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 Blanked By Braves in Series Opener

Friday, August 10, 2012

Final Score: Atlanta Braves: 4 New York Mets: 0

Mets Blanked By Braves in Series Opener

The Mets were unable to build off of a great performance by R.A. Dickey Thursday afternoon, getting shut down by the Braves Friday night 4-0.  A difficult second half of the season continues for the Mets, as they are going in the wrong direction in the standings getting closer to the cellar than the top.

It was a highly anticipated night in Queens as Matt Harvey was making his debut at Citi Field.  The air was quickly taken out of the stadium as Jason Heyward hit a two-run homerun in the top of the first inning.  That homerun would prove to be all the Braves would need to defeat the Mets tonight. 

Harvey had some jitters, evident by the five walks he surrendered, but had a solid outing otherwise.  The finish was strong for Harvey, who retired the last nine batters that he faced.  Harvey was also hit by a come-backer in the right thigh by Freddie Freeman in the third inning but was able to stay in the game.

Harvey got back to what he does best in throwing his fastball tonight.  For whatever reason, he had started to wander away from his fastball in San Diego, relying more on his off-speed pitches.

Harvey’s final line was six innings pitched, surrendering two hits and five walks resulting in two earned runs to go along with three strikeouts.  It was a solid but not great outing for Harvey who received no support from the offense tonight.

Josh Egdin would surrender another two-run homerun later in the eighth inning, this time off the bat of Dan Uggla.

Paul Maholm was able to shut the Mets offense down, throwing a gem in surrendering only three hits and striking out five.  Maholm ended the hitting streak of Ruben Tejada at a career high 14 games.

Jason Bay continued where he left off at after being notified of his cut in playing time by going 0 for 3, dropping his average to .152.

Next up for the Mets is a Saturday night game which Johan Santana (6-7, 3.98 ERA) will make his return from the DL against Kris Medlen (2-1, 2.37 ERA).  Santana is likely to be on a 90 pitch limit, meaning the Mets bullpen could be in for a full day of work and needs to step up.   

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). 

Marlins Wipe the Floor with Mets

Wednesday, August 8^th, 2012

Final Score: Miami Marlins: 13 New York Mets: 0

Marlins Wipe Floor with Mets

It was an ugly night at Citi Field for the Mets as the Marlins jumped out early and often en route to a 13-0 beat down.  The Mets just cannot buy a win at home right now, losing their eighth straight game at Citi Field since the All-Star break and ninth overall.  The last win at home for the Mets came all the way back on July 7^th against the Chicago Cubs.  The current home losing streak is the longest for the Mets since 2004, Art Howe’s last season as manager.  The Mets now sit at 53-58, 15 games behind Washington in the NL East and 10.5 games behind Atlanta for the last wild card spot. 

Chris Young was hammered tonight coming off what was his best start of the season.  The Marlins jumped on Young early and often, teeing off on him, including three homeruns.  The third homerun is what chased him from the game. 

Jose Reyes launched his eighth homerun of the season in the first inning to get the scoring started for the Marlins.  Giancarlo Stanton would hit the next two off Young, a two run shot in the first inning and another two run shot in the fifth inning. 

Young lasted only 4 1/3 innings in the game, unable to build off his strong performance in San Francisco last week.  He finished the game with totals of seven hits, seven runs, three walks and four strikeouts. 

The Marlins did not stay quite for long, as they put up another four spot in the eighth inning and a two spot in the ninth.  Lefty Garrett Olson was making his Mets debut and fit in perfectly with the bullpen giving up four earned runs in 1/3 inning. 

Closer Frank Francisco came in for the ninth inning to get some work in and continued the woeful pitching surrendering a two-run homerun to Greg Dobbs.

The Mets were able to only muster five hits off the Marlins pitching staff.  They were not without opportunities to score though, as the Marlins walked six Mets, giving them opportunities to make things happen; the Mets just were unable to take advantage.

One positive for the Mets was that Ruben Tejada continued his hitting streak with a single in the third inning, putting the streak at 13 games.  Reyes also continued his streak for the Marlins, getting his up to 26 games.  The 26 game hitting streak for Reyes is a career high for him and a high in the majors this season. 

Next up is the finale of the three game series in a Thursday matinee at 12:10 P.M. ET.  R.A. Dickey (14-3, 2.82 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets as they try to salvage the last game of the series against the Marlins’ Josh Johnson (7-7 3.85 ERA). 

Mets Swept By Dodgers, Fall Under .500

Sunday July 22, 2012

Final Score: 12 Innings, Los Angeles Dodgers: 8 New York Mets: 3

Mets Swept by Dodgers, Fall Under .500

The Mets lost to the Dodgers Sunday afternoon 8-3, resulting in a sweep of the series.  For the first time all season, the Mets record falls under .500 with the loss as their record drops to 47-48.  The Mets now sit five games behind the Atlanta Braves for the wild card and 8.5 games behind the Washington Nationals in the NL East division race.  The Mets have now lost eight of the nine games since the All-Star break and nine of ten overall.

Two other times this season, the Mets had been .500 entering a game and had been able to pull out a win, but not this afternoon.  The road ahead doesn’t get any easier for the Mets, as they finish the home stand against the Washington Nationals then head out west for a 10-game west coast trip with series against San Francisco, Arizona and San Diego.

Once again the Mets bullpen was tagged with the loss, something that is becoming too often of an outcome.  Ramon Ramirez imploded with two outs in the 12 inning, suffering the loss while surrendering five earned runs.  Ramirez surrendered three straight hits with the bases loaded to blow the game open.  The Mets bullpen had thrown four shutout innings prior to the meltdown, but once again was unable to hold the game.

The Mets have averaged five runs a game since the All-Star break, and looked like they were going to surpass that today. They were able to get 20 men on base today thanks to 16 hits and four walks but couldn’t make anything of them; the hitters just could not cash in.  The Mets stranded 14 runners on base, going 4 for 19 with runners in scoring position.  Multiple times the Mets had a chance to put this game away but were unable to come up with timely hits to knock in the go-ahead runs.  Daniel Murphy, David Wright, Lucas Duda and Josh Thole were the players to get the hits with runners in scoring position. 

It was another good outing for Jon Niese that was wasted and went for nothing.  Niese received the no-decision while tossing seven-plus innings surrendering only three earned runs.  He gave up eight hits, with the two big ones both coming in the sixth inning as Juan Rivera knocked his fifth homerun of the season over the wall and an Andre Ethier RBI single. 

Niese is taking full advantage of the injuries the Mets are suffering to their rotation by making the most of his chance at the number two spot.  Niese has allowed three or less earned runs in five of his past six outings and in his two starts since the break he has given up only four runs in 14 innings.

The Mets look to get back to .500 when they start a series against the first-place Washington Nationals at Citi Field Monday night.  Chris Young (2-4, 4.11 ERA) will attempt to stop the Mets losing streak against Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann (7-6 2.35 ERA). 

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 Lose Back and Forth Game as Bullpen Falters Again

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 7 Atlanta Braves: 8

Bullpen Loses Back and Forth Game For Mets

The Mets lost their second game after the All-Star break and third overall in heartbreaking fashion to the Atlanta Braves 8-7 Saturday afternoon.  The Mets were resilient, falling behind early but mounting a comeback.  The comeback went for naught though, as the bullpen again fell apart and was unable to hold the lead.

The bullpen was put in such a situation because of an off-day from starting pitcher R.A. Dickey.  Dickey finished the game giving up eight hits and two walks that resulted in five earned runs.  He struck out four Braves as well. The wheels fell off for Dickey because of a reversed call in the 5^th inning.

Left Fielder Jordany Valdespin made a play initially ruled as a catch in the 5^th inning.  The play resulted as a double play at first, but after huddling together the umpires decided that the ball had actually been trapped by Valdespin.  The umpires placed Martin Prado on second base, not wanting to penalize him for correctly seeing the ball drop and Jason Heyward was awarded first.

Mets manager Terry Collins was ejected after arguing the play.  Dickey would retire the next batter Chipper Jones, enabling the runners to each move up a base.  Dickey was not as fortunate with the next batter, as Freddie Freeman knocked in a two-run double to give the Braves a 5-3 lead.

Dickey was bailed out by the Mets offense, as they actually got him in position to win before the bullpen imploded again at the end.

Josh Edgin was impressive in his second major league appearance, striking out the side around one walk.  Edgin has struck out five of the six lefty batters he has faced, looking to earn a permanent spot in the Mets bullpen.

Bobby Parnell was brought on to make a five-out save and was unable to do so.  Parnell came in with two runners on and let them score while giving up another earned run of his own.  Parnell allowed back-to-back-to-back RBI singles to Michael Bourn, Martin Prado and Jason Heyward to give the Braves an 8-7 lead in the bottom of the 8^th inning. 

Ike Davis had another strong day at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a double and his 13^th homerun of the season.  Jordany Valdespin continued his great play since being called back up, going 2 for 5 with an RBI.  Ruben Tejada also had a strong day, going 2 for 5 with two RBI’s.

David Wright struggled from the plate, seeming to not be able to pick up on the ball coming out of the Braves pitchers hands.  Wright suffered the golden sombrero, going 0 for 5 with four strikeouts on the afternoon.

The Mets will look to avoid the sweep Sunday afternoon against the Braves as Johan Santana (6-5, 3.24 ERA) will take the mound against Ben Sheets, who will be making his first start of the season and first appearance in the majors in two seasons for the Braves.  

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 End First Half on Down Note, Blasted By Cubs

Mets Blasted by Cubs, End First Half on Down Note

Final Score: Chicago Cubs: 7 New York Mets: 0

The Mets were not able to build off their strong performance Saturday afternoon, falling behind early and never recovered en route to a 7-0 shutout at the hands of the Chicago Cubs.  The Mets lost the season series to the Cubs 4-2.

Even with a disappointing end to the first half, it should still be pointed out that the Mets did have a strong half overall, going into the All-Star break with a 46-40 record.

This afternoon’s game though is one to forget.  Jon Niese gave up four runs in the first inning and the Mets were never able to build any momentum to get back into the game.  Niese would give up a three-run homerun in the 7^th inning to Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro, adding to the insult.  Niese’s final line was seven innings pitched, nine hits, seven earned runs, no walks and three strikeouts.

For the Cubs, Ryan Dempster returned from the disabled list and shut down the Mets.  Dempster threw five shutout innings and four Cubs relievers combined to complete the shut out. 

The Mets managed eight hits, but only one was of the extra-base variety.  They also struggled with runners in scoring position today, going 0-8 and leaving six runners on base. 

Sandy Alderson was in the booth for an inning and a half today, but did not say much in the way of planned roster moves for the Mets.  He was not explicit in the way of trades and would not mention by name which relievers were being looked at as call-ups after the All-Star break.

Next up for most of the Mets is a little break with the All-Star festivities starting Monday.  David Wright, R.A. Dickey and manager Terry Collins will be on their way to Kansas City to take part.  The next game for the Mets will be Friday, July 13^th as Johan Santana (6-5 3.24 ERA) will take the mound against the Atlanta Braves and Tim Hudson (7-4 3.65 ERA).  The Mets will finish the first half five games, at worst, behind the Washington Nationals depending on the outcome of their game.