Tag: Jose Reyes

Mets, Maine Beat Nats 5-2

New York- John Maine (1-1) got his first win of the season pitching 6.2 innings giving up five hits, four walks, and two earned runs to go along with four strikeouts. He wasn’t quite as sharp as we saw in spring training but it was good enough for a win tonight. Joe Smith finished off the seventh and the eighth innings. Billy Wagner closed out the ninth for his second save.

The Mets had an unusual power surge with home runs from Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, and Ryan Church against his former team. Luis Castillo also had a quiet 3 for 4 night.

The Mets secured the series by taking the first two games of the three game set. They’ll finish the series tomorrow night at Shea Stadium with John Lannan (0-2) up against Nelson Figueroa (1-0).

Box score

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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.

Box score 

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On Deck: April 12, 2008

Milwaukee Brewers (6-4) at New York Mets (5-4)   1:10pm   TV: SNY   Radio: WFAN

Ben Sheets (1-0) vs. Johan Santana (1-1)

What to watch:  This is a big-time premium pitching match up, ace vs. ace. Luis Castillo should return to the lineup for the Mets and Jose Reyes will probably be out with a tight hamstring.

Jose Reyes Out Tomorrow

The SNY post game show interviewed Jose Reyes who said that his hamstring is sore and he won’t play tomorrow. He’s going to take it day by day. He left the game in the fifth inning after being doubled up on a ground ball.

Likely Damion Easley will fill in for Reyes. If a long term solution is needed Anderson Hernandez would be the logical choice but a roster move would be required to get him on the major league roster.

Mets Defeat Brew Crew 4-2 Behind Figueroa

New York- Nelson Figueroa made his first start for the Mets this season an impressive one. He went six strong innings giving up two runs, two hits, and two walks with six strikeouts for the win.

The bullpen took over for Figueroa and did a great job for the final three innings. Joe Smith, Aaron Heilman, and Billy Wagner shut the Brewers down without giving up a hit.

The offense, as usual, was powered by Angel Pagan. He continued his hot hitting going 2 for 4 with another RBI raising his season average to .387.

There is some concern that Jose Reyes left the game with a tight hamstring. Marlon Anderson came in to play second, and Damion Easley moved to shortstop replacing Reyes.

Box score

Video Highlights 

Mets Beat Phils 4-3 in 12th Inning To Win Series

New York- John Maine pitched a great game coming back from a poor first appearance. He went six innings giving up only one run. He did have five walks tonight but was able to work out of trouble.

Aaron Heilman blew the lead in the eighth inning giving up a monster lead-off home run to Ryan Howard to lead off the inning. He ended up giving up two runs in the inning that allowed the Phillies to tie the game at three.

Billy Wagner pitched a scoreless ninth, strangely throwing from the windup. Scott Schoenweiss had a nice rebound performance pitching 1.1 innings and working his ERA down to 3.00. Hopefully, he can keep that going.

Jose Reyes hit a double off Tom Gordon in the 12th inning and scored on a single by Angel Pagan. Pagan has been in the middle of everything the Mets have done offensively this young season hitting .370 over the first eight games.

The Mets win the series 2 games to 1 and  have the Brewers coming to town tomorrow night for a three game series.

Box Score 

What We Know So Far

It was a disappointing home opener but it’s way too early to panic or fire the manager. The Mets really do need to win this series against the Phillies after losing the two game series to the Braves. You can’t have a successful season and lose too many home series within the division.What we’ve learned so far:

  •  Jose Reyes needs to start hitting. He gets the whole offense going when he’s on base.
  • The starting pitching needs to get healthy. We need a decent season from Pedro Martinez and some kind of contribution from El Duque.
  • The bullpen can be shaky. Schoenweiss, Sosa, and Heilman have all been giving it up early in the season. That needs to turn around quickly.
  • Carlos Delgado looks much better offensively than he did last season. He’s still a complete stiff in the field but I can live with that if he’s hitting.
  • Angel Pagan looks like he can play. I was worried about him playing every day in left but he looks pretty good so far.
  • Brian Schneider is supposed to be here for his defense and he had two passed balls today. He needs to do better than that to justify his weak hitting.

The bottom line is that it looks like this division won’t be a cake walk. The Phillies are really good and the Braves always field a competitive team. The Nationals and Marlins should start to fall away fairly quickly.