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| Angel Pagan points to the Mets dugout after his walk-off home run in the 10th inning. (NYDailyNews.com) |
Pagan's walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th capped two comebacks and gave the Mets a series win over the Cardinals, 6-5.
The Good Stuff:
- New York fell behind early, trailing 4-0 after the top of the 3rd inning. But the fight showed up in the bottom half. Lucas Duda led of with a single, then new father Josh Thole laced a double to put a run on the board. What R.A. Dickey was lacking on the mound he made up for at the plate, hitting a single into left to score Thole and cut the St. Louis lead in half.
- Two innings later, Dickey was on the front end of another rally, leading off with a single. He was replaced by Jose Reyes at first after a fielder's choice, then with two out, Carlos Beltran worked the count full and blasted a wheelhouse fastball deep into the stands in right, just wide of where Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, and Keith Hernandez were calling the game for SNY. Spoiler alert: they would see more action later on in the game.
- After falling behind in the top of the 8th on a brilliant two-out bunt, the Amazin's fought their way back again. Pagan reached on an error and went to third after two groundouts. Thole, still on top of the world, dedicated another hit to his son Camden, tying the game on an RBI single.
- R.A. Dickey held down the fort after a rough start, lasting 6 1/3 and not allowing any more Cardinal runs. Jason Isringhausen continued his nostalgia tour in the 9th and pitched two scoreless innings, striking out Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Lance Berkman in succession along the way.
- With one out in the Met half of the 10th, Angel Pagan swung at Fernando Salas' first pitch, a fastball. Immediately tossing aside his bat, he knew there was no doubt about this one. It came just short of ending up in Gary, Ron, and Keith's lap, but it was far enough into the stands to give the Mets their first walk-off home run of the year, and earning a pie in the face from a sneaky Willie Harris.
- Jason Bay left the game in the 3rd with a tight hamstring. Hopefully it's nothing.
What a game! What a way to win it! Coming back from 4 down, then rallying again in the 8th, home runs, clutch hitting, announcers in the stands, and ESPN. I celebrated my 20th birthday today, and a win like this was a great way to end it. Thanks, Mets.
MM
This team as I said before is so enjoyable to watch, and can no longer be taken for granted or you'll miss something wonderful.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Angel - first walk off home run. His reaction was purely emotional, and it was almost as if he felt he was going to have a big hit and proved it to his teammates.
Hope nobody tries to nail him or Jose or Beltran in retaliation...
As for Jason Bay, I knew he had hurt himself running out that play to first base. He stepped a little bit ackwardly on the base. Hope it's not too bad, but he WILL be out, and for a little while.