Well, I guess Fernando Nieve is proving us wrong. I thought after his debut first start against the Yankees that he was due for a beating by the Rays. But he was excellent again. Nieve went 6 innings giving up only one run. He’s going to give Tim Redding a run for a spot in the rotation when John Maine and Oliver Perez come back.
Bobby Parnell was roughed up again tonight. He’s still got good velocity but he isn’t fooling anyone. He’s given up 4 runs in 5 innings during the month of June. Compare that to 3 earned runs given up in 11 innings during May. Pitching coach Dan Warthen needs to put in some overtime with Parnell.
Another suprise on offense was Brian Schneider hitting a real bomb for a 3-run homer to right-center field. I never would have expected him to hit one to the deepest part of the park. David Wright had a nice RBI double but he struck out three more times tonight too. That’s 68 K’s for the season now. And Daniel Murphy had another 3 for 4 night to raise his average to .256. So he’s climbing out of the offensive cave that he’s been in. I still don’t think he has enough offense to be a major league first baseman though.
Francisco Rodriguez bounced back nicely from his first (legitimate) blown save last night, when he didn’t appear to have anything. He got a 1-2-3 ninth for the win. It’s good to see a quick recovery from him.
Tampa Bay Rays (35-33 Road: 14-21) at New York Mets (33-31 Home: 18-11) 7:10 pm
The Mets Report 