Game #90: Pirates 4, Mets 2

Harvey Day may have been skipped, but the New York bullpen made it feel familiar by blowing the lead for Matt's replacement.

Carlos Torres was solid but the Mets allowed four unanswered Pirate runs, falling in the game (and series) 4-2.

The Bad Stuff:

• Up 2-1 in the 6th, David Aardsma allowed Pittsburgh to tie it on Andrew McCutchen's home run. Then in the 7th, Greg Burke made it much worse, allowing three singles that led to the go-ahead run and eventually walking in a fourth for the Bucs.
• New York hit just 1-11 with RISP and stranded 10 men on base. It only took Pirates closer Jason Grilli eight pitches to put the Mets away in the 9th.

The Good Stuff:

• Carlos Torres did his best Matt Harvey impression in his first starting appearance, allowing a single run on five hits in five solid innings, walking none and striking out five on 80 pitches.
• Marlon Byrd went 2-3 with a walk, run, and RBI, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis's RBI double put the Mets on top 1-0 in the 4th.
• Eric Young went 2-4 and stole a base; Daniel Murphy and David Wright also swiped bags in the game.
• Bobby Parnell struck out the side in his breezy 8th inning.

Final Analysis:
Since Jeremy Hefner's ascension to full-fledged starter, the Mets have been in dire need of a long man in the bullpen, but they may have found their guy in Carlos Torres, who proved more than capable in his starting debut. It was a shame he couldn't get the W out of his effort, but he'll have other chances. Just hopefully not at the expense of Harvey.

MM

Game #89: Pirates 3, Mets 2 (11)

I suppose we should count ourselves fortunate that the boys only had to play 11 innings tonight.

Jordy Mercer's walk-off single off Gonzalez Germen capped a back-and-forth affair the Mets valiantly failed to stay on top of, as the Pirates took the opener 3-2.

The Bad Stuff:

• This is not the way you want to start your major league career. But that's exactly what Gonzalez Germen did when he entered the game in the bottom of the 11th: walk to Andrew McCutchen, strikeout of Pedro Alvarez, intentional walk of Russell Martin, strikeout of Gaby Sanchez, walk-off single by Jordy Mercer. After 0.2 innings, Germen's ERA stands at 13.50.
• The Mets had nine hits on the night but hit just 1-4 with RISP and stranded seven castaways on Basepaths Island (but don't worry, they'll all have a great time with the Harlem Globetrotters).

The Good Stuff:

(NYDailyNews.com)

• Aside from one pitch in the 1st inning that Pedro Alverez belted for a two-run homer, Jeremy Hefner was as good as ever in his Solid Seven innings, allowing just those two runs on three hits and no walks while striking out three on an efficient 78 pitches. If not for the need to produce runs in the top of the 8th, Hef probably could have pitched the full nine frames.
• David Wright's RBI single in the 6th put New York on the board, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis's solo jack in the 7th tied the score at 2-2.
• Eric Young, Daniel Murphy, and Wright each had two hits, accounting for 66% of the team's total on the night.
• After giving up a leadoff double to Starling Marte to start the 9th, the Met bullpen had one of its most impressive innings of the whole season. Jose Tabata bunted Marte over to third, then after David Aardsma intentionally walked McCutchen, Scott Rice was brought on to face the dangerous Alvarez. But Rice overwhelmed Alvarez, striking him out on five pitches (just one ball). Greg Burke was brought on to face Martin and ultimately failed, issuing a full count walk to load the bases. This brought up Sanchez to the plate and Josh Edgin in from the bullpen. After falling behind 2-0, Edgin got Sanchez to bite on a a fastball and send a weak groundball to Ike Davis at first. Threat averted, extras achieved.
• Despite the two extra frames, tonight's game only went three hours and thirty-two minutes, highlighting the efficiency of both Hefner and his counterpart, Charlie Morton.

Final Analysis:
It's hard to fault the Mets too much for this loss. They played hard in what's becoming a hostile environment with every Pittsburgh win, fighting back to force extras. Can't argue with that, even if the result isn't what we wanted.

Jeremy Hefner continues to impress. Take away that single pitch to Alvarez and he's probably got a complete-game shutout. A while back people ironically declared joy over "Hefner Day," but he keeps this up and the irony will disappear faster than the opposition lineup against him.

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 #68: Braves 5, Mets 3

In a game closer than it should have been, New York barely missed out on stealing one from Atlanta.

Shaun Marcum gave up five runs in less than five innings and the Mets couldn't get enough offense going on their own, falling to the Braves 5-3.

The Bad Stuff:

• Shaun Marcum didn't help his case to stay in the rotation after Zack Wheeler's full integration, allowing five runs on six hits and four walks in 4.2 innings, striking out six on 96 pitches. Every Brave run came with two outs (Chris Johnson's three-run homer in the 4th, a wild pitch and B.J. Upton double in the 5th).
• The Mets managed one earned run and six hits off Kris Medlen in seven innings and failed to record a hit off Luis Avilan and Craig Kimbrel in the 8th and 9th. Overall, they had just three at-bats with RISP, collecting one hit and stranding two men on base.

The Good Stuff:

• After falling behind 3-0 in the 4th, New York fought back to tie the game in the 5th. Marlon Byrd led off with a single and Lucas Duda was hit by the pitch. John Buck then grounded to the pitcher, but Medlen tossed it away from third base and eventually both Byrd and Duda scored. Buck went to second and was immediately driven in by Kirk Nieuwenhuis (who should have had two hits if not for a spectacular catch by Jordan Schafer in right on a line drive in the 3rd).
• Carlos Torres tossed 2.1 scoreless innings in relief, keeping his ERA spotless in a couple appearances. David Aardsma and Scott Rice followed by combining for a scoreless 8th.

Final Analysis:
Shaun Marcum doesn't deserve the 0-9 record he's been dealt, but he certainly deserved the L tonight. After the six-man rotation plays out for the next few weeks, don't be surprised to see Marcum lose his job, especially with Dillon Gee and Jeremy Hefner each pitching so well.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis is finally making good, consistent contact with the ball after months of frustration. Definitely this is a good sign for a man who's had more hits in the past week than he had in the 18 major-league games before.

Tomorrow night the Mets finish up their long series in Atlanta looking to win the five-game series. Jonathon Niese will get the ball opposite Mike Minor; he will look to follow the great performances of Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Dillon Gee (he was great for most of Monday night!) with a signature outing of his own.

MM