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The Mets activated relief pitcher Luis Ayala acquired in a trade with the Washington Nationals. To make room on the 25 man roster the Mets optioned Eddie Kunz to Triple-A New Orleans.
Kunz was clearly overmatched in his short stint with the Mets. He pitched in four games to a 13.50 ERA. He looks like he has potential but he’s certainly not there yet.
The Mets lost the first game of their seven game road trip today in Pittsburgh. John Maine gutted through five innings even though he clearly didn’t have his good stuff. His fastball was in the mid-80’s for most of the game.
The Mets generated very little offense on a day when Jose Reyes had the day off. Jerry Manuel was ejected in the third inning for arguing a call. Argenis Reyes was called out for making a slight turn at first base on an overthrow by Jack Wilson. Reyes was tagged by the catcher and called out.
The story of the game has to be another game blown by the shaky Mets bullpen. Pedro Feliciano and Duaner Sanchez couldn’t get the job done in the eighth inning and let another game get away. It seems like that’s becoming the story of the 2008 season.
New York Mets (68-56 Road: 32-33) at Pittsburgh Pirates (55-69 Home: 33-31) 12:35pm
John Maine (10-7 3.97) vs. Paul Maholm (8-7 3.69)
What to watch: The Mets go for the sweep and their seventh consecutive win today. Maine hasn’t lost a game in a month and hopes to continue the Mets incredible stretch of outstanding starting pitching. Maholm has pitched really well this season for a bad Pirates team so this probably won’t be a cake walk.
Visit The Mets Report Live Game Chat during the game to chat with other Mets fans.
Johan Santana threw a three-hit complete game shutout on 113 pitches. He was in complete control from start to finish. It was an outstanding game.
The Mets offense came from an unusual source, Brian Schneider, who hit a two run homer in the second inning and an RBI single in the fourth. Carlos Beltran added a solo homer in the sixth to round out the Mets scoring.
The Mets have now won six games in a row.
The Mets picked up relief pitcher Luis Ayala from the Washington Nationals for a player to be named later. That player is expected to be second baseman Anderson Hernandez according to multiple media reports.
This season Ayala is 1-8 with a 5.77 ERA. Pretty ugly numbers but he’s had much better seasons prior to this year with Montreal/Washington.
Hernandez is playing at Triple-A New Orleans where he’s appeared in 125 games to the tune of .203/.262/.307. Not very impressive either.
Ayala should provide some help in the bullpen. To make room on the 40 man roster the Mets placed Moises Alou on the 60-day disabled list.
New York Mets (67-56 Road: 31-33) at Pittsburgh Pirates (55-68 Home: 33-30) 1:35pm
Johan Santana (10-7 2.89) vs. Jeff Karstens (2-1 1.23)
TV: CW11 Radio: WFAN
What to watch: The Mets go for their sixth win in a row behind their ace Santana. Santana hasn’t lost a game since June 28th. Karstens has pitched extremely well since coming over from the Yankees in the Nady deal. He pitched a complete game two-hit shutout in Arizona on August 6th.
Visit The Mets Report Live Game Chat during the game to chat with other Mets fans.
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