Ike Davis Blasts Mets to Win

Sunday, August 26^th 2012

Final Score: Houston Astros: 1 New York Mets: 2

Ike Davis Blasts Mets to Walk-Off Win

It was not a successful home stand by any means for the Mets, but they were able to end it on a high note winning 2-1 Sunday afternoon.  The win makes it two in a row for the Mets, who won only their second series since the All-Star break. 

Ike Davis supplied all the offense for the Mets today, launching two solo homeruns in the course of the game.  In the fourth inning, Davis hit is first homer to right field to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the ninth, Davis hit a walk off with another shot to right field.  Davis now has 24 homeruns and 70 RBI’s on the season, which offsets his woeful .223 batting average, .293 on-base percentage and .447 slugging percentage.  Davis may be underwhelming with the batting average and on-base percentage this season, but has more than respectable power given where he plays home games.  He will be a key part of the Mets future as they will need people to mash the ball and Davis is a good fielder.

Starting pitcher Jeremy Hefner should not be overlooked.  He had a strong performance, coming within three outs of a complete game shut out.  He was hurt by a dropped ball in leftfield by Lucas Duda, but nonetheless had a good performance. 

Hefner dominated the Astros through eight innings, giving up only three hits and striking out seven over that span.  During that same stretch, the Astros were only able to get one runner even into scoring position. 

Hefner’s final line was 8+ innings, five hits, one earned run, one walk and seven strikeouts. 

As mentioned, Duda made his return to the major league club and played a big role in his first game back.  He gave up a run unable to make a catch in the 9^th inning, but did not let that get to him as he saved the Mets later in the inning by throwing out Marwin Gonzalez at the plate and preserving the 1-1 tie. 

At the plate, Duda went 0 for 2 with a walk, making his first appearance in the majors since being sent down July 24^th. 

After being demoted earlier in the day, Jordany Valdespin may never actually make it to Buffalo.  He was sent down to get some work at his natural position of second base, but there is now a need at second with Daniel Murphy suffering an injury.

Murphy left the game in the top of the ninth inning after being visited by a trainer during his at-bat in the bottom of the eighth.  Murphy was able to finish his at-bat, but was replaced in the field by Ronny Cedeno. 

The Mets will be back on the road for a nine-game road trip starting Tuesday night in Philadelphia against the Phillies.  Chris Young (3-7, 4.33 ERA) will be opposed by Vance Worley (6-9, 4.06 ERA).  The Phillies enter the series two games ahead of the Mets for third place in the NL East.  

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). 

Jay Bruce Walk-Off Drops Mets

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 0 Cincinnati Reds: 3

Jay Bruce Walk-Off Drops Mets

The Mets six game road trip started like how much of the home stand went; with a loss. Tuesday night they suffered a tough loss against the National League Central Division Cincinnati Reds 3-0.  It is looking less and less likely that the Mets will be playing in October, as anything short of a miracle will have them miss the postseason. 

The lone runs of the game came in walk-off fashion, as Jay Bruce launched a three-run homerun in the bottom of the ninth inning to propel the Reds to victory.  Manny Acosta allowed the first two men of the inning to reach and left Josh Edgin was brought on to face Bruce.

Edgin got two strikes on Bruce, but after fouling off three pitches put the ball into the left field stands for a walk-off opposite field homerun, his 24^th of the season.  The struggles of the bullpen have been an on going issue for the Mets all season, often ruining gritty performances by their starters like tonight.

Chris Young had a tough, gritty performance tonight, working in and out of trouble throughout his 5 2/3 innings.  He allowed the lead off hitter to get on base the first three innings of the game, and did not have a 1-2-3 inning all night as he allowed 12 Reds to reach base. 

Young’s final stat line wasn’t great, but he got through it without allowing any runs, ending with 5 2/3 innings pitched, allowing eight hits and four walks while striking out four.

All in all, the Mets pitching staff was able to strand 14 Reds on base throughout the night, but was unable to get out of the last jam of the night in the 9^th inning.  There was no perfect inning for the Mets until the 8^th inning by Jon Rauch.

The Mets offense left much to be desired tonight, stranding 10 runners of their own, including the bases loaded in the in the fourth and runners on second and third in the ninth.  Ruben Tejada added a double, giving him a hit in 17 of his last 18 games but was unable to come through with men on base on two separate occasions.

Matt Latos was able to dominate the Mets tonight, giving up only five hits and two walks (one intentional) in his seven innings of work while striking out four.  Sean Marshall and Jose Arredondo pitched the two final shutout innings for the Reds out of the bullpen. 

In the second game of the series, the Mets will have R.A. Dickey (15-3, 2.72 ERA) take the mound against Mike Leake (4-7, 4.51 ERA) of the Reds.

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 Drop Series Opener Against Marlins

Tuesday August 7^th, 2012

Final Score: Miami Marlins: 4 New York Mets: 2

Mets Drop Series Opener to Marlins

The return home for the Mets from an 11 game road trip did not go as hoped, as the Mets fell to the Marlins 4-2.  The loss makes it eight home defeats in a row, leaving the Mets winless at Citi Field since the All-Star break.  The Mets are falling further below .500 and after coming into the second half with high expectations now sit only three games ahead of the cellar in the National League East division. 

Jon Niese entered the game with underwhelming stats against the Marlins in his career; Tuesday did nothing to change that.  Entering the game, Niese had eight career starts against the Marlins with a 1-4 record and 4.47 ERA. 

Tonight Niese suffered from another rough inning, giving up all four runs in the fourth inning.  Even outside the rough inning Niese struggled some, giving up eight hits and a walk along with four strikeouts and the four earned runs in six innings.

Avoiding the big inning has been a season long problem for Niese.  In each of his last three starts he surrendered four runs or more, he allowed big innings of three or more runs at least once.  If Niese can control the big inning and limit the damage, it would go along way for his own stats and the Mets.

The exiling of Jason Bay is also underway.  In the midst of a 2 for 31 slump, Bay has been relegated to strictly a platoon role.  Bay will see time only against lefties and will have to work out of this slump with side work.  He endures heavy booing from the Mets faithful, which is rightfully deserved with the dreaded season he is having.  Bay is lucky at this point to even be a part of the roster; if he wasn’t getting paid the contract he was he would already be off the team.

The lengthy hitting streaks of both teams’ shortstops were also extended tonight.  Jose Reyes extended his streak to an MLB season high of 25 and Ruben Tejada extended his to 12.  Tejada has filled in well for Reyes, who was again booed heavily in his second return to Citi Field.

Next up for the Mets and Marlins is a Wednesday night affair with Chris Young (3-5, 4.22 ERA) taking the mound for the Mets against the Marlins’ Nathan Eovaldi (2-7, 4.66 ERA).

Hot Start Propels Mets to Victory

Thursday, August 2^nd 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 9 San Francisco Giants: 1

Hot Start Propels Mets to Victory

A quick start propelled the Mets to a win tonight and their first series win of the second half of the season after defeating the Giants 9-1 this afternoon.  The Mets had struggled, going 0-5-1 in their last six series before defeating the Giants this week.  The last series win for the Mets was July 5^th when they beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the rubber game of that series. 

The Mets offense got off to a blistering start, resulting in a four-run first inning.   Jason Bay and Ronny Cedeno both had two-RBI hits; Bay a single and Cedeno a double. 

David Wright kept the pressure on, adding another run for the Mets in the second inning with an RBI single, giving the Mets a 5-0 lead.

Cedeno would add another RBI single in the 5^th inning and a two-RBI double in the 7^th inning to give him five RBI’s for the afternoon.  The five RBI’s tied a career high for Cedeno, who cleaned house against southpaws in the series, knocking in seven RBI’s in two games. 

Cedeno’s other five RBI game in his career came April 22, 2008 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.  Cedeno launched a grand slam in that game off Jorge Sosa. 

Daniel Murphy also had a strong performance at the plate, going 2 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored. 

The Mets stacked Chris Young with a big lead and he delivered with his best performance of the season.  Young shut down the Giants offense, giving up only one run in seven innings.  The seven inning pitched matched a season high for Young, who only surrendered four hits and struck out for Giants.  It was a nice bounce back performance for Young, who struggled in his last start in Arizona, giving up six runs in four innings.  This was Young’s first win since June 28^th.

Next up for the Mets is a series with the San Diego Padres that will get underway Friday night at Petco Park at 10:05 P.M. ET.  R.A. Dickey (14-2, 2.83 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets against Clayton Richard (7-11, 4.14 ERA).  The Mets are expected to get some help in the form of Frank Francisco, who is supposed to return from the DL. 

Mets Lose Despite Monster Day from Davis

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Mets vs. Diamondbacks Post Game Recap 7/28

The New York Mets lost their second straight game in the series with the Diamondbacks losing on Saturday by a score of 6-3.

For the second straight game the Mets didn’t get what they needed from the starting pitcher, as Chris Young like Niese the day before struggled against the Diamondbacks. Young went only four innings while allowing all six runs on seven hits, and two walks.

One bright spot for the Mets in the loss was that the bullpen did pitch great in their four innings. Ramon Ramirez, Manny Acosta, and Josh Edgin combined to pitch the final four scoreless innings after the short start from Young only allowing one hit as well.

The Mets offense was carried by Ike Davis who hit three solo homeruns in the game giving him 20 now for the season. The homeruns for Davis came in the 2nd, 4th, and 6th innings all off Ian Kennedy, and two of the homeruns by Davis in the 2nd and 4th innings went over 430ft to center field.

The only other Met to do much at the plate was Ruben Tejada who went 2 for 4 with a walk, and is batting .319 no for the season.

The Mets as a team had a tough time making contact in general striking out 15 times against Diamondbacks pitchers in the game.

R.A Dickey (13-3, 2.97) will face Joe Saunders (5-6, 3.51) as the Mets look to split the four game series with the Diamondbacks.

Niese Unable to Handle the Desert Heat

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Mets vs. Diamondbacks Post Game Recap 7/27

The Mets were unable to build momentum after a great debut from Matt Harvey on Thursday the Mets lost 11-5 on Friday.

Jon Niese had one of the worst starts of his career giving up eight runs matching his career high. Niese went six innings allowing nine hits, one walk, eight runs six of which were earned due to a throwing error by Niese. The loss moves Niese to (7-5) for the season.

Elvin Ramirez also had a tough time in his one inning of work allowing four hits, and three earned runs in the 7th inning.

Ike Davis was able to go 1 for 4 while hitting his 17th homerun in the 2nd inning of Josh Collmenter.

David Wright was the big run producer for the Mets hitting a three-run shot in the 3rd inning for his 16th homerun of the season, and brings his RBI total to 70.

Leadoff hitter Ruben Tejada continued his good hitting this season going 2 for 5, and scoring a run.

The Mets will look to bounce back on Saturday as Chris Young (2-4, 3.91) will face Ian Kennedy (8-8, 4.20).

Mets Fall to Nationals Suffering Meltdown in Extras

Monday, July 23, 2012

Final Score: 10 innings, Washington Nationals: 8 New York Mets: 2

Mets Suffer Meltdown in Extras, Fall to Nationals

On a soggy night at Citi Field the Mets once again fought valiantly against the division leading Washington Nationals to once again suffer a meltdown in extra innings, losing 8-2.  The loss drops the Mets to a season-high two games under .500 and fading fast in the wild card and NL East division races.  The Mets have now trailed for 40 straight innings and are 1-10 since the All-Star break.

Tonight the culprit out of the Mets bullpen was Pedro Beato.  Beato inherited two runners of Tim Byrdak and subsequently surrendered the tie-breaking single to Bryce Harper with the bases loaded.  Ryan Zimmerman added on with a bases clearing double and Michael Morse launched a two-run homer to finish the scoring in a six run frame for the Nationals. 

The Mets should have been in much better shape, but Ruben Tejada dropped a throw from Byrdak on a tailor made double-play ball after Roger Bernadina led off the inning with a single.  Tejada was spiked on the play and was checked out by trainer Ray Ramirez but remained in the game.

Tonight’s performance was the most runs given up in an extra inning in Mets franchise history.  Five of the six runs were earned, giving the Mets back to back nights in which their bullpen gave up five or more runs in an extra inning.  The bullpen’s total ERA now sits at an appalling 5.16, easily the worst in the majors.

Chris Young was able to give the Mets a strong start even if the beginning was rocky.  Young surrendered a leadoff single to Steve Lombardozzi to start the first and then followed that up by serving up a two-run homerun to Bryce Harper.  Young would allow one more hit that inning then go on to retire 14 Nationals in a row. 

Young matched a season high throwing seven innings, giving the Mets the exact performance they need from their starters if they expect to have any change at the post season.  Young finished the game with a final line of seven innings pitched, three hits, two earned runs, three walks and seven strikeouts. 

The Mets were able to answer for Young, showing some power of their own with two solo homeruns by David Wright in the fourth inning and Ike Davis in the seventh inning.

Wright and Davis are tied for the team lead with 15 homeruns each.

Jordany Valdespin hit in front of Wright tonight and finished the night 0 for 4, but should expect to see lots of playing time in the coming games in the outfield.  He figures to get a good look against right handed pitching with Lucas Duda being rumored to be sent down to clear space for Matt Harvey.

Ruben Tejada was able to get back on track, getting three hits tonight in his four at-bats.  Daniel Murphy also stayed hot, getting two hits of his own in his four at bats.

Next up for the Mets and Nationals is a re-match of All-Stars from last week in D.C. between R.A. Dickey (13-1, 3.32 ERA) and Gio Gonzalez (12-5, 3.32 ERA).  The Mets were able to get their only win of the second half in this match-up last week 9-5.

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 Comeback Falls Short, Losing Streak up to 6

Wednesday July 18, 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 3 Washington Nationals: 4

Mets Comeback Falls Short, Losing Streak up to 6

Different day same result for the Mets.  They once again fell down early and mounted a comeback and once again the end was a loss.  The Mets fell to the Nationals tonight 4-3, dropping to only one game above .500 and upping their season high losing streak to six games.  The loss also puts the Mets a season high eight games behind division leading Washington.

Like last night with Jon Niese, the Mets gave starting pitcher Chris Young virtually no room for error. Young pitched great through give innings again, but served up a two-run homerun to Adam LaRoche in the bottom of the 6^th to break up a scoreless game.  That was the only blemish on Young’s stat line for the night, as he finished the game with six innings pitched, six hits, two earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts. 

The bullpen again was a disappointment for the Mets, giving up two runs in their two innings of work.  Saturday’s starter Miguel Batista gave up two runs in 2/3 of an inning.  He gave up two two-out singles, the second of which hit him in the lower leg.  After being visited by the trainer and throwing a warm-up pitch, he served up a two-run double to Steve Lombardozzi and the Nationals were up 4-1.

The Mets did show resiliency in the 9^th inning, mounting a comeback attempt again against the Nationals closer Tyler Clippard.  David Wright and Jason Bay were able to hit solo homeruns, their 12^th and fifth respectively, in the inning to bring the score to 4-3.  Jordany Valdespin was brought in to pinch hit again against Clippard, but was unable to come through again tonight as Clippard struck him out to end the Mets comeback.

As noted before, Bay knocked his fifth homerun of the season out in the 9^th inning and had finished the game 2 for 4.  Bay also singled in the 5^th inning off Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann, but was unable to come through in the 7^th inning with Lucas Duda in scoring position and the Mets down two runs grounding out to shortstop. 

The Mets look to avoid their second consecutive sweep to start the second half of the season Thursday afternoon as All-Star R.A. Dickey (12-1, 2.66 ERA) takes the mound.  It will not be an easy task for the Mets, as they will face Nationals All-Star Gio Gonzalez (12-4, 2.93 ERA).

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 Pitching Implodes Late, Falls to Phillies 7/4

Final Score: Philadelphia Phillies: 9 New York Mets: 2

Everything was going swimmingly for the Mets through six innings.  They held a 2-0 lead over the division rival Phillies and had a strong outing being put together by starting pitcher Chris Young. 

But as quickly as you can blink an eye, the Phillies were leading, tacking on three runs in each of the last three innings of the game, leading to a 9-2 Phillies victory.  The win gave Cliff Lee his first victory of the season, moving his record to 1-5 overall.

The need for bullpen help reared its ugly head again this afternoon, as the Mets were unable to keep the Phillies at bay once Chris Young had to leave the game.  Young pitched seven innings, the first six of which were shutout innings.  He finished the game with totals of five hits, no walks and three earned runs while striking out three.

Young was going strong until the 7^th inning came around, even with a low pitch count.  One reason for the implosion could be because of how Young pitches.  Throwing his fastball in the mid-to-low 80’s, Young depends on spot on precision as the game goes on.  The first time through lineups, Young holds hitters to a .176 batting average.  That number increases as the game goes on, as Young’s batting average against rises to .281 the second time through and .368 the third time through.

The bullpen made the end result look a lot worse than the game actually was, as they surrendered six runs in the final two innings.  Adding arms to that bullpen has to be at the top of the list for the Mets heading to the non-waiver trade deadline July 31^st.

The Mets did have some bright spots this afternoon in Scott Hairston and Ruben Tejada.

Hairston continued his torrid pace against left handed pitching, launching a solo homerun in the 4^th inning off Cliff Lee.  Hairston is now batting .306 with eight homeruns this season against left handed pitching. 

Tejada was able to continue his outstanding hitting since coming off the disabled list.  In 10 games, Tejada is hitting .395 after going 2-4 this afternoon and .331 overall on the season.

Next up for the Mets is the series finale against the Phillies on Thursday night.  The pitching match-up is a stellar one, as All-Stars R.A. Dickey (12-1 2.15 ERA) and Cole Hamels (10-4 3.08 ERA) will face-off for the Mets and Phillies respectively.

Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Mets Post Game Recap 7-3

Final Score: Philadelphia Phillies: 1 New York Mets: 11

The Mets opened up their homestand on a very positive note, hammering the Phillies Tuesday night 11-1.  Even with centerfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis being scratched before game time because of a hand contusion, the Mets were still able to let it rip on offense.

After having a great June, going 3-1 with a 1.89 ERA, Jon Niese started July off on just as strong a note.

For a second start in a row, Jon Niese was handed a huge lead and was able to protect it.

Niese threw eight innings of one run ball, allowing only three hits and two walks.  He also added three strikeouts, with his only blemish coming off the bat of Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz, who hit a solo homerun leading off the 2^nd inning.

The Mets offense got off to an even faster start, scoring in the first inning off Vance Worley, who entered the game with a 2.92 ERA but did not leave with one as low.  A David Wright groundball scored Daniel Murphy after he tripled, which was a start to another outstanding hitting night for Murphy.  It was Wright’s 51^st RBI of the season, and he would get RBI’s 52, 53 and 54 in the 6^th inning, launching his 10^th homerun of the season off Phillies reliever Brian Sanches.

Murphy would add two doubles and a single to his night’s totals, also knocking in another four RBI’s tonight, bringing his season total to 42.  Murphy also had a highlight play at second base, making a leaping grab on a line drive.

Niese would help his own cause in the 2^nd inning, knocking in two Mets with a single.  The inning could have been blown open even more if not for Josh Thole and Ruben Tejada both being thrown out on the base paths. 

Ruben Tejada was thrown out at home, but continued his torrid pace at the plate.  Tejada went 3-5, knocking in one RBI and scoring twice.  His average now sits at .326 with a .377 on base percentage, a big reason why the Mets have been successful because Tejada has been setting the table in front of the middle of the order.

Next up for the Mets and Phillies is a 4^th of July matinee with the first pitch scheduled for 1:10 P.M. ET. Chris Young (2-1 3.30 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets against the Phillies’ Cliff Lee (0-5 4.13 ERA).

Yankees vs Mets Post Game Recap 6/22

Yankees vs. Mets Post Game Recap 6/22

Yankees fell to the Mets 6-4 in the first game of the series at Citi Field as a rough 1st inning for Andy Pettitte put the Yankees in a hole that they couldn’t climb out of as the Bronx Bombers are now on a 3 game losing streak.

Andy Pettitte's first start as a 40 year old didn’t treat him well, as he got rocked in the 1st inning giving up five runs on five hits and two walks in the 1st inning with Ike Davis providing the big blow with a 3-run shot that hit off a leaping Nick Swisher's glove helping it over the wall. Andy was able to settle down afterwards only giving up two hits in the next five innings.

Cory Wade's struggles continue as he gave up two hits and one earned run in 7th inning as that is now three straight appearances allowing a run.

Yankees offense took a while to score but Alex Rodriguez was able to hit a solo homerun, his 12th of the season in the 6th inning for the Yankees first run of the game.

Andruw Jones followed in the 7th inning hitting a solo homerun of his own his, 7th of the season, and tied Mets great Mike Pizza for 43rd on the all time homerun list. Jones also showed off some of his old fielding abilities making a diving catch in the bottom half of the 7th robbing Scott Hairston of a hit and making the throw to 2nd base to double off David Wright.

Robinson Cano was able to get the Yankees closer in the 8th inning with a monstrous two run homerun into right field scoring Mark Teixeira for his 15th of the season.

Yankees and Mets will play the second game of the series Saturday night as Ivan Nova (9-2, 4.32) will face Chris Young (1-1, 3.06).