Good evening boys and girls, Chris Mascaro here to bring you all of the live game action of the Mets (21-19) at the Yankees (20-23), as the Metropolitans try to complete a rain-shortened two-game sweep.
Before we get started, I am contractually obligated to tell you that if you are a Yankees fan and cannot bear to be on a Mets blog, you can click here to be with your brethren. Or just stay here and argue with Mets fans. Whatever you'd like.
The ever-fickle Oliver Perez (3-3, 4.61 ERA) will face one of the early contenders for the AL Cy Young Award...actually, it's too early for that, so we'll just say a contender to start the All-Star Game (which would be fitting because it's in the Bronx, but I digress)...Chien-Ming Wang (6-1, 2.90 ERA).
What kind of Perez will the Mets get tonight? You just never know with Ollie P.
Marlon Anderson is in the two-hole tonight playing left field, while Moises Alou, tonight's DH, will bat sixth.
After a day off tomorrow, the Mets will embark on a (real) seven-game road trip to Atlanta and Colorado, beginning with a day/night doubleheader against the Braves on Tuesday.
Okay, we're about 10 minutes from baseball on ESPN!!
Top of the 1st: Wang gets the Mets 1-2-3 on ground outs (his specialty). Alberto Gonzalez dropped a foul pop fly which it seemed like everyone lost in the lights, but no harm, no foul, as Wang breezed by no problem. Here comes Ollie P...
Bottom of the 1st: Derek Jeter walked and stole a base (his first of the season) with two outs, but Perez got Matsui to line out. He threw 19 pitches, but looks relatively sharp in the early going.
Top of the 2nd: Wang got the first five Met batters to ground out (the sinker is obviously working) before Alou finally made the outfielders have to work with a fly out to Abreu.
Bottom of the 2nd: Jason Giambi walked to lead off the second, and moved to second on a Cano groundout. But Church made a nice sliding catch in rightfield to steal a hit from Alberto Gonzalez and prevent a run from scoring.
Perez has 37 pitches already, and has walked two batters. But he hasn't allowed a hit, and more importantly, a run. So far, so good for Ollie.
Top of the 3rd: Wang is dealing. He got Delgado and Castillo to ground out with a strikeout of Schneider sandwiched in between. He's perfect through three innings and has only thrown 26 pitches. Seven of the nine outs have been on groundouts. Sooner or later one of them has to sneak into the outfield for a hit, right?
Bottom of the 3rd: Ollie P got Molina and Damon out on some sweet breaking pitches and then fielded his position well to get Abreu out on what was essentially a swinging bunt.
Top of the 4th: Well the Mets got to Wang (who had a perfect game going into the inning), and in a big, big way. But they should have had even more.
Carlos Delgado hit a rocket down the left-field line that hit the base of the foul pole and kicked over the wall. The umps initially ruled it a home run, but then conferred and ruled it a foul ball. (The third base ump called it fair, but the home-plate ump overruled him.) It would have been a three-run homer. Willie Randolph came out to argue and rightfully so, because it seems the umps blew the call.
Regardless, Delgado singled to make it 4-0.
Reyes lead the inning off with the first hit of the game, a double off the wall in right-center. But he made a boneheaded play on the bases getting thrown out in between second and third on Marlon Anderson's grounder back to Wang in which he broke too early.
But Wright got the rally back on track with a single and then Beltran walked to load the bases. Church hit a grounder to Giambi with one out, but he threw wide of Jeter at second. Anderson scored to make it 1-0 Mets and everyone was safe. Then Alou hit a two-run single to give the Mets a 3-0 lead before Delgado's at-bat.
Schneider grounded out for the second out, and then Castillo walked. But Reyes, who started the long inning, flew out to end the inning. The Mets got four but should probably have six right now. Wang has given up four runs on four hits through four. Edwar Ramirez was warming in the pen, but Wang made it through the inning.
Bottom of the 4th: Jeter singled up the middle to lead off the inning, and then Matsui made Ollie P pay with a deep homer to rightfield to make it 4-2 Mets.
Ollie hit Cano with a pitch, but settled down to get out of the inning. He's at 63 pitches through four innings, but is winning, and that's all that matters right now.
Top of the 5th: Wang settled down after a rough fourth inning with a 1-2-3 inning with two groundouts by Anderson and Wright, and a Beltran fly out.
Bottom of the 5th: Jose Molina doubled off the wall in right that was a few feet from being a home run and a few inches from being caught by Church. Damon moved Molina to third on a groundout, but Abreu was caught looking and Jeter flew out to center to end the inning.
Top of the 6th: Church hit a deep homer just to the right of the black section in centerfield to make it 5-2 Mets. Wang seems to be leaving his pitches up tonight, which spells trouble for the sinkerballer. He got the next three batters (including two on groundouts), but the damage has been done.
Bottom of the 6th: Giambi was hit by a pitch with one out (the second batter Perez has hit tonight), but Cano hit into a 1-6-3 double play to end the inning. Perez has 90 pitches, and will probably trot out to pitch the seventh. Not a bad outing for Perez this evening, allowing just two runs (one the Matsui homer) on only three hits, two walks and two hit batters.
Top of the 7th: Mets go down 1-2-3 on three groundouts by Castillo, Reyes and Marlon Anderson. Castillo was beat to the bag by Wang who was covering for Giambi by just a step. He's been shaky and has 94 pitches, but we may see him in the eighth.
Bottom of the 7th: Strong seventh inning for Ollie P with a 1-2-3 inning, including a groundout (by Melky), a flyout (by Gonzalez) and a strikeout (of Molina). He's hot 102 pitches after seven innings. All in all, solid outing for Ollie P.
Top of the 8th: The Mets have busted this one open.
Wright doubled to lead off the inning, then Beltran moved him to third on a groundout. The Yanks elected to intentionally walk the hot-hitting Church, and Alou got the job done with a sac fly to make it 6-2 Mets.
Girardi lifted Wang at that point (after 7 2/3 innings) in favor of Ross Ohlendorf. When all was said and done, Wang allowed seven runs on six hits with three walks and one strikeout. This was Wang's second worst start behind one last month when the Red Sox knocked him around.
Ohlendorf came in to intentionally walk Delgado (couldn't Wang have done that?), and then RBI singles by Schneider and Castillo on consecutive at-bats made it 8-2 Mets.
The big blow came in the next at-bat, as Reyes socked his fourth homer of the year—a three-run shot—to give the Mets an 11-2 lead and blow the doors off this one.
Bottom of the 8th: Perez got the first two batters of the eighth on groundouts, and then his evening was over. Joe Smith replaced him and got Jeter on a groundout to end the inning.
Perez went 7 2/3 (same as Wang), but unlike Wang, only gave up two runs (on the Matsui homer) on three hits, with four strikeouts, two walks and two hit batters. Nice effort by Perez.
Top of the 9th: Jose Veras came on for the Yanks and sat the Mets down 1-2-3. The last out was a rocket hit by Church on which Melky made a nice stab on.
Bottom of the 9th: Scott Schoeneweis came on in the ninth. He hit Giambi with a pitch with one out, but got Melky on a grounder back to the mound to end the game. Mets win, 11-2.
Mets 11, Yankees 2
Mets: 22-19, Yankees: 20-24
WP--Perez (4-3)
LP--Wang (6-2)
HR: Mets 2 (Church, his 9th, Reyes, his 4th); Yanks 1 (Matsui, his 6th)
Normally I do three stars, but I'll give the Mets four tonight:
Perez — 7 2/3, two runs, three hits
Reyes — 2-for-5 with a three-run homer
Alou — 1-for-3 with three RBIs
Church — 1-for-4 with a walk, two RBIs and three runs
As always, it was my pleasure to bring that game to you guys and gals tonight. Hope to see ya'll soon! Take care.
Comments (1)
As a Mets fan, I have to put this in perspective, always great to beat the Yanks, yet they were only 1 of 3 last place clubs that we got to play over the last week and Mets came away from 9 games with last place teams at 5-4. This is really nothing to celebrate. Hopefully it is something to build on, but until Mets consistently beat the teams they are supposed to beat I acannot jump up and down and say that this is not just another boy who cried wolf moment for Willie. When the Mets put together a run of 15 out of 20 or so and take on some dominant behavior the jury will remain out. As to getting ejected from a game Willie may need to take some lessons from Bobby Cox, and realize that last Sept a timey ejection may have been all the Mets needed to survive the Sept swoon. Once again last night Willie had a chance to man up and he was slow to pull the trigger while Manuel did the dirty work. Again shows me that Willie is the wrong guy for this team, no B----s!