Game #128: Tigers 11, Mets 3

Detroit may have only gotten two runs in the 1st, but the message was clear and the 9th inning foreshadowed.

(NYDailyNews.com)

Miguel Cabrera's moonshot set the scene for a thumping of the Mets, as the Tigers put seven across in the 9th to complete the sweep, 11-3.

The Bad Stuff:

• Dillon Gee was off his game against the vaunted Detroit bats, allowing four runs on 10 hits in six innings, walking two and striking out two on 108 pitches.
• All the scoring happened on home runs: the first inning saw Miguel Cabrera, a.k.a. still the best player on the planet, hit a two-run shot that may have been the longest in Citi Field history, flying through a tunnel in the second deck and settling somewhere in Maine; the second homer, while not as definitive, was a two-run line drive by Andy Dirks in the 6th to make it 4-3.
• Meanwhile, the Mets got to Tiger starter Rick Porcello for three runs but could do little else, managing four hits in the entire game, hitting a scant 1-4 with RISP and stranding three.
• The wheels came off in the top of the 9th, as LaTroy Hawkins and Scott Atchison combined to let in seven runs. Not much else to say about that, so we're going to move on.

The Good Stuff:

• Travis d'Arnaud hit the first of (hopefully) many home runs in his big-league career, hammering a 4th-inning Porcello fastball over the short fence in left center to put the Mets up 3-2.
• Daniel Murphy's RBI single in the 3rd put New York on the board.
• Juan Lagares went 2-4 and scored on d'Arnaud's homer.

Final Analysis:
(Insert obligatory "Miguel Cabrera is not human" comments here.) In all seriousness, we're witnessing something special in the major leagues. If Miggy keeps this up he will go down as one of the greatest hitters of all-time. The number 763 may even be in his future...for baseball's sake, we can only hope.

As for the Mets, this sweep against a top AL contender reaffirmed what we knew all along: starting pitching is set, one more bat is needed, and we're not quite there yet. The degree to which New York was beaten this weekend may discourage fans, but more than anything that was a team on the rise running head on into a train that keeps on rolling. Nothing to be ashamed of. We'll get our fair share of doing that in the coming years.

MM

Game #127: Tigers 3, Mets 0

The Ace/Off of the century was surprisingly devoid of fireworks.

Max Scherzer out-dueled Matt Harvey to pick up his 19th W, and the Mets only managed three hits in a 3-0 loss to the Tigers.

The Bad Stuff:

• Matt Harvey was off his game for two innings, but that was all it took to lose: he allowed his only two runs in the 2nd after RBIs by the opposing starter and center fielder Austin Jackson.
• On the other side on the mound, Max Scherzer thoroughly dominated New York's hitters for four innings and then got really lucky for the final two.
• The Mets got two men on in the 5th but couldn't convert and then loaded the bases with one out in the 6th, but a strikeout by Juan Lagares and a first-pitch popup by John Buck ended the team's last good chance.
• Scherzer finished with a final line of six scoreless, three-hit, four-walk, 11-strikeout innings.

The Good Stuff:

• Harvey allowed a career-high 13 hits but settled down after the 2nd frame, lasting 6.2 innings and allowing just the two runs, walking none and striking out four.
• Ike Davis went 2-3 with a walk and a double.

Final Analysis:
It must be nice to have run support, eh Max?

MM

Game #126: Tigers 6, Mets 1

Talk about being fed to the lions...or, other large jungle cats...

Daisuke Matsuzaka was rocked by the best offense in baseball in his return to the major leagues, and the Mets couldn't figure out Doug Fister and the Tigers, falling in the series opener 6-1.

The Bad Stuff:

• One day after signing a deal to fill in for the battered Mets rotation, Daisuke Matsuzaka struck out the first man he faced. That was as good as it got, as Dice-K got crushed for five runs in five innings, including a three-run homer by Miguel Cabrera, a.k.a. the best hitter on the planet. At least you certainly can't say New York was babying their new addition.
• The Mets had their chances against Detroit's Doug Fister, but could only manage one run off eight hits (10 total) against him in 6.1 innings. The team hit just 2-10 with RISP and stranded 10.

The Good Stuff:

• Matsuzaka settled down after his shellacking in the first two frames to retire the final ten Tigers he faced.
• Eric Young had three hits, a stolen base, and another diving catch in left field.
• Wilmer Flores had three hits to bring his average up to .300.
• Marlon Byrd's RBI single in the 1st kept New York from being shut out on Jay Horwitz bobblehead night.

Final Analysis:
So...maybe not the best idea to have a 32-year-old starter who hasn't pitched in the big leagues in 10 months resume his career against a lineup consisting of Austin Jackson, Torii Hunter, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, and Victor Martinez. Who knew?

MM