Game #155: Mets 4, Phillies 3

Everybody know everybody? Mets, Wilfredo Tovar. Wilfredo Tovar, Phillies. Phillies, sweep. Good.

Wilfredo Tovar's first big-league hit put his team out in front, and the Mets held on to sweep the Phillies 4-3.

The Good Stuff:

• Wilfredo Tovar had about as good a major-league debut as one could have hoped.
• The young Venezuelan, who helped the B-Mets do so well in the Eastern League this season, showed off his arm in the bottom of the 3rd when he successfully sat down Jimmy Rollins at first to complete an unlikely double play.
• Down 2-1 with runners on second and third in the top of the 7th, Tovar lined a Cliff Lee fastball into left field for his first hit and RBI. Juan Lagares scored and Anthony Recker was able to come home on Domonic Brown's error in left, and the Mets were up 3-2 thanks to Tovar's bat.
• With a single in the top of the 9th, Tovar finished his first day 2-4 with an RBI and stolen base.
• Lagares broke out of his slump with a double, two singles, a run, and an RBI.
• Eric Young went 2-5 with a double and a run.
• The support was good enough for Carlos Torres, who earned the W after lasting six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out six on 95 pitches.
• LaTroy Hawkins managed the 9th to earn his 100th career save. With 12 on the season, it's the most saves Hawkins has gotten in a season since 2004 as the Cubs' closer.

The Bad Stuff:

• New York hit just 2-14 with RISP and stranded seven men on base.

Final Analysis:
A sweep of the hated Phillies in their final home games of the season, plus a successful prospect debut at a position the Mets desperately need to fill? That'll do.

MM

Game #112: Mets 2, Rockies 1

Break out the brooms, we've got some snow to sweep up!

(NYDailyNews.com)

Dillon Gee out-dueled Jeff Manship and the Mets eked just enough offense out to sweep the Rockies 2-1.

The Good Stuff:

• Dillon Gee drove himself further on the road to the future, tossing 7.2 innings of one-run, eight-hit ball, walking no one and striking out three on only 87 pitches. Without the single he gave up towards the end of the 8th, he would've been on pace to match Matt Harvey's complete game from last night.
• After Scott Rice walked Troy Tulowitzki, David Aardsma was brought on to retire Michael Cuddyer, which he did on a flyout to left.
• LaTroy Hawkins nailed down the 9th for his second save of the year.
• If you missed the 4th inning, you missed a whole lot. Corey Dickerson powered Colorado's only run with a solo homer off Gee, and the New York bats responded with two in the bottom of the frame: singles by Daniel Murphy and Marlon Byrd, followed by Ike Davis's walk, loaded the bases for last night's hero, Wilmer Flores. It wasn't a three-run double this time, but it was a productive RBI groundout that tied the game. Anthony Recker then lifted the next pitch to center field for the go-ahead sac fly. It was an effective game of tit-for-tat, and the Mets came out on top.

The Bad Stuff:

• The Mets only had six hits on the day, none of which went for extra bases. They went 1-6 with RISP and left seven men on base.

Final Analysis:
Pitching was the story of this fun series. Jenrry Mejia, Matt Harvey, and Dillon Gee combined to let up two earned runs in a combined 22 innings, good for an 0.82 ERA. Meanwhile, Hawkins and the bullpen (sans Bobby Parnell) combined for five scoreless innings in relief. That'll do.

If Mets fans weren't excited about the team's future before this week, they should be now. The team is 28-21 in the Nieu Year and is building up a massive surplus of starting pitching. Deciding who gets a spot in the rotation will eventually become a problem, but it's the best kind of problem to have. And Dillon Gee is proving himself worthy of joining what could eventually turn into the best rotation in baseball.

MM

Game #88: Mets 7, Giants 2

After the offense delivered the beating, Zack Wheeler brought the knockout punch against the team that gave him up.

(NYDailyNews.com)

Wheeler had his best start in the majors and was backed by three 1st-inning runs off Matt Cain as the Mets clobbered the Giants 7-2 for the sweep.

The Good Stuff:

• Whatever New York did to try to psyche out Matt Cain, it worked. Big time. The Mets scored three runs in the 1st inning, two from John Buck's bases-loaded single, and knocked last year's All-Star starter out after just two outs. A wild Cain walked three batters and gave up two hits on 36 pitches, only half of which went for strikes.
• The immediate lead was just what the doctor ordered for Zack Wheeler, who breezed to the easy victory against pre-Beltran team. Wheeler went seven innings for the first time as a big-leaguer, allowing a single run on three hits and three walks, striking out five on 101 pitches. Zack had himself a no-hitter going for 11 outs; no Matt Harvey, but pretty darn good.
• Wheeler got additional run support in the 5th and 6th inning when San Francisco longman Matt Kickham ran out of juice:
• Marlon Byrd line a two-run home run over the wall in right center, good for his 15th homer and 49th RBI of the season, which lead the team. Pretty good for a $700,000 man.
• The 6th inning became the story of Gregor Blanco's shallow play in center field. John Buck led off with a line drive that went over Blanco's head and ended up with a double. After Omar Quintanilla struck out, Wheeler himself delivered a liner over Blanco's head, resulting in Zack's first extra-base hit and RBI. Daniel Murphy then sent him home with a double down the left field line that almost took out the security guard again. Touchdown, 7-0 New Yorkers.
• The 7-spot gives the Mets 21 runs for the three-game set, and everyone in the starting lineup got on base at least once this afternoon.

The Bad Stuff:

• LaTroy Hawkins gave up a triple to Brandon Belt in the bottom of the 9th, and Tony Abreu's sac fly made it 7-2.

Final Anlaysis:
Warm up the cable cars, we're sweeping up the town! Zack Wheeler lived up to his billing and unlike pitchers of past got some run support behind a one-run gem.

Since Kirk Nieuwenhuis knocked Carlos Marmol out of Chicago, the Mets have been winning at a 16-9 clip, sport a not-good-but-better 40-48 record, and are unbelievably within single digits of the second NL Wild Card. Hey, the '73 Mets were doing even worse at this point, and look where they ended up. Ya Gotta Believe!

MM