Game #121: Mets 5, Padres 4 (10)

Jason Isringhausen pumps his fist after recording his 300th career save in the Mets' 5-4 extra-innings victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday night. (NYDailyNews.com)

On a busy night for baseball history, Jason Isringhausen got himself piece.

On the night when Jim Thome hit his 600th career home run and the Milwaukee Brewers turned a triple play, Izzy earned himself his 300th career save, shutting down the Padres in the 10th inning and giving the Mets a much-needed 5-4 victory.

The Good Stuff:

• After taking the lead in the top of the 10th on Scott Hairston's run-scoring fielder's choice, Isringhausen came on the mound stuck on 299. After striking out the first man he faced, he walked one and allowed a single. In steps Ruben Tejada, who made two pretty nice plays at short to get the last two outs and putting Izzy in elite company as the 23rd member of the 300 Save Club. After making the cut in basically a tryout this March, I'll be few expected Jason to reach 300 saves this year. The safer bet was that Francisco Rodriguez would get there first. But in a strange twist of fate, it was Izzy the Met closer getting it faster than K-Rod, now the Brew Crew's set-up man (and still stuck at 291, closest to the mark after Izzy). Congrats, Izzy! The capstone of a great career.
• On to the other side of the plate. Lucas Duda led off the 2nd with a solo home run off Aaron Harang (he finished 3-4). Then after Jason Pridie walked, Josh Thole surprised many with a longball of his own, capping a 3-run 2nd.
• Thole added another run in the 4th with an RBI single to make it 4-1. He finished the day a spotless 3-3 with 2 walks.
• R.A. Dickey was in line for the win after 6 1/3 innings of 3 run, 7 hit ball, walking 1 and striking out 4.

The Bad Stuff:

• The reason for Dickey being "in line" for the win instead of "winning?" Bobby Parnell. The young fireballer's struggles continued, as he allowed the tying run in the 8th inning after a walk, a stolen base, and a single. His ERA has risen to 4.31 and he's 0-2 with a 6.75 spot in his past 10 outings.
• Jason Bay appears to be on another downswing, going 0-4 and striking out once. Let's hope this one doesn't last too long and he's back on a hot streak soon.

Final Analysis:
Oh, we needed this one. That cannot be understated. It snaps a 5-game losing streak, it gives one Met a special milestone, and it gives the team the upper hand on winning their first series at San Diego's PETCO Park. But most importantly, and most basically, it's a W. And a W is always better than an L.

MM

P.S. New York avoids last-minute drama in signing their top draft pick, signing 18-year-old Wyoming native Brandon Nimmo to a $2.1 million contract. Yes, he may not have had a high school team to play on, but he did play on an American Legion team. I served as P.A. announcer for my local Legion team this past year, and the competition is much better than you'd find in high school: the best high school players from around an area playing mostly 9 inning games. Nimmo may be considered a risk, but he has tremendous upside. Plus, we've now created Mets fans in the entire state of Wyoming. Take that, Yankees! How many Wyoming fans do you have?