On the Mets beat

Gameday Live 36: Mets vs. Nationals

2008-05-12T22:33:40Z

Good evening Mets fans, Chris Mascaro here to bring you all the live game action of the Mets' four-game set at Shea against the Nats before the renewal of the Subway Series this weekend.

But first things first, as the Mets (19-16), winners of three of their last four, will send Nelson Figueroa (2-2, 4.81 ERA) to the hill against veteran lefty Odalis Perez (0-3, 3.43) and the Nats (15-23), who are coming off a sweep at the hands of the Marlins at home in which they were outscored 23-7. Ouch.

The Mets are three games behind the red-hot Marlins (23-14), percentage points ahead of the Phils (21-18) for second place, while the Nats are in last, 8.5 out of first.

The weather will be a factor tonight at Shea. It's going to be cold and windy tonight, as it's been in the tri-state area all day. But the rain is supposed to taper off as the evening progresses, so we should get this one in.

Perez has pitched well for the Nats despite his winless record. In his last start against the Astros, he pitched five innings, allowing three runs on five hits but did not figure into the decision.

The Mets are 8-3 against lefties this season, having battered them around quite nicely, especially David Wright.

The Mets also hope Carlos Beltran will stay hot. He was 5-for-11 with a home run, triple and eight RBIs in the Cincinnati series. So far he's batting .323 in May, and has been a real boost to this lineup.

Figueroa has been much better at Shea (2-0, 3.32) than on the road (0-2, 7.50) and the Mets hope that continues tonight.

Okay, we're minutes from baseball on SNY!!

Also, here are today's lineups

Mets
1. Reyes, SS
2. Church, RF
3. Wright, 3B
4. Beltran, CF
5. Alou, LF
6. Delgado, 1B
7. Easley, 2B
8. Schneider, C
9. Figueroa, P

Nats
1. Lopez, 2B
2. Guzman, SS
3. Zimmerman, 3B
4. Johnson, 1B
5. Milledge, CF
6. Kearns, RF
7. Mackowiak, LF
8. Flores, C
9. Perez, P

Top of the 1st: Figueroa has been strong at the beginning of games, and tonight is no different as he sat the Nats down 1-2-3 including two strikeouts. The first was on a nice slider to Felipe Lopez and the second was on a hard fastball past Ryan Zimmerman. The Mets are coming to bat...

Bottom of the 1st: David Wright walked with two outs and Carlos Beltran drove him in to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. Alou followed with a single, but Delgado struck out on three pitches to end the inning.

Beltran looks like he's got his stroke back (he's 6 for his last 12), and it's very interesting that he has 18 of his 22 RBIs at Shea, where he's had problems in the past.

Top of the 2nd: After a Delgado error (replays showed Figueroa had his foot on first base when he was covering, but nevertheless an error), Lastings Milledge walked and Austin Kearns moved the runners over on a slow roller to Easley.

Mackowiak drilled a Figueroa pitch deep to center on the warning track, but the wind knocked it down and the ball stayed in the park. The sac fly scored Nick Johnson to tie the score at 1-1. Milledge moved to third, but Jesus Flores went down looking on another nice slider by Figueroa — his third strikeout.

Bottom of the 2nd: Well that was an eventful inning. Easley led off the inning with a long homer to just left of dead center for his first homer of the season to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.

With two outs Reyes dropped a bunt single and then Church singled, but Wright was thrown out on a 5-6-3 groundout, in which his rocket caromed off Zimmerman at third, but Guzman was right there to grab the ball and fire to first in time.

Top of the 3rd: Odalis Perez (of all people) got the first hit off of Figueroa this evening to lead off the third inning, and Felipe Lopez followed with a single.

Manny Acta chose not to bunt with Cristian Guzman, but his 4-1 groundout to the right side served as one anyway. Zimmerman was hit with one out to load the bases (Figueroa's first hit batsman all season), and then Nick Johnson (he of the great eye) walked in a run on a 3-2 pitch to tie the game at 2-2.

Figueroa was in danger of walking in another run, but Milledge whiffed on a 3-2 slider over the middle (Gary Cohen was critical of Milledge trying "to hit a grand slam against his former team, and Keith Hernandez agreed). Kearns flew out to end the inning.

(Also, when Figueroa came off the mound he clapped in the direction of the Nats' bench. He didn't seem to take too kindly of them chanting "let's go millie, let's go!" during the inning. He looked over again once he got in the dugout and Willie saw it. It'll be interesting if Willie talks to him between innings about toning things down a bit.)

Bottom of the 3rd: An eventful inning for Kearns in rightfield. Beltran drove one just shy of the track in right and Kearns nearly overran it, but recovered to make the catch. Then Alou hit a blooper that fell in between Kearns and first baseman Nick Johnson on a ball that looks like it got caught in the Bermuda Triangle, and Alou slid in safe at second.

Delgado whiffed on a 1-2 slider and looked bad doing it for the second out, but Easley dropped one in front of (guess who?) Kearns for a single and Alou slid in head-first again at home to put the Mets up 3-2. For Easley, he has his 6th and 7th RBIs of the season through the first three innings.

Top of the 4th: Figueroa looked verrry shaky this inning (wonder if he got himself a little too riled up after the last inning). Mackowiak walked to lead off the inning and then he hit the catcher Flores. Perez moved the runners over on a bunt.

Then Lopez drove one up the middle, which Figueroa knocked down. He came home with the ball to try and get Mackowiak but threw the ball well wide of Schneider and the run scored easily to (again) tie the game at 3-3. (The game has been tied at every number from 0 through 3 so far. Oy.)

Figueroa fought out of it with a fly out to Beltran (not long enough to score the run) and then a Zimmerman ground out. Figueroa has only given up two hits thus far, but two hit batters, two errors (one by him) and three walks have bedeviled him.

Bottom of the 4th: Reyes singled with one out but was gunned down trying to steal second on a bang-bang play (the fourth time he's been caught this season), and then Church struck out on a high fastball (the 4th K for Perez).

Top of the 5th: Figueroa was holding on as best he could, but the Nats broke things open in the 5th with two outs. Nick Johnson singled to lead off the inning (the 4th straight inning getting the leadoff man on), but Figueroa got the next two batters on fly outs.

Yet he got wild from there, with a walk to Mackowiak followed by a two-run double by Flores to make it 5-3 Nats. An Odalis Perez RBI single (his second hit of the game) made it 6-3 Nats. Figgy walked Felipe Lopez, but got Guzman to pop out to end the inning. He has 108 pitches through five innings, and is most likely done.

Bottom of the 5th: Wright walked to lead off the inning, but Beltran flew out. Alou singled to left, but Delgado made it two outs on a grounder. Easley — the man of the night for the Mets up to now — flew out to right to end the inning.

The final numbers on Figueroa — 5 IP, 6 runs (4 earned) on 5 hits, with 4 K's and 5 walks. 108 pitches. Bottom line: Not good.

Top of the 6th: The first three runners against Jorge Sosa got reached base — Ryan Zimmerman doubled, Nick Johnson walked and the Mets' good ol' buddy Lastings Milledge doubled them both in for his 12th and 13th RBIs of the season to make it 8-3 Nats.

It only got worse from there. Flores was intentionally walked with two outs to get to Odalis Perez, but — adding insult to injury — the pitcher knocked in his second run of the run of the game (his only two RBIs this season) with his third hit of the evening to make it 9-3 Nats. Felipe Lopez followed with an RBI single to make it 10-3.

The boo birds are out!

Bottom of the 6th: The Nats put up a 4-spot in the top of the inning, and the Mets go ... 1-2-3. Schneider struck out, Pagan (pinch-hitting for Sosa) popped out and Reyes struck out.

Duaner Sanchez is on to pitch. Sosa went 1 inning, allowing four earned runs on four hits with two walks and one K. Yuck.

Top of 7th: 1-2-3 go the Nats for the first time since the 1st inning. Duaner Sanchez looks good in the seventh.

Bottom of the 7th: A solo homer (to make it 10-4) and an infield single by Beltran off Zimmerman's glove with one out spell the end of the night for Odalis Perez, who looks like he should get his first win of the season tonight.

Chris Schroder came on and got the first two batters to fly out.

Perez went 6 1/3, allowing four earned runs on 11 hits with five strikeouts and two walks. He gave up a bunch of hits and two homers, but did the job and helped his own cause going 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a run.

Joe Smith on for the Mets...

Top of the 8th: Smith does a nice job by striking out the side—Kearns (swinging), Mackowiak (looking) and Flores (swinging).

Bottom of the 8th: A Schneider single with one out and a Reyes walk with two outs prompted Acta to lift Schroder for Saul Rivera. He walked the first batter he faced, Church, but Wright grounded out to third to end the inning.

Top of the 9th: Elijah Dukes sighting! Just an aside, I saw him crush a pitch into the black at Yankee Stadium...if only he could gets his act together, he'd be great. Anyway, he struck out facing Wagner (in because he has pitched just once since May 4) to drop to 0-for-12 for the season.

Wagner got Lopez swinging, Guzman doubled, but Wagner completed striking out the side by getting Zimmerman on a 2-2 slider.

Bottom of the 9th: 1-2-3 go the Mets off Saul Rivera. That's ballgame.

As always, it's been a lot of fun everyone. I enjoyed it. See you next time and thanks for your comments!

Nats 10, Mets 4
Nats: 16-23
Mets: 19-17
Time of Game: 3:15

WP--Perez (1-3)
LP--Figueroa (2-3)
HR: Mets 2 (Easley 1, Wright 7)

Three stars: Perez - 6 1/3 IP, 11 hits, four runs, five strikeouts, two walks, 3-for-3, two RBIs, one run
Lastings Milledge - 1-for-4 with a walk, two RBIs and a run
Nick Johnson - 1-for-3 with two walks an RBI and three runs

-The Mets had 10 hits, including three from Alou and two homers, but could only scratch out four runs.

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Tonight's lineup and notes

2008-05-12T19:57:56Z

Mets

Reyes SS
Church RF
Wright 3B
Beltran CF
Alou LF
Delgado 1B
Easley 2B
Schneider C
Figueroa P

Nats starter: Lefty Odalis Perez

NOTES: Luis Castillo (strained quad) had an MRI. He's out a few days ... Matt Wise will not be activated today because he's not here. Details later.

Jeff Keppinger: The one that got away?

2008-05-12T19:28:56Z

Here's a comparison of Keppy and Luis Castillo and Ruben Gotay for Mets fans to chew on before tonight's game.

Gameday Live 35: Reds at Mets

2008-05-11T16:35:20Z

Top 9th - A tidy inning after Cincy bats out of order and makes the inning last three times longer than it should have. Mets win 8-3.

Bottom 8th With a different score, the Mets would be regretting that inning after putting runners on first and third with nobody out and scoring no runs. Pedro Feliciano coming in to finish this one off. Still 8-3 Mets.

Top 8th - Good work by Schoeneweis to get out of the jam he created for himself. After putting men on first and third with one out, Schoeneweis struck out Adam Dunn with a good slider. Joe Smith came in to face the red-hot Keppinger and promptly fell behind 3-0 before coming back to strike out the shortstop with a 91-mph inside fastball. 8-3 Mets going to the bottom of the eighth.

Bottom 7th - And the Mets go just as quietly in their half, though Carlos Delgado did get a base hit, dumping one into left field. Delgado is 1-for-3 on the day with a walk. 8-3 Mets going into the eighth.

Top 7th - Schoeneweis with a solid inning, though he was helped a bit by the Reds showing why they're one of the worst teams in baseball. After Ryan Freel reached with a one-out hit, he was picked off fairly easily, 1-3-6. 8-3 Mets.

Bottom 6th - Mets add two, with Easley and Wright each collecting RBI singles. Mets now lead 8-3 with Scott Schoeneweis coming out in the top of the seventh. The line on Perez: six innings, three hits, three runs, four walks and eight strikeouts, which matches a season-best for Perez.

Top 6th - Perez's 100th pitch of the game was one of his worst, a wild pitch that allowed Jeff Keppinger to score from third and cut the Mets lead to 6-3. Keppinger got to third after hitting a run-scoring triple. Edwin Encarnacion gave the Reds their first run, launching a double to left that came out of Moises Alou's glove at the wall. 6-3 Mets heading to the bottom of the sixth with Perez likely done for the afternoon. Still no word on Luis Castillo who was replaced by Damion Easley at second last inning.

Bottom 5th - Mets blow it open, with Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church hitting back-to-back home runs. Beltran's blast, hammered to right, brought home Luis Castillo, who led off the inning with an infield hit. Church's homer was a bomb to center. 6-0 Mets. Not a quality start for the Reds Johnny Cueto: 4 2/3 innings, eight hits, six runs, three walks and five strikeouts.

Top 5th - Almost forgot, Happy Mother's Day. Perez has now thrown 79 pitches through five innings and has ended the last four frames with a strikeout. The victim last inning was Votto, who went down on a slider. Votto also ended the third inning by striking out, also on a slider. 3-0 Mets.

Bottom 4th - Oliver Perez's ERA is going down today and his OBP is going up. Perez walked in the second inning - and added a stolen base - and just now bunted for a base hit. He was stranded, however, and it's still 3-0 Mets. As I'm typing, I just saw another wedding proposal on the Shea Kiss-Cam. She said yes. That concludes the sappy portion of today's blog.

Top 4th - And the dominance continues for Perez, who ended the last inning having thrown just 60 pitches. Pitch No. 60 was an 80-mph slider, which struck out Adam Dunn. 3-0 Mets in the bottom of the fourth.

Top 3rd - Perez is officially in mowdown-mode. Two strikeouts this inning, getting Freel on a 91-mph fastball, then catching Joey Votto looking on a slider that came back across the inside part of the plate. 3-0 Mets with Perez looking as good as he has in several weeks.

Bottom 2nd - Better inning for Cueto. He walked Perez but got a Reyes flyout and then struck out Castillo to end it. The inning did feature Perez stealing second with two outs, the pitcher's first stolen base since 2006. Mets still up 3-0.

Top 2nd - Another good inning from Perez. He allowed a two-out single to Jeff Keppinger but go Paul Bako looking at a slider to end the inning. Before giving up the hit to Keppinger, Perez got Adam Dunn swinging on a nasty slider. 3-0 Mets going to the bottom of two.

Bottom 1st - Johnny Cueto threw five more pitches than Perez did in his half inning, but gave up three more runs. Luis Castillo's triple, and doubles by Carlos Beltran and Moises Alou account for three Mets runs. 3-0 heading to the top of the second.

Top 1st - Not bad, not bad for Perez. A 21-pitch inning that included a walk to Ken Griffey Jr. Perez struck out leadoff hitter Ryan Freel with a 91-mph fastball. Could have been worse. Lately, it has been.

Here's today's live blog. Erik Boland - not Rieber - taking you through this one. Oliver Perez (2-3, 4.63 ERA) taking on Johnny Cueto (2-3, 5.27) of the Reds. Perez has lost three straight, including a 5-1 loss May 5 at Los Angeles, an outing Willie Randolph called in his pregame meeting with reporters, "a stinker." Nowhere to go but up from that.

Mets in the pink

2008-05-11T16:15:25Z

Many Mets will use pink bats today in honor of Mother's Day.

Here's the lineup. At this point, it is the 'A' lineup. If today were Game 1 of the World Series, this would be the lineup. Except for Perez:

Reyes SS
Castillo 2B
Wright 3B
Beltran CF
Church RF
Alou LF
Delgado 1B
Schneider C
Perez P

Gameday Live 34: Reds at Mets

2008-05-10T23:30:59Z

Game two of the day-night double-header. Schneider, Castillo, Alou, and Church get the game off for the Mets.

Mets with a uniform switch from black to white.....

Here we go!

Top 1st
Pelfrey gives up the first run early. Freel leads off with a double to left and Junior scores him with a sac fly. Two fly outs sends it to the Mets
1-0 Reds

Bottom 1st
Bronson Arroyo strikes out the side. Yeesh. He's 1-4 with an 8.45 ERA....given last game's heat, the Mets probably were planning on hitting this guy hard......
1-0 Reds

Top 2nd
Pelfrey gives up a single to Keppinger but then retires the next two. For the third out, Beltran makes his second great, sliding catch of the day on Arroyo's line to center.
1-0 Reds

Bottom 2nd
Beltran takes a walk. Delgado continues a solid day of hitting by ripping one to center for a base hit. A bobble by Hatteberg on the throw to Arroyo at first allows Marlon Anderson to reach and juice the bases with only one out. Pelfrey almost drops one to the right gap, but Junior makes a good play to strand all three base-runners.
1-0 Reds

Top 3
1-2-3 inning for Pelfrey.
1-0 Reds

Bottom 3
Mets get on the board after Wright grounds one past Encarnacion for an RBI single that drives home Reyes. Wright tries to hustle home on Beltran's double, but gets beat at the plate.
1-1

Top 4th
Two away and Keppinger knocks one to right for a base hit. Marlon Anderson motors to the left line on Hetteberg's hit, but can't come up with it cleanly. Pelfrey loads the bases on a walk, and Arroyo grounds out, leaving all ducks on the pond. Nice job getting out of trouble there , but Pelfrey's entering the danger zone here in pitch count. He's at 82 through four. This could be a long night for the bullpen.
1-1

Bottom 4th
No runs and no hits for Arroyo in the fourth. Mets are going to have to capitalize on their opportunities when they arise. But I guess that much is obvious.
1-1

Top 5th
With two outs, Junior hits a bleeder to shallow center, but the Reds can't keep the inning alive. Pelfrey's at 96 pitches now....yikes!
1-1

Bottom 5th
Mets go down in order after Junior chases down Wright's shot to deep center.
1-1

Top 6th
Keppinger singles on a grounder to center. He's now 3-for-3 tonight. Hatteberg then brings him home with an RBI double to center. Anderson goes to the left retaining wall to snag Bako's line drive. Pelfrey's at 106 now, with Schoeneweis warming up in the bullpen.
2-1 Reds

Bottom 6th
Another 1-2-3 for Arroyo, who's pitching very efficiently. He's at only 84 pitches through six.
2-1 Reds

Top 7th
Heilman in for Pelfrey. Freel flies out and Heilman fans Hairston Jr. KGJ's fly-out makes it a 1-2-3 for Heilman. And we're on the second 7th-inning stretch of the day.
2-1 Reds

Bottom 7th
Arroyo strikes out both Anderson and Castro. Pinch-hitting, Church, goes down for the third out. Arroyo strikes out the side once again. A one-run lead and Arroyo's being stingy.....
2-1 Reds

Top 8th
Set-up man Duaner Sanchez in for Heilman. Dunn hits a dribbler down the left line. Keppinger now 4-for-4 after reaching on Sanchez' change-up for a base hit on a grounder to left. Patterson, in to pinch-run, scores on Hatteberg's single to left. That makes three straight hits given up by Sanchez. Bako makes it four and the Reds are now up three runs. Looks like Arroyo will pitch the eighth since he hits a fly ball caught for the second out.....
4-1 Reds

Bottom 8th
Arroyo still bringing the heat through eight, striking out Reyes swinging with a change-up. And both Chavez and Wright go down in order....1-2-3 for Arroyo, who's looking sharp even after 116 pitches.
4-1 Reds.

Top 9th
Wagner in to pitch, and he walks Junior for only his third walk in 13 1/3 innings. David Wright with an error on Encarnacion's grounder to third...looks like it took a strange spin there before he could get a handle on it. Another defensive gaffe for the Mets after a Delgado throwing error to second. Bases loaded now with only one out. Junior scores on Keppinger's ground ball to short. Reyes fired it to third, but misses the out by a sliver. Encarnacion then scores on Hatteberg's sac fly. Wagner looks really out of sync tonight. Well-known for dishing out the criticism, Wagner better be ready to shoulder some of it tonight. That's 3 runs given up this inning, and Randolph pulls him in favor of Jorge Sosa to retire the side.
7-1 Reds

Bottom 9th
Big hole for the Mets here and the bullpen is gonna take some heat. Mets can't muster any remaining firepower from the earlier game.
Final score 7-1 Reds

Gameday Live 33: Reds at Mets

2008-05-10T16:42:03Z

Hey everyone! Katie here blogging for what will surely be a LONG day of baseball. Last night's rain-out was the Mets' third this season; today's day-night double-header is only the third in Mets history.

Before the game, Willie Randolph said he'd rather play the double-header in the more traditional format, but for business/ticket gate reasons, that's not going to be the case today. Randolph said since many of the players aren't used to the set-up, some may sneak in a quick nap or trip to the batting cage to kill time in between games. I promise to report back if they do anything more exciting than that.....

Randolph also said they probably would not activate Matt Wise today, because of the roster complications that would create, although he did leave open the possibility of activating him in between games. Angel Pagan said he's feeling a lot better today, but still thinks he'll need a day or two.

Santana will pitch the first game (the decision was made by Randolph to put his best guys first), and Pelfrey the second, with Castro catching.

Top 1st
Patterson reaches first on a bunt, but gets caught trying to steal second after getting caught on a rundown 1-3-6. 20-season vet Ken Griffey Jr. then hits a two-out single past Delgado, followed by lefty-killer Phillips, who rips one to left. Two on and two out and Votto flies out to right. Nice job escaping there, but Santana's up at 24 pitches.
0-0

Bottom 1st
Belisle, who began the season on the DL, gives up two straight walks to Wright and Beltran, but with two outs, Church strikes out to end the inning. Mets headed into today's game batting .179 with two outs and runners in scoring position....not a good omen there.
0-0

Top 2nd
Heading into today, he walked only eight batters in four games, but Santana gives one up to Keppinger early in the second. He comes back with a strikeout to retire the side, though. Still scoreless.
0-0

Bottom 2nd
Alou leads off the second with a single to center. Batting seventh, Delgado follows up with a shot to the right gap. With runners at the corners and one out, Santana initially shows bunt, but then takes it off and then strikes out swinging on a wild pitch that brings Alou home.
1-0 Mets

Top 3rd
With one out, Freel doubles to left, but Santana pitches out of it again. That's four, solid hits through three innings and no runs on the board.
1-0 Mets

Bottom 3rd
Castillo takes base on balls for Belisle's third walk of the day. Wright then singles to right, and with runners on first and third, Beltran smacks one to center for an RBI. Alou steps up and gets his second hit of the day, a two-run RBI to shallow center.
Solid inning for the Mets that should give Santana a nice cushion.
4-0 Mets

Top 4th
Encarnacion crushes a 2-2 change-up to left for his 8th home run of the season to get the Reds on the board.
4-1 Mets

Bottom 4th
Mets go down in order.
4-1 Mets

Top 5th
Belisle singles to center to lead off the fifth. With two outs Freel grounds to third, and Wright throws a bullet to first to get the third out. Freel and Dusty Baker are not happy about that call, and rightfully so; the replay shows Freel beating the throw.
4-1 Mets

Bottom 5th
Castillo reaches second on a gift from Belisle, who errors on the throw to first. Wright follows up with a base hit to put runners at the corners with 0 outs. He's 2-2 today. Beltran's sac fly scores Castillo and Wright tags up and hustles to second. Church's shot to the right gap adds another one, and the Mets are up 5 runs now.
6-1 Mets

Top 6th
Phillips rips a single down the right line, forcing Church to field it off the wall. Double and a triple for him today. Encarnacion rips one past a diving Wright to left for his second RBI of the game. Keppinger then glances one off Reyes' glove... two runners on with one out. Santana gets the second out by fanning Ross on the tenth pitch, and that battle probably robbed him of whatever energy/command he has left. Next batter and Hatteberg singles to score Encarnacion, but Randolph, after a visit to the mound, leaves Santana in the game. After laboring for the third out, Santana fans Patterson on his 116th pitch of the day. In his last start, Santana also threw 116 pitches.
6-3 Mets

Bottom 6th
Delgado leads off the inning with a double down the left line. Schneider gets in on the action, although his single still leaves him looking for his first extra-base hit of the season. With bases loaded, Luis Castill goes down looking, but with two-outs, Wright walks and Delgado scores for a four-run pad. Next batter and Beltran slices one down the right line for a three-run RBI triple. Mets broke that inning open and did some damage.
10-3 Mets

Top 7th
Heilman in for Santana, and with one runner on base, Beltran makes a great, sliding catch to rob KGJ of a single. WIth RISP (Freel), Votto doubles to left, scoring Freel and emboldening the boo birds at Shea. Heilman bounces back to strike out Encarnacion and strands two runners to end the game.
10-4

Bottom 7th
Second to bat in the seventh, and Delgado homers to right, his fifth of the season. And Schneider finds his extra-base hit in a home run directly following Delgado's. That's the first time the Mets have had back-to-back home runs this season.
12-4 Mets

Top 8th
Feliciano in for Heilman. With Ross and Freel on base, KGJ hits a two-run RBI double to cut the lead in half.
12-6 Mets

Bottom 8th
1-2-3 for Affeldt
12-6

Top 9th
Sosa seals it up
12-6 final

Gameday Live 33: Mets vs. Reds

2008-05-09T22:40:33Z

Mike Gavin here for another night of Mets baseball. The Mets have been welcomed back to Shea by the lovely combination of wind and rain as they prepare to take on the Cincinnati Reds. After picking up the loss in his last two outtings, Mike Pelfrey looks to regain the form he showed in his first two starts of the season. First pitch is just minutes away unless mother nature forces a change in plans...

7:30 -- Where is a retractable roof when you need one? The game is being delayed due to rain. Hopefully they can get this one in.

8:05 -- Mother nature can be so cruel at times. Tonight's game has been canceled, there will be a doubleheader tomorrow. Gotta feel bad for those that drove to the stadium at $4 a gallon and paid $30 to park only to get soaked, but thats baseball for you.

Bully the bottom-feeders

2008-05-09T13:54:07Z

So would you have signed up for 3-3 against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers at the start of last week's road trip? Believe it. That's as good as it gets for the Mets, who have not been a consistent team 32 games into this season.

I don't obsesses about the standings this early, but I did happen to notice this morning that the Mets are in fourth place (17-15) and two games behind the NL East-leading Marlins. As weird as that seems, the Yankees already are 4.5 games in back of the Red Sox, the Mariners -- a trendy preseason pick -- are 8 games off the pace in the AL West and the Padres trail by 11 games in the NL East.

Which brings us to these next seven games against the Reds and Nationals this week at Shea. I know the trip to Arizona and LA was supposed to be a measuring stick for the Mets -- the NL's top teams, West Coast, different time zones, etc., etc. That's all fine, and they survived it. But if the Mets consider themselves to be an elite club, then they have to pound last-place clubs like Cincy (14-21) and DC (15-20). Especially at home. No more embarrassments like that April 30 mail-in job to the Pirates. Please.

As for today's Mets Insider, check out how Aaron Heilman is handling his demotion to middle relief now that he's lost his set-up job to Duaner Sanchez. Also in the Insider, it seems that Jeff Keppinger is one of the few bright spots for the Reds this season. Go figure. The Mets bailed on him after he shattered his kneecap playing for Triple-A Norfolk (remember the Tides?) and shipped him to the Royals for Ruben Gotay, who, as we all know, is now in Atlanta.

Pagan has bruised shoulder

2008-05-09T01:48:05Z

The Mets announced this afternoon that Angel Pagan has been diagnosed with a bruised left shoulder, the result of his head-over-heels catch and crash into the first row of seats at Dodger Stadium during the first inning of Wednesday's 12-1 win. Pagan had an MRI and also was examined by team physician Struan Coleman Thursday in Manhattan.

While Pagan apparently has avoided the disabled list for now -- the Mets say he is "day-to-day" -- the team has a number of roster decisions to make this weekend with the anticipated returns of backup catcher Ramon Castro and reliever Matt Wise.

Swapping Raul Casanova for Castro is the easy decision, despite the the excellent job Casanova did backing up Brian Schneider. As for Wise, who has somehow been on the DL for a month with a bruised forearm, making room for him could take some extended discussion. Do the Mets take the path of least resistance and demote Joe Smith? Or do they designate Jorge Sosa for assignment and swallow the $2-million that he's due this year?

The Mets could also put Angel Pagan on the DL to avoid the hard choices, but keeping an extra pitcher doesn't seem like much of a solution.

Gameday Live 32: Mets at Dodgers

2008-05-07T18:49:02Z

Pregame chatter

Mets (16-15) at Los Angeles Dodgers (19-14), 3:10 p.m.

Starters: John Maine (3-2, 3.48) for the Mets and Brad Penny (5-2, 3.19) for the Dodgers.

A Penny a win: Penny goes for his fifth straight winning start today. Penny hasn't lost since April 11. BUT Penny is just 5-11 with a 5.66 ERA in 19 career starts against the Mets.

Maine stats: Maine has never beaten the Dodgers. But he's won his last two starts this season. Maine pitched six innings, allowing just two runs and six hits in Arizona on Friday. He also had six strikeouts against the Diamondbacks.

As usual, we'll have game highlights here. Just hit your refresh button. The live chat and polls will appear below.

Top of 1st: Quick 1-2-3 inning for Penny. Maine's up against L.A.

Bottom of 1st: Leftfielder Angel Pagan made a nice running catch on a flyball in foul territory by Andre Ethier. Pagan caught the ball near the left-field line before tumbling over the short wall and falling into the seats. He disappeared for a bit as his concerned teammates gathered around. But it looks like Pagan is OK. Great play. 1-2-3 inning for Maine.

Top of 2nd: Ryan Church gets the first hit of the day for the Mets, a one-out single to centerfield. Pagan singles to left to put runners at first and second. Marlon Anderson doubles to deep center, scoring Church. Ball bounced on the warning track and over the wall. Raul Casanova singles to right to score Pagan and Anderson. Maine sacrifices Casanova to second on a bunt. Jose Reyes walked. Single by Luis Castillo to centerfield and Casanova scores. David Wright strikes out. Big inning for Mets. Mets 4, Dodgers 0.

Bottom of 2nd: Another 1-2-3 inning for Maine, including an inning-ending strikeout of Russell Martin. Maine looks sharp today.

Top of 3rd: Carlos Beltran starts with a single. Church singles to right on a hit-and-run. First and third with no outs. Pagan grounds into a fielder's choice. Church out at second. Anderson flies out deep to right, scoring Beltran. Pagan steals second on a pitch-out. But the inning ends with just the one run. Mets 5, Dodgers 0.

Bottom of 3rd: Apparently, Pagan hurt his shoulder on the slide into second last inning. He was frustrated in the dugout, throwing his equipment. Endy Chavez replaces him in left. Chin-lung Hu got the Dodgers' first hit, a double down the first-base line. But that was all for the Dodgers. Still 5-0.

Top of 4th: Castillo gets a two-out double. FYI: Pagan left the game with right shoulder "tightness." Still 5-0.

Bottom of 4th: Maine continues to look strong with another 1-2-3 inning. He's been efficient and has kept his pitch count down (45 pitches). Maine had two strikeouts that inning.

Top of 5th: Ryan Church got hit by a pitch, prompting the umps to warn both teams. Maine knocked down a Dodger earlier, but didn't hit him. Anderson reached on an infield single. Casanova walked to load the bases. Maine gets a two-run single to centerfield. Reyes walked to load the bases again. That's all for Brad Penny. Scott Proctor enters the game and walks Castillo on four pitches. Wright then hits a ground-rule double to leftfield. Wild pitch by Proctor and another run scores. Mets bat around and lead: Mets 11, Dodgers 0. Pagan Update: Pagan apparently hurt his shoulder making that catch when he fell over the left-field foul-line wall. It stiffened up on him later.

Bottom of 5th: Second hit of the game for the Dodgers, a double by James Loney to leadoff the inning. Russell Martin walks. Maine is in his first real trouble of the game. Maine strikes out Blake DeWitt. Big out. Then a big double play. Hu grounded to Castillo who threw to Anderson at first to get Hu. Anderson threw to Castillo to get Martin and a short rundown ensued. Castillo threw back to Anderson, who threw to Reyes and tagged out Martin.

Top of 6th: Church hits a solo home run to right. Casanova hit a two-out double to left-center. But that's it. Mets 12, Dodgers 0.

Bottom of 6th: Quick 1-2-3 inning for Maine, who has thrown just 76 pitches thus far. Still 12-0.

Top of 7th: Chan Ho Park in for the Dodgers. Mets go quietly against Park. Brad Penny gave up 10 earned runs, Proctor two earned runs. Actually, Penny had 10 earned runs on 10 hits, two strikeouts, three walks in 4.2 innings.

Bottom of 7th: Three up, three down for Maine.

Top of 8th: BTW, Nice running catch to end the bottom of the seventh by Endy Chavez. Similar play to the Pagan catch earlier. But this time Chavez stayed on the playing field. Quiet inning for the Mets -- and Park.

Bottom of 8th: Maine is still cruising along. Still 12-0.

Top of 9th: Another strong inning for Park, 1-2-3. He's been the one bright spot for the Dodgers today, holding the Mets scoreless for three innings.

Bottom of 9th: Andruw Jones dumps a blooper into short right and gets a double. Juan Pierre walks. A visit to the mound from pitching coach Rick Peterson. Ethier flies out to left. Matt Kemp singles to center to score Jones. Shutout is over. Maine comes out of the game, but a great performance: 8.1 innings, four hits, one earned run, two walks and four strikeouts. Duaner Sanchez is in for the Mets. Delwyn Young grounds into a fielder's choice. Loney strikes out to end the game. FINAL: Mets 12, Dodgers 1.

Today's lineup vs. Dodgers

2008-05-07T18:21:16Z

No real surprises here. A few regulars getting rest with the quick turnaround and noon (PST) start.

Reyes (ss)
Castillo (2b)
Wright (3b)
Beltran (cf)
Church (rf)
Pagan (lf)
Anderson (1b)
Casanova (c)
Maine (rhp)

Dodgers 5, Mets 4

2008-05-07T07:44:24Z

BY DAVID LENNON

LOS ANGELES – Ryan Church was the only one inside Dodger Stadium that did not see the baseball and yet he was the closest person to it. Church sat on the dirt warning track, momentarily stunned by his collision with the wall, as the screaming crowd of 43,927 cheered on Blake DeWitt’s frenzied dash around the bases.

What finally snapped Church out of his trance was first-base umpire Jim Joyce, who was waving his arms frantically to signal that the ball, which smacked off the top edge of the rightfield wall, was indeed still in play. Time was running out.

Church finally scrambled to his feet, scooped up the ball and fired a throw that eventually rolled to the plate. But DeWitt finished his inside-the-park home run without as much as a tag from catcher Brian Schneider and that fifth-inning oddity was the difference in the Mets’ 5-4 loss to the Dodgers. A day earlier, DeWitt, the rookie third baseman, hit his first home run in more conventional fashion– over the fence rather than off it.

“It took me a second because I rolled onto my back; I was dazed or something,” said Church, who nearly made the leaping catch. “I thought it was gone. I thought it was out. I was like, ‘Where’s the ball?’ By the time I looked up, it was too late.”

The Mets, who dropped their second straight to LA and have now lost four of six, also looked confused for most of the night. They went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and most of those blown chances came during the first four innings against Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda.

Kuroda was vulnerable early on, when the Mets took a 4-1 lead despite stranding eight in the process. Once reliever Hong Chih-Kuo entered in the fourth, with two runners on and one out, they realized their mistake. Kuo struck out Carlos Delgado and Angel Pagan to finish that inning and did not allow a hit before handing the ball over to Jonathan Broxton for the eighth.

Broxton allowed a two-out double to Church, but froze David Wright with a 97-mph fastball. Closer Takashi Saito gave up a pair of two-out singles in the ninth inning before getting Luis Castillo to look at a curve ball for strike three as the Dodgers won for the 11th time in 12 games.

“Way too many missed opportunities,” manager Willie Randolph said. “You set yourself up for a fall when you get that many opportunities early and don’t take advantage of it. It’s no secret. We’ve got to start swinging the bats better.”

Church smacked his fifth homer in the first inning, but grounded into a 1-2-3 double play with the bases loaded and none out in the second. David Wright struck out three times and has whiffed five times in his last eight at-bats.

Carlos Beltran, who was among the group that showed up for early batting practice yesterday, turned out to a late scratch because of flu-like symptoms. He struck out against Broxton as a pinch hitter in the eighth.

“When you see the Dodgers, everything seems to be going their way,” said Nelson Figueroa, who threw 104 pitches over five innings and took the loss. “That’s what winning baseball looks like. Right now, we’re pressing. Everyone wants to step up and be the guy to right the ship, but it takes more than one guy.”

Randolph refused to officially announce last night’s lineup until hearing from Moises Alou, who didn’t get to the clubhouse yesterday until 4:45 p.m. Still in his street clothes, Alou walked straight into the manager’s office and emerged with a smile on his face. Asked if he was playing, Alou replied, “You were waiting for me, too?”

Randolph wants to take it slow with the 41-year-old Alou, who just returned from a two-month stay on the disabled list. But when Alou does get the green light, there’s no holding him back. That was evident in the third inning, when the hustling Alou probably made Randolph nervous with his aggressiveness on the basepaths.

Alou reached on DeWitt’s error, then sprinted from first to third on Delgado’s single to centerfield. After coming in hard with a headfirst slide, Alou needed a few minutes to compose himself and walked around the coach’s box to catch his breath. He didn’t have very long to rest.

Two outs later, Alou was part of a double-steal with Castillo. And when the throw went through to second base, Alou bolted for home. Shortstop Chin-lung Hu cut off the throw, but double-clutched before firing to the plate and Alou again went headfirst to score on a daring play that wasn’t even that close.

Alou popped up, slapped hands with an excited Jose Reyes in the on-deck circle and received a hero’s welcome when he returned to the dugout. It was the Mets’ first steal of home since Beltran did it on Aug. 10, 2005 in San Diego and marked the fourth time for Alou, whose last one came in 2006 with the Giants.

Gameday Live 31: Mets at Dodgers

2008-05-07T01:39:45Z

Hey everyone! Katie here for blogging duty tonight.

Tonight's game:

After getting skipped in the rotation because of last week's rain-out, Nelson Figueroa (2-1, 4.08) will be on the mound for the Mets tonight. Although he may be a little out of sync, Figueroa did pitch in relief during Perez' atrocious less-than-2 inning appearance last week. One thing to note, however, is that Brian Schneider will be catching him tonight. Usually Raul Casanova is the man for Figueroa, so we'll see if that has any effect on him tonight. Dodgers' RHP Hiroki Kuroda (1-2, 3.82) will get the start for LA tonight.

Put on a pot of coffee and prepare yourself for what will inevitably be a Wednesday full of sleep-deprived mistakes at work......

Top 1st
Batting second, Ryan Church homers to center. http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spminsider025670850may02,0,4151897.story
(Dave you better be patting yourself on the back right now!) Alou is batting clean-up now. No word yet on what happened to Beltran.
1-0 Mets

Bottom 1st
Two walks for Figueroa. What a dive by Wright to snag Loney's line drive, helping to get Figgy out of trouble.
1-0 Mets

Top 2nd
Pagan and Schneider with base hits. Update on Beltran: Flu-like symptoms. Castillo with a grounder that scores Pagan. With the bases loaded, Reyes gets an RBI to make it 3-0 with 0 outs. A 1-2-3 double play and a David Wright-strikeout sends it to the bottom of the 2nd. The Mets have been struggling recently against righties. Not tonight.
3-0 Mets

Bottom 2nd
Dodgers get on the board after DeWitt scores on a Juan Pierre-grounder to Church. Castillo, after getting pulled off the bag on the throw to second tags out Pierre, who slides past the base. Nice second effort there
3-1 Mets

Top 3rd
Alou manages to sneak one past DeWitt who muffs one for an error. Next play and Alou hustles to 3rd on Delgado's single. Aggressive base-running, not to mention impressive speed from a 41 year-old. And then he steals home. Hernia surgery what? Reyes can't convert with bases loaded and two on, but Kuroda is laboring.
4-1 Mets

Bottom 3rd
David Wright makes another great play on Kent's bullet to third to save a run. Loney grounds one past Castillo and Pagan's bobble allows Kent to take third. Figgy gives up his fourth walk to load the bases. DeWitt with a 2-run RBI that slips past Delgado to pull the Dodgers within 1.
4-3 Mets

Top 4th
Hong-Chih Kuo in to relieve Kuroda after both Wright and Alou get on base. Kuo then comes through with two K's.
4-3 Mets

Bottom 4th
Two outs and Andruw Jones, batting only .157, gets on base with a ground ball to center. Next batter and Kemp's line drive finds Wright's glove for the third out.
4-3 Mets

Top 5th
Kuo's really bringing the heat. 9 pitches, 9 strikes. Then he beans Castillo in the left knee. That one's gonna leave a mark. Remember Castillo doesn't have good knees to begin with....
Two on and one out and Kuo strikes out Reyes in a 9-pitch battle; Kuo then nabs his 5th K on Church.
4-3 Mets

Bottom 5th
DeWitt rips a two-run inside-the park homer to put LA up one run. Church almost makes the play at the wall, but can't get a handle on it. Wright with a throwing error allows Hu to first. "Yikes" inning for the Mets.
5-4 Dodgers

Top 6
2 K's and an Alou foul-out. Kuo is NOT messing around. He's struck out seven already in relief.
5-4 Dodgers

Bottom 6
Two away and Kemp singles, then steals second. Heilman induces a grounder to short to escape the inning.
5-4 Dodgers

Top 7th
Kuo is hitless through 3 2/3 innings. Eight strikeouts. Really making things difficult for the Mets.
5-4 Dodgers

Bottom 7th
Besides that error, Wright is playing some inspired baseball. Three great plays at third for him tonight. 1-2-3 inning for Heilman
5-4 Dodgers

Top 8th
Two outs and Church hits one to the right corner for a double. Wright strikes out for the third time tonight. He's 0-for-4, and things aren't looking good for the Mets with runners in scoring position, as per usual.
5-4 Dodgers

Bottom 8th
Joe Smith, in for Feliciano, holds off the Dodgers, but now the Mets bats have to do their part.
5-4 Dodgers

Top 9th
2 outs and both Pagan and Schneider with base hits. Castillo up to the plate, but Saito seals it up with a K to end the game.
Final score:
5-4 Dodgers

Suitable for framing (or burning)

2008-05-06T17:43:56Z

I know this is a Mets blog, with plenty of Mets fans as readers, so I'm sure this audience must take some guilty pleasure in stories about the demise of Roger Clemens. Well, as a bonus today, you can print out this Newsday back page and tack it on to your dartboard, use it to train a puppy or perhaps line your birdcage.

There's a number of reasons for Mets fans to despise Clemens, leading with the most obvious -- first drilling Mike Piazza in the head with a 95-mph fastball and later, in the World Series, hurling a broken-bat at him. Kind of gets those old emotions flowing just reading that, doesn't it? Well, rest assured that Clemens-haters are getting the last laugh now. Maybe there is something to this karma thing after all.

Plus, a little blind rage can provide some escapism from the Ollie Perez follies, which continued in last night's 5-1 loss to the Dodgers. OK, so Perez had better control, but his home runs (3) still outnumbered his walks (2). That's not a great stat.

If you're looking for a silver lining in the surprising number of clouds here in SoCal -- have I stopped complaining about the weather yet? -- Carlos Delgado is now batting .216 (and climbing!) after his rocket double down the rightfield line last night. He also grounded into the overshift for a double play, but it's better than 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

Delgado, who just became the home-run king of Puerto Rico, does seem to be on the upswing, however, and maybe his quest for 500 homers will fuel this resurgence.Also from last night, manager Willie Randolph denied being away from negative Shea was a boost for his team, and insisted that these Mets will make their fans "proud" before this season is over.