Last night in Buffalo Matt Harvey got hit hard by the Charlotte Knights in a 11-0 loss. Harvey gave up 6 runs in only 5 innings on 7 hits and 2 walks, although he did have 6 K’s. He threw 96 pitches, 61 for strikes. It’s a disappointing start for Harvey in his second audition for a spot in the Mets rotation after Miguel Batista was shellacked by the Dodgers yesterday.
Here’s some video of Harvey’s post-game interview.
Johan Santana got bombed last by the Dodgers for 6 runs in 3 innings. It’s the third straight really bad start that he’s had. The Braves got him for 6 runs in 5 innings and the Cubs got 7 runs in 4.2 innings against him. It’s undeniable that he’s struggling.
The Mets are “considering options” for Santana which basically means they’re thinking about tinkering with getting him off his regularly scheduled starts. I’m not sure if that’s the answer because it doesn’t look like he’s lost velocity. So it doesn’t appear that he’s going through a dead arm period.
Things started going sideways for Santana after his no-hit miracle on June 1st when he didn’t start again for seven days. Sure, the 134 pitch no-hitter could have taken something out of him. And, yes, he is coming off a major shoulder surgery a year and a half ago. But in-season modifications to a starting pitchers schedule can cause big problems. Continue reading “Mets Johan Santana Struggles Again Against Dodgers”
The Dodgers finally took one game of the four game series tonight. They did it behind a great game by Clayton Kershaw who went 8 innings and only allowed 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 9. Dillon Gee was matching him through the first 5 innings. He only allowed 1 hit to the Dodgers. But Gee lost it in the sixth inning when the Dodgers scored 5 runs.
The Mets had very little offense as you would guess. They only had 6 hits in the game and 4 walks. Angel Pagan and Daniel Murphy both had a couple of hits in the game. And the Mets managed to load the bases in the ninth inning but couldn’t rally enough to even score one run.
The Mets are headed to San Francisco for a three game series starting tomorrow night.
The Mets won their fourth straight game behind a really solid start by Jon Niese. He went 7 innings allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk with 6 strikeouts. The only inning that he had any real trouble was the sixth when the Dodgers scored 2 runs. Other than that, he was really in control. As I wrote after last night’s game, the Dodgers are a bad team so these win have to be taken with a grain of salt. But the Mets won the series tonight and have a chance for the rare four game sweep on the road tomorrow night.
The Mets offense was also solid up and down the order. They had 11 hits and 1 walk in the game. The notable games were from Ruben Tejada who had a 2-run double in the sixth inning that put the Mets up for good. And Justin Turner had a nice RBI single in the ninth that gave the Mets the insurance run they typically don’t get in late innings.
The big news is that Jason Bay had a monster game with two home runs and 4 RBI’s. I will say that the Dodgers are a miserable team, so any success the Mets have in LA should be tempered by that fact. But it’s good to see Bay hitting the ball other than grounding out to shortstop.
Mike Pelfrey also had a solid start and didn’t get flustered with runners on base. He threw 6 shutout innings allowing 5 hits and 2 walks but he did hit two batters. I was surprised that the Dodgers didn’t retaliate even though it was clear that Pelfrey wasn’t trying to hit anyone.
The Mets can take the series with a win tomorrow night.
The Mets went west and won the first game of the four game series in LA tonight. They did it behind another solid effort by Chris Capuano who went 6 innings and allowed only 2 runs. Bobby Parnell and K-Rod closed it out with 3 scoreless innings of relief.
The Mets continued to single and double teams to death with 8 hits and 1 walk in the game. The big inning for the Mets was the sixth when they got run scoring doubles from Angel Pagan, Carlos Beltran, and Daniel Murphy. Pagan was 2 for 5 with 2 doubles, 2 runs, and 1 RBI.
The Mets and Dodgers will do it again tomorrow night at 10pm.
New York Mets (42-42) at Los Angeles Dodgers (37-48) 9:10pm
Chris Capuano (7-7 4.27) vs. Rubby De La Rosa (4-7 3.77)
TV: SNY Radio: WFAN
What to watch: The Mets start a four game series in LA tonight against the last place Dodgers who have lost three straight series’. Capuano has won four of his last five starts despite not pitching that well in Detroit in his last start. He gave up 5 runs in 5 innings but benefited from the Mets scoring 16 runs behind him.
De La Rosa is a rookie right-hander who only has five career starts this season with the Dodgers. He’s lost his last three starts although he pitched well in Minnesota going 7 innings and allowing 1 run in his last start. He ended up losing a 1-0 game to the Twins and Scott Baker.
The Mets Report 