Game #74: Mets 3, A's 2 (13)

New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes turns double play against the A's Wednesday. (NYDailyNews.com)

Last week, the Mets lost an extra-inning game on a balk. Consider us even.

Justin Turner delivered the bases-loaded hit...by pitch in the 13th inning, giving the Mets their first walk-off win of the season, 3-2, over the Athletics.

The Good Stuff:

• Justin Turner continues to find ways to bring runners home from scoring position, picking up 2 more RBIs. The first came in the 8th. With the score tied 1-1, Jose Reyes hit a deep triple (his 13th of the year), and Turner brought him home on a single. Then in the 13th, after singles by Lucas Duda and Daniel Murphy and a Reyes walk, Turner took the first pitch from Oakland U-boat hurler Brad Ziegler in the left thigh,, giving the Mets the well-deserved victory.
• In addition to scoring the winning run, Duda came through in the 2nd inning as well. After Scott Hairston doubled and Ronny Paulino singled him over to third, Duda struck a groundball into right field, putting the Mets on the board.
• He won't get the win, but R.A. Dickey sure as heck deserved it tonight. The ol' knuckleballer tossed 8 innings of 3-hit ball, walking one and striking out 9. The one mistake he made all night was a knuckler that didn't dance, which was deposited in the left field bleachers by Oakland's Kurt Suzuki. But after Turner's heroics, he was in line for the win in the 9th. But he didn't get it. Why? See below.

The Bad Stuff:

• Fransisco Rodriguez started a new streak...a streak of blown saves. In his first chance since the balk-off game in Atlanta, K-Rod struck out the first, gave up a Coco Crisp double, then struck out another. After Crisp stole third, Frankie got Conor Jackson down to his final strike. But Rodriguez missed on a fastball, putting it front and center for Jackson, who lashed it into left and tied the game. He was don't this during his 19-game save streak, and it was excusable when he was getting guys out. But you can only play with fire so many times before you get burned, and in his last two outings, K-Rod got burned.
• After a promising 3-hit performance yesterday, Jason Bay slipped up once again, going 0-5 with 3 Ks. Terry Collins had moved him to cleanup after yesterday's homer and long triple, but I think he rushed him back to the 4-hole too quickly. Too much pressure there. I would have kept Bay at 6 for a few more games, and then if he kept it up move him to 5, then to 4. But the jump from 6 to 4 after one good game? Mistake.
• RISP was pretty good in the regular innings but fell flat in extras. All-in-all, the Mets went 3-11 and stranded 15 runners, including leaving the bases loaded in the 12th.

Final Analysis:
It took a blown save and 4 more innings to do it, but the Mets pulled out a win, cutting off the losing streak at an acceptable 2. New York has been playing like a pendulum all season; let's hope it's swinging back onto the winning side.

The Mets end their series against the A's tomorrow afternoon, then embark on their toughest task all season. 3 games in Texas. 3 games in Detroit. 3 at Citi against the Yankees. Then 6 games in California, 3 each at the Dodgers and Giants. Oy. All I'll say is it's better to hit the road with a win than with a loss.

More bad news: Ike Davis' ankle injury is not healing, and now it appears he may need surgery and will be lost for the season. Without Davis' bat, the Mets will have to keep winning games like it was 1918: with good pitching, doubles, and lots of speed.

MM