Game #118: D'backs 4, Mets 3

New York Mets' Dillon Gee gets a new ball after giving up a home run to Justin Upton. (NYDailyNews.com)

I didn't watch last night's game. It was a long day, the Mets were already down 4-0, so I went to bed and decided to write in the morning. I expected to wake up to a bad result...imagine my disappointment: I was right.

Dillon Gee was hammered early and the Mets' offense provided too little too late in a 4-3 loss to the division-leading Diamondbacks.

The Bad Stuff:

• This one was lost in the 2nd inning. Dillon Gee allowed 4 runs in the first 2 frames, including 3 straight doubles in the 2nd that plated 3 D'backs. He got it under control and allowed no more in his final 3 innings, but the damage was done.
• New York managed one more hit than Arizona (8-7), but couldn't convert when the had the chances, stranding 9 and hitting 1-10 with RISP. They had the bases loaded with one out in the 4th, but back-to-back Ks by Ruben Tejada and Gee at the hands of 15-game winner Ian Kennedy killed that rally.

The Good Stuff:

• The Met bullpen kept the game from getting out of reach: Ryota Igarashi, Tim Byrdak, and Manny Acosta combined for 3 innings of 2-hit ball in relief.
• Jason Bay had a really good offensive day, going 3-4 with a double, a run, and an RBI. His recent hot streak has brought his batting average up to .254.
• Angel Pagan was reinstalled in the leadoff spot after missing the finale of the San Diego series and did just what a leadoff man should: he went 2-5 and scored a run.

Final Analysis:
In the middle of their late April six-game winning streak, the Mets swept the last-place Arizona Diamondbacks. Clearly, the tables have turned: the D'backs are not the last place team they were 3 months ago, now in first place in the NL West, just edging the Carlos Beltran-infused San Fransisco Giants. Arizona is full strength and playing for October, while the Mets...well, I don't need to tell you about that situation. All I can say is that this could turn out to be a long, long weekend for the team and NY-faithful.

MM

Ike Davis Update
Ike Davis, still dealing with that leg injury from Colorado in May, will decide on microfracture surgery by Labor Day. The procedure would put him on the shelf for 5 months, so the beginning of next year would even be in doubt. If you had told me in May that 3 months later we still wouldn't know the extent of Ike's injury from a silly collision, Slapsgiving would have come early this year. Then I would have sighed and thought, "Well, this is the Mets we're talking about."