Game #115: Mets 9, Diamondbacks 5

New York is used to power pitching, but today they got power from the other side of the plate.

(NYDailyNews.com)

Home runs by Andrew Brown and Wilmer Flores backed Jonathon Niese's solid return as the Mets took the series from the D'backs 9-5.

The Good Stuff:

• Jonathon Niese returned to the mound after his DL stint and was relatively solid for six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out five on 83 pitches.
• The Mets got four unearned runs in the top of the 1st when Paul Goldschmidt mishandled Mike Baxter's (he's back?) hard groundball with the bases loaded. Another run went on the board in the 3rd when Omar Quintanilla singled home Ike Davis (Baxter was thrown out at the plate on the same play).
• The deciding runs came in the 7th inning when Andrew Brown smashed a pinch-hit three-run homer that made it 8-4.
• Wilmer Flores added one more run in the 9th with his first career home run, a solo shot to opposite field that resulted in the ninth RBI of his week-old career.

The Bad Stuff:

• Eric Young struggled once again at the plate, going 0-4. He had but one hit in the entire Arizona series and is only batting .182 in his last 10 games.

Final Analysis:
It's good to see Jonathon Niese back on the mound. He won't be able to get away with four runs every game, but I think a bit of leeway can be given in this, his first major league start in nearly two months.

Wilmer Flores looks awfully good at the plate, and he's going to make Terry Collins's job hard when David Wright comes back, as Flores can be easily put at first base.

A 5-1 record and series wins against two thorny NL West rivals - I'd say that's a good week to be a Mets fan. Hopefully the West Coast magic can continue in Los Angeles and San Diego this week.

MM

Game #114: Mets 4, Diamondbacks 1

The only thing that dried up for New York in the desert tonight was Zack Wheeler's biggest weakness.

(NYDailyNews.com)

Wheeler went 6.1 innings without walking anyone, his first walkless major league start, and the Mets offense was paced by Wilmer Flores to the tune of a 4-1 victory over the D'Backs.

The Good Stuff:

• Zack Wheeler continues to improve on the mound, as he allowed one run on six hits in 6.1 innings without allowing a walk, striking out four on 106 pitches.
• Juan Lagares got the scoring going with an opposite-field solo homer in the 4th inning. He finished the day 2-5 with another run and a stolen base.
• Wilmer Flores drove in another run in the 4th, singling home Ike Davis (after Ike's double) to make it 2-0. Later on, in the 8th, Flores again came through with a two-out, two-run single to give the NY bullpen a much-needed cushion.
• After Wheeler's departure, Scott Rice managed his way through the rest of the 7th unharmed, while Carlos Torres and Pedro Feliciano combined for a scoreless 8th and LaTroy Hawkins took care of the 9th for his third save.

The Bad Stuff:

• Uhh...the Arizona air is bad for chapped lips?

Final Analysis:
The Mets' youth movement keeps shining on in August, as Zack Wheeler, Wilmer Flores, and Juan Lagares led the team to bounce back from its tough loss last night. There isn't much else to be said, except Mets fans should be very excited for the next few years.

MM

Game #113: Diamondbacks 5, Mets 4

Marlon Byrd missed clearing the Great Wall of Phoenix by that much. Paul Goldschmidt didn't.

Goldschmidt hit a walk-off home run off Scott Atchison as the D-backs put away Jeremy Hefner and the Mets 5-4.

The Bad Stuff:

• Jeremy Hefner's late-summer swoon continued as he allowed four runs on eight hits in five-plus innings, walking three and striking out just one.
• Despite coming back to tie the game, the Mets missed many opportunities to score, going 3-13 with RISP and stranding seven.
• Bad luck by Marlon Byrd cost New York what would have been its first run of the game in the 2nd inning: Byrd hit a moon shot that bounced off the high outfield wall at Chase Field. The carom sent the ball all sorts of directions, and Byrd looked to fly home with an inside-the-parker. It was not to be, though, as he was called out at the plate on a bang-bang play. Call it the most disappointing triple of his career (although it was his fifth of the season - nothing to scoff at).

The Good Stuff:

• Justin Turner had his first big game of the summer, going 2-4 and driving in three runs.
• Wilmer Flores went 0-4 but had an RBI on a groundout that tied the game in the 8th.

Final Analysis:
Jonathon Niese is due back this weekend. I guess we won't have to sweat over deciding who gets demoted to the bullpen. At the All-Star Break Jeremy Hefner and Dillon Gee were neck-and-neck for the long-term job in the back of the rotation, but whereas Gee has excelled recently, Hefner has not. Looks like we've got our long man back.

MM

Game #82: Diamondbacks 5, Mets 4 (15)

There were plenty of fireworks at Citi Field on the Fourth of July. Unfortunately for the home team, they ran out one inning too late.

The Diamondbacks retook the lead for the third consecutive inning in the 15th and the Mets couldn't put up a third miracle, falling in the series finale 5-4.

The Last Three Innings:

• Top of the 13th: New York's David Aardsma walks in Arizona's go-ahead run with the bases loaded, D-Backs lead 3-2.
• Bottom of the 13th: Anthony Recker hits a two-out solo home run off Heath Bell to tie the game at 3-3.
• Top of the 14th: Martin Prado singles in the go-ahead run against Brandon Lyon, D-Backs lead 4-3.
• Bottom of the 14th: Kirk Nieuwenhuis hits an opposite field home run off Chaz Roe that just clears the top of the fence, game tied 4-4.
• Top of the 15th: Cliff Pennington singles off Scott Rice, D-Backs lead 5-4.
• Bottom of the 15th: Mets get runners on second and third against Brad Ziegler with two out, but Nieuwenhuis grounds out to the first baseman to end the game. D-Backs win 5-4.

The Bad Stuff:

• The Mets managed just four runs off 10 hits, bat 1-13 with RISP, and strand 14 men on base.
• Eric Young and Daniel Murphy were helpless at the top of the order, going a combined 0-10.
• Multiple times David Wright had the chance to make Captain America the hero on the Fourth of July. Clearly, it didn't work out. Maybe the sequel will be better.

The Good Stuff:

• Dillon Gee engaged Ian Kennedy in a pitcher's duel and notched another quality start, allowing two runs on six hits in seven innings, walking two and striking out seven on 97 pitches.
• Carlos Torres got New York through a scoreless 10th, 11th, and 12th.

Final Analysis:
Even if it didn't turn out right for the boys, what a game it must have been to play in! Down and out multiple times, coming back from the dead multiple times, it must have been incredible, if not frustrating.

More props to Gee for establishing himself as a lock in the rotation. And Carlos Torres is emerging as a more-than-capable long man, meaning Jeremy Hefner is all but assured a rotation slot for at least the rest of the year.

The Mets now hit the road for their final trip before the All-Star Break. Their first stop is in Milwaukee to take on the Brewers in a series of games I will be attending. Thanks to Muskegon, Michigan for having a ferry that goes to Milwaukee.

MM

Game #81: Diamondbacks 5, Mets 3

Turns out the team from Arizona is full of fast learners who took rather quickly to "when it rains, it pours."

Matt Harvey's shutout was ruined by five runs between the 6th and 7th innings and the Mets couldn't muster more than three solo home runs, falling to the D'Backs 5-3.

The Bad Stuff:

• It wasn't a no-hitter, but for 5.2 innings Matt Harvey was lights-out on the mound. Then with two on and two out in the 6th, Cody Ross, the would-be hero of Monday night, took a 1-0 slider and deposited it just over the shortest part of the left field fence. All of a sudden a 2-0 Harvey Day turned into a 3-2 deficit.
• Things didn't get much better in the 7th as Harvey failed to record an out before being yanked. His final line looked much different from his big-league debut in Arizona: 6+ IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 9 K, 110 P.
• Aside from a handful of guys, the Met offense couldn't get anything going against Randall Delgado and company: they had just one at-bat with RISP and left five men on base.

The Good Stuff:

• Eric Young, Daniel Murphy, and David Wright each had two hits, with Wright and Murph launching solo shots in the 4th and 8th respectively.
• Josh Satin reached the pinnacle of his hot streak with his first career home run, a solo shot in the 4th to put New York up 2-0.
• Paid attendance was 41,257. Not all of them returned after the two-hour rain delay, but a combination of Harvey Day and pre-Fourth of July produced one of Citi Field's biggest crowds of the season.

Final Analysis:
Limited as they were, the New York offense did their job in getting Matt Harvey a multi-run cushion. It was Harvey who didn't hold up his end of the deal tonight.

I saw this photo manipulation on MetsBlog earlier today, and it makes me think that we may be putting too much pressure on Harvey to be the savior of the franchise. Don't get me wrong, on the exterior he certainly takes it well, but it must be tough knowing that every time you step on a big-league mound the world expects you to throw a no-hitter.

A couple rainouts delayed it, but the Mets have officially reached the halfway point of the 2013 season, and their record stands at a fourth-place 34-45. Is it great? No, but isn't it what we expected? Recently they've gotten a lot better: with tonight's loss they've won 11 of their last 18. Keep winning at that clip for the rest of the year and they're in playoff contention. "Ya Gotta Believe," right?

MM

Game #80: Mets 9, Diamondbacks 1

The Arizona Diamondbacks found out something they aren't used to hearing about: when it rains, it pours.

(NYDailyNews.com)

New York pounded out seven runs in a rain-extended 7th inning as the Mets dealt Patrick Corbin his first defeat of the season, taking the game from the D'Backs 9-1.

The Good Stuff:

• We missed a Matt Harvey-Patrick Corbin matchup by just one day, but the way Jeremy Hefner was dealing tonight you might have mistaken him for Harvey. After a remarkable June, Hef started out July in the same way, going the Solid Seven with one run and four hits against, including two walks and six strikeouts. He had already thrown 97 before the rains came, so his night was most likely done even if the game had not been delayed for an hour and 41 minutes.
• Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 7th, David Wright led off with a single and went to third on Marlon Byrd's double. Up came Josh Satin to play the hero once again, as his double sent Wright home and Byrd to third just before the tarp came out. The tarp was brought out after Andrew Brown's walk, which was Corbin's first of the night and his last set of pitches.
• Three pitches after the game resumed, Anthony Recker added to his 5th-inning solo home run with an RBI single to make it 3-1. Omar Quintanilla then drove in two more with a single of his own. After Daniel Murphy reached on a fielder's choice, Eric Young doubled to plate both runners, and Juan Lagares capped the seven-run 7th with a single to score Young.
• Quintanilla drove in the Mets' final run on a single in the bottom of the 8th to provide the final margin.
• In a night when all eight positional starters got a hit, these men's final lines stand out:
• Juan Lagares (2-4, 2B, RBI)
• Josh Satin (1-3, 2B, 2 R, BB, RBI)
• Anthony Recker (2-4, HR, 2 RBI)
• Omar Quintanilla (2-4, R, 3 RBI)
• The boys from New York hit 6-8 with RISP en route to scoring more than five runs at home for the first time in 30 games.
• LaTroy Hawkins and Brandon Lyon dealt scoreless innings to bring it home.

The Bad Stuff:

• Some people had to leave early from the rains and missed the offensive downpour of the home team. But at least they left knowing the Mets were up.

Final Analysis:
The New York Mets have won 11 of their last 17 games. How have they done it?

First, Jeremy Hefner has been pitching less like an emergency starter and more like a bona-fide veteran. His ERA dropped to an impressively regular 3.54 after tonight's fantastic outing and stands at 2.20 in his last eight starts.

Second, Josh Satin has been playing like a man on fire. Tonight he extended his hitting streak to eight games and has gotten on base in each of his last 13. Since June 18, he has put up other worldly numbers, hitting .421 with six RBIs and an OPS of 1.147, better than that of even Yasiel Puig over the same timeframe. Satin's been so good, he's got my dad wondering if Ike Davis and Lucas Duda know how to say "Wally Pipp."

Third, Satin is lead a pack of fresh, young blood looking to make the most of what may be their only chance in the big leagues. Juan Lagares is finally coming around with a bat as good as his glove. Omar Quintanilla is making a bid to supplant Ruben Tejada as the team's shortstop. Eric Young flashed his brilliant speed once again and came through in the clutch.

The Mets are playing their best baseball of 2013. Who knows how long it will last? Does it matter? My advice to Amazin' fans: sit back and enjoy the ride.

MM

Game #79: Mets 5, Diamondbacks 4 (13)

Now that was what I call a come-from-behind victory.

(NYTimes.com)

The Mets overcame two late deficits as Andrew Brown's two-out, two-strike, two-run single won the game over the D-Backs in the 13th inning.

The Good Stuff:

• The rally started in the 7th inning when the Mets, down 3-0, got one run on a David Wright single to score Eric Young.
• With one out in the bottom of the 8th, Omar Quintanilla tripled on a ball Gerardo Parra just couldn't get to. After Parra left the game for "precautionary reasons" (no further explanation given), Jordany Valdespin popped up harmlessly in foul ground. That brought up Young, who returned the favor from the 7th by doubling home Mr. Q to make it 3-2.
• With one out on the bottom of the 9th, Marlon Byrd just missed winning it with a home run, but instead settled for a double and the tying run, coming in on Josh Satin's clutch single three pitches later. Tie ballgame, extra innings.
• After three deadlocked frames, the 13th started on a bleak note when Cody Ross took David Aardsma deep to put Arizona back up 4-3. But Satin would conjure up another miracle in the bottom of the inning, lacing a one-out double after working a six-pitch at-bat with Josh Collmenter. After John Buck was intentionally walked, Matt Harvey laid down a perfect pinch-hit sac bunt to put the winning run in scoring position. After Quintanilla was intentionally walked, young Andrew Brown came up with the game in his hands. After fouling off two straight cutters, Brown got a good rip on Collmenter's fastball, launching a rocket into left center that would have cleared the bases. But the Mets only needed two runs, and as Buck crossed the plate to provide the final 5-4 margin, he joined his teammates in crowding the young hero of the night.
• And this is where it will get confusing on this blog: because of Justin Turner's DL stint, no one was able to give Brown the pie-in-the-face he deserved. Midwestern Met's Pieface Tracker is meant to keep track of walk-off hits, which are typically celebrated with piefaces. Therefore, as much as I despise the use of asterisks, Andrew Brown's walkoff for the night must be included in the list with distinction because of a lack of whipped cream for the occasion.
• And now back to our regularly scheduled recap.
• The best offensive performances of the night belong to the triumvirate of Marlon Byrd, Josh Satin, and Omar Quintanilla, who each had three hits over the 13 innings. Satin, in addition to two more doubles, walked once to get on base four times, while Mr. Q did him one better with two walks and five appearances on base.
• Despite a rough start to the game, Shaun Marcum still ended up with a quality start, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks over six innings. He did not let the D-Backs score after the 2nd.

The Bad Stuff:

• It was a thrilling win, but it shouldn't have been that way, as the Mets stranded 20 men on base, including at least a dozen in scoring position. In the first two innings alone they left the bases loaded and left runners on second and third, respectively.
• Jordany Valdespin's time in New York continues to run short, as he failed to come through in the clutch after so many successes. 'Spin is now hitting .197 on the year, far to little to justify "Jordany Being Jordany."

Final Analysis:
Now that's how you win a ballgame! They weren't quite as strong as they could have, but all three major factors eventually came together as the Mets pulled one out of the fire. The only thing that could have made it better was doing it off of Heath Bell. But there are three more games, of course...

Josh Satin waited a long time for his chance, and boy is he making the most of it: in 15 games and nine starts, he's hitting .395 with an OPS over 1.000, and at this pace he would hit 50 doubles in a full season. Ike Davis could be tearing it up in Las Vegas, but as far as I'm concerned, first base is Josh Satin's to lose now.

MM