Game #91: Mets 4, Pirates 2

Perhaps Terry Collins told his team they wouldn't get a break unless they won this game. Whatever he told them, it worked.

(NYDailyNews.com)

Dillon Gee's strong outing was backed by three 1st-inning runs and the Mets salvaged the final game of the series with the Pirates, 4-2.

The Good Stuff:

• Eric Young singled on Gerrit Cole's third pitch of the game and David Wright followed with a single two batters later. Marlon Byrd then put an exclamation point on a comeback first half with a ground-rule double to plate Young. Three batters later, John Buck came in to clean up the mess with a two-run single that gave Dillon Gee a three-run lead before he even took the mound.
• Pun intended, Gee ran with his run support for 6.2 innings, allowing an unearned run on five hits and a walk, striking out two on 105 pitches. The W gives Gee a 7-7 record on the season, a far cry from his 2-6 mark before the Yankee series. His ERA since that start is a sterling 2.67.
• Daniel Murphy added the fourth run of the game on an RBI triple.
• LaTroy Hawkins let in a run in the 8th but Pittsburgh would get no closer, as Bobby Parnell overcame a couple 9th-inning singles to shut the door on his 17th save of the year.

The Bad Stuff:

• Murphy and Gee each committed errors for the visitors, and Gee's in the 3rd led to the Pirates' first run.

Final Analysis:
The biggest reason for the Mets' 17-11 turnaround since June 16 is the lockdown starting pitching of Matt Harvey, Jeremy Hefner, and Dillon Gee. Those names don't exactly draw immediate comparisons to Seaver-Koosman-Matlack of 40 years ago, but they're certainly getting the job done for the 2013 New Yorkers. If Zack Wheeler comes around after the All-Star Break, it's going to be tough to beat the Mets in the last two months of the season.

MM

P.S. Congrats to Mike Piazza, who will soon be a member of the Mets Hall of Fame!

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

Weekly Recap, May 6-12

It's been a rough week for both my team and myself. Fortunately for me, after dealing with the cable company, a wireless router, and some nasty adware, I'm back up to full-speed. I wish the fix was as easy for the New York Mets. Here's what you missed this week on Midwestern Met.

Team Record: 2-4 (14-20 overall)
May 7-8, White Sox Series: T, 1-1
May 9-12, Pirates Series: L, 1-3

The Bad Stuff:

• Aside from Matt Harvey and Dillon Gee, the New York starting staff was, to put it nicely, sub-par. Jeremy Hefner, Shaun Marcum, and Jonathon Niese were shelled at the hands of the Chicago and Pittsburgh bats.
• The New York offense didn't fare much better, scoring fewer than three runs in every game on the homestand.
• Jordany Valdespin had some trouble in the Pittsburgh series, getting plunked on Saturday for admiring his home run in a blowout the night before. While his teammates supported them all they could within the baseball code, JV1 didn't quite understand why New York wouldn't retaliate for what he saw as a "baseless" beaning.

The Good Stuff:

• Matt Harvey, period. He came about as perfect as a pitcher can come without actually doing it, allowing a little dribbler of an infield hit on Tuesday that was the only blemish on a nine-inning, no-walk, 12 strikeout performance. While he wasn't nearly as good on Sunday, his numbers (two runs in seven innings) should have been good enough for the win. Instead of 6-0, though, he's stuck on 4-0. At least none of those was an L.
• Dillon Gee pitched well in his Thursday start, allowing a single run in five innings of work.
• The Whitestone Kid, Mike Baxter, made a name for himself during the week with two walk-off hits, a single in the 10th that broke the Tuesday tie with the Sox, and a 9th-inning base knock that offed the Pirates in the series opener. He was the recipient of two, count 'em, TWO, whipped cream pies in the face courtesy of Justin Turner (Buck would have broken his face for sure on the second).
• Juan Legares flashed his glove on multiple occasions, saving a home run on Thursday and coming up with a nifty shoestring-then-dive to help Harvey out on Sunday.

Final Analysis:
That Saturday's 11-2 blowout was on Banner Day was appropriate, as this was a Banner Week for all that is wrong with the Mets so far. The most disappointing slumps belong to Ike Davis (so painful to watch a repeat of 2012), Jonathon Niese (Opening Day starter and anchor of the staff coming into the season), and Daniel Murphy (should have been an All-Star starter with his start).

Still, as my boss over at Rising Apple points out, didn't we expect this from the beginning? Didn't w know this year was a wash on the road to contention? We know 2014 is when things will start to get better, so should we really be concerned that the team is under-preforming in 2013? In a way, no we shouldn't; the heart of the matter is that the Mets just don't have enough good ballplayers. They're temporary fixes, never meant to be part of the big picture. Rick Ankiel may not be the most desirable pickup, but he's only meant to be a stopgap on the way to better things.

The only thing I can see that would be of concern is the sheer quantity of holes in the lineup. We knew the bullpen and outfield would be trouble, but now that the starting rotation and infield have started faltering, that may be something to raise an eyebrow at. Their slumps will probably slide, but it's something to keep an eye on.

Either way, all Mets fans can do now is take it one day at a time, root for the guys, and remember that in the grand scheme of things baseball should be a source of happiness. It's up to us to find it.

MM