Game #40: Blue Jays 2, Mets 0

Miguel Batista, left, the game in the third inning with lower-back discomfort. (NYTimes.com)

After 14 runs yesterday, Toronto may have, in fact, used up all their offense for today. Trouble is, so did New York, and they only got 5 last night.

The Mets couldn't get anything going against Brandon Morrow and were robbed of a chance when they did in the 9th as the Blue Jays clinched the series, 2-0.

The Bad Stuff:

• For 8 innings the Mets had no answer for Toronto ace Brandon Morrow, who finished with a 3-hit shutout in just over two hours.
• But when Morrow crossed the 100-pitch mark in the 9th, things got interesting. Scott Hairston led off with a 4-pitch walk (Morrow's only BB of the game), and two batters later Mike Baxter laced a line drive to the corner in right. Jose Bautista, who showed off his arm in the 7th just missing getting Lucas Duda out on a double, appeared to get the ball late to Jays' shortstop Yunel Escobar, who missed Baxter with the tag as Mike slid safely in to second. But umpire Brian Knight called Baxter out, blowing the call as the replay showed the tag was not even close. So instead of the tying runs on second and third with 1 out, New York had just Hairston on third with 2 down. Daniel Murphy would line out to end the game, and the Mets stayed in the dugout to stare down the umpires before departing into the the Rogers Centre visitors clubhouse, their case unheard as 34,962 Canadians celebrated above.
• Miguel Batista departed after just 2 innings and 39 pitches with lower back pain. All I can say to that is, well...yeah! The man's 41! Shame it happened but I'm not surprised in the slightest.

The Good Stuff:

• Between Batista and the man who replaced him, the Mets got a quality start. Jeremy Hefner, fresh up from close-by Buffalo, went 5 innings in relief and allowed just the two runs (it might've been none but Andres Torres's error in center in the 5th led to the game's only scores). Hefner's now pitched 8 innings in the bigs and allowed 2 runs. With the New York rotation in limbo and Batista's timetable for recovery uncertain, I wouldn't mind seeing Hefner, the Pride of Perkins, Oklahoma, getting the start the next time through (likely next Thursday at home against the Padres).

Final Analysis:
Ron Darling had it right when he said Brandon Morrow was throwing "Verlandian" towards the end of the game: this guy's really good and the Blue Jays are going to ride his stuff a long way this season. It was a rough loss for the Mets, but with David Wright off for the day and a soon-to-be ace on the mound for the home team, it takes the sting out of the loss a little bit.

It doesn't take the sting out of the fact that the Mets have now lost 6 of 9, however. Every team hits their rough patches, let's just hope it lasts a couple weeks instead of a couple months.

MM