Mets Take Series From Giants With 5-3 Win

The Mets took two out of three in San Francisco from the Giants before leaving for San Diego today. John Maine looked good going six strong innings giving up two runs (one earned) on seven hits and one walk for his seventh win. He also had four strikeouts. Jose Reyes let one go under his glove for his tenth error to allow the unearned run.

Duaner Sanchez pitched the seventh and eighth innings allowing one run. He did have a scare in the eighth inning when Bengie Molina hit one to the wall with two men on.

Reyes was the offensive star of the game going 3 for 4 with his eighth home run and a stolen base, his 19th of the season.

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Mets Drop Second Game To Reds 7-1

As usual, the double header was split between the Mets and Reds today. That’s exactly the reason that the Mets tried to get the game in despite the rain last night. Double headers are almost always split.

The good news in this game is that Mike Pelfrey pitched really well and kept the Mets in the game through six innings giving up only two runs. That’s something for Pelfrey to build upon.

The bad news was that the Mets only got four hits in the game. Bronson Arroyo was on tonight even though he’s had a terrible season. He’s had a few starts that were fair this season, but this was by far his best game yet. There’s not much that you can do when a pitcher is on like that.

Duaner Sanchez and Billy Wagner didn’t have it tonight. Wagner was hurt by some poor fielding though.

The Mets absolutely must win the rubber game tomorrow. They cannot lose a home series to the Reds. That would be a terrible sign if they did.

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Mets Take Out Listless Nats 7-2

Johan Santana looks like he’s worth the money, and the prospects that the Mets gave up. He was good again tonight keeping the Mets in the game through seven innings. He had seven strikeouts, and gave up two runs, seven hits and one walk. I might also mention that he was 2 for 2 at the plate with two doubles.

Carlos Beltran was 2 for 4 and looked really good hitting left handed. Ryan Church was 2 for 5 as well. Angel Pagan had two steals, Reyes had one, and Luis Castillo had his fifth steal of the year. That’s one more than Reyes has.

The death knell for Carlos Delgado was subsided for one night mostly because the Mets won. But Delgado did have a hit and an RBI to stave off the vultures circling his career.

Playing against the Nationals is a good way to make a team feel good about themselves. They’ve got very little talent on that team. Their new stadium looks great though and has me looking forward to seeing Citi Field.

The Mets fans are traveling really well this season. There was an audible presence during the game. That’s great to see in another team’s stadium.

I have to mention that Willie Randolph is the last person to notice that Delgado should move lower in the order and Duaner Sanchez should pitch the eighth inning. It’s amazing to me that everyone else recognizes that before he does. He’s far too loyal to players that aren’t getting the job done. That’s all that I’ll say about that… I feel like I’m beating a dead horse.

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Cubs Rip Heilman, Mets 7-1

John Maine (1-2) had a pretty decent game. He pitched six innings only giving up two runs, five hits, two walks, and had six strikeouts. He deserved to lose the game only because Carlos Zambrano was really on tonight for the Cubs. He went seven innings giving up only one run. That can happen at times during the season.

Duaner Sanchez pitched a flawless seventh inning and looks like he’s getting back to his old form. He doesn’t have the blazing fastball that he had before the shoulder injury a year and a half ago. But it looks like what he’s got is good enough to get hitters out.

Now we get to the eighth inning, when the wheels came off for the Mets. Once again, Aaron Heilman was the goat of the game. That’s appropriate since they’re playing in the home of the curse of the goat. Heilman only got through two outs in the inning giving up two hits and hitting Aramas Ramirez. Four runs scored but Heilman’s ERA was bailed out by Jose Reyes making an error on a grounder. He was able to actually reduce his ERA to 4.97. Continue reading “Cubs Rip Heilman, Mets 7-1”

Mets Pound Nationals 6-0

The Mets trounced the Nationals 6-0 amid the Jackie Robinson Day celebration at Shea Stadium. The biggest story of the game was Mike Pelfrey (2-0) pitching seven scoreless innings. He only gave up five hits and two walks to go along with four strikeouts. He threw 100 pitches, 65 for strikes and looked very confident on the mound.

The Mets offense was powered by Jose Reyes just back from a mild hamstring strain, and David Wright. Reyes was 4 for 5 and a home run shy of the cycle. He was caught stealing but looked good running the bases. Wright was 3 for 5 with 5 RBI’s and a home run. He was right on the ball all night.

Aaron Heilman pitched the eighth inning giving up a double and a walk but no runs. Duaner Sanchez returned to Shea for the first time since his car accident in July 2006. He pitched the ninth giving up only one hit. Sanchez got a nice reception from Mets fans when he was announced.

Paul LoDuca didn’t play because he was hit in the hand this weekend, so his serenade by Mets fans will have to wait until tomorrow night. Lastings Milledge got a mixed reception when he was announced.

I was surprised that Willie Randolph chose the bat Ryan Church second instead of Angel Pagan. Luis Castillo hit eighth in the order, which I’m afraid may be a common scenario over the next four years of his contract. I also probably would’ve let Pelfrey pitch the eighth inning considering this was only his second game of the season and he’s a young guy looking to build confidence.

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Duaner Sanchez is Back!

Mets reliever Duaner Sanchez is back on the roster today. Carlos Muniz was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans to make room for him. It’ll be interesting to see how Willie uses him. I suppose he’ll need to build some trust that he can get outs consistently. Hopefully, before long he’ll be back to his old (really old) role as the eighth inning set up man, and move Aaron Heilman up to the seventh inning.

Duaner Sanchez May Stay In Minors

MLB.com reports that Duaner Sanchez may stay at Triple-A New Orleans for a few more days. His arm is being evaluated on a daily basis after pitching back to back days on Friday and Saturday. Willie Randolph had this to say on the topic:

“When you get a guy like him throwing the way he was throwing before he hurt himself, and you put him into your bullpen, it’s definitely going to be a domino effect as far as helping the whole bullpen,” Randolph said. “Anytime you can put a fresh arm out there, a quality arm, it sets everybody up better. It just injects a certain energy into your bullpen. I’m hoping that’s the case.”

Hopefully, we’ll see Sanchez back sooner than later. It’s tough watching Jorge Sosa, Aaron Heilman, and Scott Schoenweiss. We need some new faces coming out of the bullpen.