Mets Take Series Opener Behind Davis and Dickey

Friday, August 31^st 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 3 Miami Marlins: 0

Ike Davis and R.A. Dickey Power Mets to Victory

The good play of the Mets continued Friday night in their series opener against the Miami Marlins, as they took the opener 3-0.  Not much offense was provided by the Mets in the game tonight, but it was not needed as R.A. Dickey dominated the Marlins for his third shutout of the season.

The great performance by Dickey tonight gives him 17 on the season, tying him for the major league lead with Cincinnati Reds’ Johnny Cueto and Washington Nationals’ Gio Gonzalez, who also got his 17^th win tonight.

Dickey threw a complete game shutout tonight, giving him five complete games on the season; that is the most complete games in a season for a Mets pitcher since Dwight Gooden in 1993. 

                                                                                                                       

Dickey was helped out by a move made pre-game by manager Terry Collins, as he inserted Florida native Andres Torres into the starting lineup in centerfield for the game.  Collins cited the spacious outfield at Marlins Park for the move, and it paid off as Torres made a good play with a runner on first and no outs in the eighth inning as the Mets were trying to preserve the shutout and win for Dickey.

On the night, Dickey gave up five hits and three walks to go along with seven strikeouts.  Dickey improved his season totals to a 17-4 record with a 2.63 ERA.

Ike Davis provided all of the offensive fire power at the plate tonight for the Mets, accounting for all three of the RBI’s.  Davis got the Mets on the board in the 4^th inning, hitting a sacrifice fly that scored Ruben Tejada.  Tejada deserves as much credit as Davis for getting the run across the plate, as his aggressive and smart base running put him in position to score on something other than a base hit.

Davis would add the finishing touches in the 7^th inning, launching his 18^th road homerun of the season and 25^th overall on the season.  Davis planted the homerun in the upper-deck in right field.  His 18 road homers are the most in the National League and the 25 are just adding to his career high. 

Jose Reyes went hitless in the game tonight, something that Met fans will undoubtedly take pleasure in as there are still some hostile feelings towards Reyes after he left this past off-season. 

For all of the futility the Mets have faced recently, they have actually been pretty successful on the road.  They have accrued a 73-70 record on the road under Collins, something that should be built off of.  If the Mets can continue to play at or above .500 on the road and excel at home, success should follow soon after.

Next up for the Mets and Marlins is a Saturday night game at 7:10 P.M. ET.  Jeremy Hefner (2-5, 4.65 ERA) will take the mound against Josh Johnson (7-11, 4.00 ERA).

Fading Mets Drop Another to Rockies

Tuesday, August 21^st 2012

Final Score: Colorado Rockies: 6 New York Mets: 2

Fading Mets Drop Another to Rockies

The Mets season is starting to become tumultuous and hard to watch for fans, as they dropped another game to the lowly Rockies Tuesday night 6-2.  The loss drops the Mets to nine games under .500, a worse in the past three seasons.  Their overall record since the All-Star break now sits at 11-26.  Citi Field has become a place no person of the Mets organization or fans want to be, as they have lost 12 of the last 14 games there. 

The night started out very promising for the Mets.  They were able to stake Chris Young to an early lead again, going ahead 1-0 in the 4^th inning thanks to a sac fly from Daniel Murphy that knocked in Ruben Tejada.  That looked to be all the Mets would need with how Young was pitching, but everyone unraveled in the 6^th inning.

Young retired the first 15 Rockies that he faced, striking out four batters and having no one come close to getting a hit.  Then the sixth inning Young implosion that has become too much of a constant happened. 

D.J. Mathieu led off with a weak, but legitimate, infield hit which was followed by a Jonathan Herrera single.  Add in a Young throwing error and a two more hits and the Mets found themselves down 4-1 in a blink of an eye after starting the inning protecting a Young perfect game.

To end the night, Young finished with seven innings pitched, giving up four runs, two of which were earned, on five hits and one walk while striking out nine.  What started out looking like a potentially historic night ended in disappointment with Young’s record dropping to 3-7.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, manager Terry Collins was ejected from the game for arguing a call at second base.  Andres Torres got picked off second and got into a pickle, dashing back to second base and diving back in initially being called safe.  Rockies manager Jim Tracy came out to argue after his third baseman Jordan Pacheco had obviously tagged Torres out, and the call was overturned.  This in turn made Collins come out, who was subsequently run from the game moments later.

Not to be forgotten is the work of Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin, who was making his first start since May 1^st.  He went six innings, allowing only one run on four hits and no walks while striking out two.  It was Chacin’s first win in since August 28^th, 2011.

The Mets look to get in the win column Wednesday night as Matt Harvey (2-3, 3.00 ERA) will make his second start at Citi Field against Jeff Francis (4-4, 6.07 ERA). 

Johan Santana Rocked in Return From DL

Saturday August 11^th, 2012

Final Score: Atlanta Braves: 9 New York Mets: 3

Santana Rocked in Return from DL

Johan Santana wishes he could be back making rehab starts in the minor leagues after getting hammered by the Braves Saturday night, resulting in a 9-3 Mets defeat.  The Mets dropped six games under .500 for the first time all season, giving them the worst record they have had all season and falling further and further behind in the playoff races.

Santana’s return off the DL did not go as planned for the Mets.  He matched the shortest start of his career, lasting only 1 1/3 innings and giving up eight earned runs.  This was the second time this season that Santana was pulled after 1 1/3 innings against the Braves; the first occurrence was April 17^th at Turner Field.

Santana’s final stat line for the night was 1 1/3 innings pitched, eight hits, eight runs, one walks and two strikeouts. 

Santana joined Al Leiter in 1999 and Pedro Astacio in 2002 as the only Mets pitchers in franchise history to surrender six plus runs in four straight starts.  In those four starts, Santana has allowed 27 earned runs on 36 hits and six walks in only 14 innings.

Since throwing the first no-hitter in Mets history, Santana has been off his game.  Fatigue in his shoulder after throwing a career high 134 pitches could be the culprit, but no matter what the reason Santana has not been producing.  He has pitched to a 7.98 ERA with a .328 opponents batting average. 

Jeremy Hefner was strong in his relief of Santana after allowing Freddie Freeman to launch a homerun to center field past the apple.  Hefner went 3 2/3 innings after, scattering three hits.  It was a much needed performance for Hefner who was spared a demotion only because Garrett Olson was designated for assignment.

Manny Acosta, Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco combined to finish the last four innings of the game, giving up only one hit and striking out six Braves.

Kris Medlen had a strong performance for the Braves, limiting the Mets to only one run and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. 

Ruben Tejada lost his hitting streak Friday night against the Braves, but got right back in the hit column with two more Saturday night.  Andres Torres had another nice night at the plate, going 2 for 4 with an RBI.  David Wright added an RBI of his own in the 8^th inning as well.

The series between the Mets and Braves will end Sunday on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.  Jon Niese (8-6, 3.82 ERA) will take the mound against Ben Sheets (4-1, 1.41 ERA). 

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). 

Mets Win as Harvey Shines

nypost.com

Mets vs Diamondback Post Game Recap 7/26

The Mets were able to snap their 6 game losing streak by beating the Diamondbacks 3-1 with a great start from Matt Harvey.

Making his MLB debut 23 year old Matt Harvey was exactly what the doctor ordered for the Mets to snap their losing streak, as they look to try and move back to the .500 mark. Harvey set a Mets franchise record in strikeouts with 11 breaking Tom Seavers previous record. The young right hander would go 5.1 scoreless innings while only allowing three hits, and three walks in his debut.

Jon Rauch gave up the only run of the game for the Mets in the 8^th inning, as Justin Upton hit a sac-fly scoring Jason Kubel.

Mets closer Bobby Parnell was able to get his 3^rd save of the season despite making things interesting in the 9^th inning by allowing two walks, but did have an impressive three strikeouts in the inning.

Lead-off hitter Ruben Tejada was able to reach base safely three times going 2 for 4 with a walk, and scoring a run.

Scott Hairston had the biggest night of any Mets hitters going 3 for 4 with two doubles, and two RBIs continuing his great hitting against lefty pitchers.

Struggling Andres Torres was able to snap out of his 0-17 drought going 2 for 3 hitting his third triple of the year, and scoring a run.

Matt Harvey showed off his hitting skills as well going 2 for 2 off All-Star Wade Miley including a double capping off his great major league debut.

The Mets will look to get a little winning streak going by sending Jon Niese (7-4, 3.59) to face Josh Collmenter (2-2, 3.82).

Mets Suffer Sweep at Hands of Braves

Sunday July 15, 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 1 Atlanta Braves: 6

Mets Suffer Sweep at Hands of Braves to Start Second Half

The Mets start to an important stretch to start the second half of the season after the All-Star break did not get off to an aspiring start, as the Mets were swept in Atlanta against the rival Braves. The sweep was capped off with a 6-1 loss this afternoon.

Johan Santana was pitching well into the 5^th inning, when he suffered a meltdown aided by the umpires.  After an RBI single by Michael Bourn knocked in the first run of the game, pitching coach Dan Warthen was ejected for arguing the strike zone with umpire C.B. Buckner when he came out for a mound visit.  The Braves would go on to score five more runs in the inning off Santana, including a three-run homerun by Freddie Freeman.  Santana was also chirping at Buckner throughout the inning, as he was not pleased with the strike zone being called.

Santana’s final line for the game was five innings pitched, eight hits, two walks, six earned runs and three strikeouts.

This was the second consecutive start in which Santana surrendered six plus earned runs, as he allowed seven runs and 13 hits in his last start against the Chicago Cubs.  This is the first time he has allowed that many runs in back-to-back starts since April of 2000, which were the third and fourth appearances of his major league career.

Santana has struggled since throwing his no-hitter on June 1^st, as he is 3-4 with a 5.67 ERA in seven starts.

The Mets offense was unable to get anything going outside of a 7^th inning RBI single by Andres Torres.  They were shut down by Braves starter Ben Sheets, who was making his first start in the majors in two seasons.

Sheets finished the game throwing six shutout innings, surrendering only two hits and one walk while striking out five. 

With the loss the Mets dropped to 6 ½ games behind the first place Nationals with their record falling to 46-43.  The Braves are second in the division with a record of 49-39.

Next up for the Mets is another important series against the Washington Nationals starting Tuesday after an off day Monday.  Jon Niese (7-4, 3.73 ERA) will take the mound against lefty Ross Detwiler (4-3, 3.43 ERA).  The Mets could possibly be welcoming Jason Bay back to the lineup Tuesday, as he had a productive afternoon at triple-A Buffalo Sunday afternoon.

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).

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. Pittsburgh Pirates Post Game Recap 5-21

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

http://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.3731862.1337654073!/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/display_600/image.JPG 

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.

http://a.espncdn.com/media/motion/2012/0521/dm_120521_mets_pirates.jpg

 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.