Saturday night, scoring six runs in defeating the Padres 6-2.  The Mets move one game closer to .500 with the win tonight and sit with a record of 53-55 after tonight’s victory.  A strong performance from spot starter Jeremy Hefner not only earned him a spot on the major league roster for the time being but a much needed victory for the Mets.

Hefner threw a strong game for the Mets against his old team in the Padres.  He allowed the first batter to get on, but erased him with a double play on the next at-bat.  Hefner ultimately would allow only one run in six innings, surrendering only five hits and no walks to go along with two strikeouts.  One thing that stood out in Hefner’s start was that it took him only 74 pitches to get through the six innings. 

With Johan Santana expected to return from the DL next weekend, Hefner will be moved back to the bullpen according to manager Terry Collins.  Hefner’s performance tonight saved him from a demotion and showed how valuable he could be for the Mets organization. 

The Mets did a lot of their damage tonight in the 2^nd inning, scoring four of their six runs in the inning thanks to an erratic performance from Edinson Volquez.  Volquez managed to get through only 1 2/3 innings, giving up two hits and four walks, resulting in four earned runs while also striking out three.

Two of Volquez’s four walks on the night forced in runs in the 2^nd inning, which was highlighted by a two-RBI double by Jordany Valdespin.  Valdespin had been struggling on the road trip before the at-bat, going only 3 for 23.

Daniel Murphy had another strong performance tonight, going 4 for 4 at the plate for the Mets, also adding a walk.

Mike Baxter had a record tying night at the plate for the Mets as well without recording an at-bat.  Baxter walked five times tonight, which is the first time a player has accomplished that feat since 2006 when Ryan Howard did it for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Josh Edgin, the only lefty currently in the bullpen with Tim Byrdak landing on the DL with an injury to his shoulder, tossed a shutout 7^th inning despite an error from Ruben Tejada.  Edgin then tossed a second shutout inning, even after manager Terry Collins said he would be conscious of not over-using Egdin in Brydak’s absence.

Bobby Parnell came into the game in the 9^th inning and imploded giving up a leadoff homerun to Chase Headley followed by a double by Yonder Alonso.  He was relieved by Frank Francisco, who was making his first appearance since coming off the DL.  Francisco was able to close out the game without allowing another base runner, stranding Alonso on base.

The Mets will head into the finale in San Diego looking to win their second series in a row.  They have already clinched a winning road trip, which is a positive sign after such an awful start to the second half.  Matt Harvey (1-1, 1.59 ERA) will make his third career start against Jason Marquis (4-6, 4.08 ERA).

Johan Santana Throws First No-Hitter In Mets History

Friday, June 1st 2012
Final Score: St. Louis Cardinals: 0 New York Mets: 8

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Johan Santana had to wait what was an excruciating 19 months in between MLB starts, but that seems like a blink of an eye for Mets fans after seeing Santana pitch tonight.  Santana tonight pitched the first no-hitter in New York Met history.  The record lasted for more than 50 seasons, totaling 8,019 games without a no-hitter.  This leaves the San Diego Padres as the only team left in the majors without a no-hitter.

It was a career night for Santana, who has never thrown even a one or two hitter but throwing a three hitter on five different occasions.  In addition to being his first no hitter as well as the first in Mets history, Santana set a career high for pitches thrown with 134.  The original plan, according to manager Terry Collins, was to have Santana on a 115 pitch limit.  Those plans had to be tweaked with history within reach as Santana finished off the 8th inning at 122 pitches.  A reason for the high pitch count was the five walks in addition to seven strikeouts Santana accumulated throughout the game.  The raucous crowd of 27,069 could be heard chanting “Johan” as he came to bat in the 8th inning before finishing off the game in the 9th.

Much like anything in history, more than one person plays a part in the outcome.  Tonight, the Mets defense stepped up behind Santana.  In the 7th inning on a hard hit ball my Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, left fielder Mike Baxter crashed into the wall with his arm outstretched preserving the no hitter.  Baxter would have to leave as a result of the play with a left shoulder contusion and will undergo further testing.

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Another play in question involves former Met Carlos Beltran, who was returning to Queens for the first time since being traded last season, and 3rd base umpire Adrian Johnson.  Beltran ripped a line drive down the 3rd base line which was ruled foul by Johnson.  The Cardinals argued that the ball was far, as Beltran would eventually ground out to end the at-bat.  Replays later proved to be inconclusive, but could be argued as either hitting the chalk or missing it.  “I saw the ball hitting outside the line, just foul,” Johnson is quoted as saying to reporters after the game.  After being shown the replay, Johnson was asked what he thought and he replied with, “No comment.”

In addition to Santana’s sterling performance, the 3-4-5 hitters David Wright, Lucas Duda and Daniel Murphy, the heart of the Mets lineup, delivered big time production knocking in all eight Met runs.  Duda had four R.B.I. including a 3-run homerun on the 6th inning of Cardinal starting pitcher Adam Wainwright.  Murphy added two 2-our R.B.I., with three total with Wright getting his R.B.I. on a bases loaded walk in the 7th inning.

Up next for the Mets and Cardinals is the second game of their four game series at 4:15 P.M. ET.  R.A. Dickey (7-1, 3.06 ERA) takes the mound for the Mets versus Lance Lynn (8-1, 2.54 ERA) of the Cardinals in a match-up against two of the most surprising and top pitchers in the majors this season.

New York Mets vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Post Game Recap 5-21

Final Score: New York Mets: 4 Pittsburgh Pirates: 5

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Johan Santana was unable to protect the four run lead staked to him tonight, as the Mets dropped the opening game in the series against the Pirates tonight 5-4.  A 7^th inning homerun by catcher and number eight hitter Michael McKenry off Santana tied the game, starting a slide the Mets were unable to recover from.

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 Because of a miscommunication with leftfielder Mike Baxter, Kirk Nieuwenhuis dropped a fly ball starting off the bottom of the 8^th inning off the bat of Neil Walker, leading to a three-base error.  Walker later scored in the inning off a sac fly by Clint Barmes off Jon Rauch.  Walker barely slid in ahead of a Lucas Duda throw from right field.

This was the second time this season that Nieuwenhuis had a big error while manning center field.  The last occurrence was April 21^st against the San Francisco Giants when he over ran a ball, prolonging the game.  The Mets were able to come away with a victory in that game, as the Giants returned the favor with their own miscues.

David Wright stayed hot at the plate, raising his average to .415 after going 2-4 with a walk and RBI.  Wright’s RBI single in the 2^nd inning capped off a four run inning against Pirates starter Erik Bedard.  Where Wright was wrong tonight was in the field, where he committed his second and third errors of the season.  Luckily for the Mets, neither error proved costly as the Pirates were unable to take advantage. 

After coming out strong off his return from the DL, Andres Torres is now in a big slump.  Tonight he went 0-4 with a walk, now hitless in his last 14 at-bats.  Over the last 11 games, it doesn’t get much better as Torres is 2-38.  Tonight he stranded the go-ahead run in the 8^th inning, hitting into a fielders choice.

Ronny Cedeno had a strong performance in his return to Pittsburgh, where he was the starting shortstop last season.  Cedeno went 2-4 tonight with one run and one RBI. 

The Mets and Pirates face off in the 2^nd game of their three game series tomorrow night at 7:05.  R.A. Dickey will toe the rubber for the Mets, sporting a 5-1 record and a 3.76 ERA.  He will be opposed by James McDonald, who has been pitching outstanding for the Pirates recently, sporting a 3-2 record with a 2.68 ERA.