Game #123: Mets 6, Twins 1

This broom's been ready for a long, long time.

(NYDailyNews.com)

Marlon Byrd's 20th home run of the season put an exclamation point on the scoring, and Dillon Gee's dominant outing gave the Mets a 6-1 makeup win over the Twins to complete a sweep four months in the making.

The Good Stuff:

• Dillon Gee continued his masterful summer stretch by allowing a single unearned run on six hits in 7.2 innings, walking one and striking out nine Minnesotans on 99 pitches.
• New York got on the board early and (eventually) often, scoring one in the 1st (Andrew Brown's single) and one in the 2nd (Eric Young's single). They put up a crooked number in the 4th on RBI singles by Omar Quintanilla and Daniel Murphy.
• A fifth run came in on Wilmer Flores's RBI single in the 7th (his 11th RBI in 11 career games), and Marlon Byrd capped it with a solo home run in the 9th that would have gone all the way to Fargo if not for landing in the second deck. It was Byrd's 20th blast of the season, tying his career high from Texas in 2009.
• The Mets' 14 hits were evenly distributed, as seven players each had two dingers.
• Scott Rice took three pitches to retire the final man of the 8th inning and Scott Atchison led the Mets through the 9th to secure the victory.

The Bad Stuff:

• Despite scoring four runs in the first four innings, New York realistically could have had six or seven on the board: Wilmer Flores grounded into a bases-loaded double play in the 1st inning, while Omar Quintanilla was thrown out at third on Young's hit in the 2nd, and Young hit a line drive that Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe parlayed into a brilliant unassisted double play.
• Ike Davis and Travis d'Arnaud were the only New York starters held without a hit, although each got on base with a walk apiece. D'Arnaud went 0-3 with two strikeouts in pursuit of his first major league hit.

Final Analysis:
It's been a long wait to finish up this series that started in April but was pushed back due to...well, Minnesota April. But the finish was just as sweet as the start (John Buck's RBI explosion in the first game and Matt Harvey's no-hit bid in the second), as Dillon Gee yet again upgraded his resume for a long-term job in the Mets rotation. He may be overshadowed by New York's bigger names, but Dillon has Met fans saying "Gee whiz," and not in an ironic way.

MM

P.S. Let's not forget Juan Lagares's Gold Glove caliber catch in the 2nd inning. Man, that guy can fly.

(NYDailyNews.com)

Game #11: Mets 4, Twins 2

(NYDailyNews.com)

When Justin Morneau's high fly ball in the 7th clanked off the right field foul pole, it knocked the wind out of New Yorkers watching for a slice of history. For the man on the mound, however, it wasn't more than a kink in his latest pitching masterpiece.

Matt Harvey flirted with a no-hitter for almost seven innings and the Mets' big bang in the 5th gave him his third win of the season, 4-2 over the Twins.

The Good Stuff:

• The future continues to be now for Matt Harvey, who for 6.2 innings was literally unhittable. A solo home run by the aforementioned Morneau ended his bid for history, but Harvey fought on through eight outstanding innings, allowing just one more hit, walking two and striking out six on 107 pitches.
• Harvey's effort was also a first for Mets fans: while the breakup of the no-hitter may have been disappointing, it was the first time we were not obligated to turn grudgingly and say, "Not today, boss." It's a good feeling. Thanks, Johan Santana.
• Still scoreless after four frames, Marlon Byrd broke the ice with a solo bomb off Scott Diamond to the second deck in left field to lead off the 5th. That blast opened the floodgates for a single, single, and double by Ike Davis (thrown out trying to stretch it into a dobule), Justin Turner, and Ruben Tejada. Collin Cowgill, Daniel Murphy, and David Wright followed with run-scoring singles each, and all of a sudden the visitors were up 4-0.
• It was all the offense they needed. Bobby Parnell gave up a run on a couple doubles but ultimately locked down Minnesota in the bottom of the 9th for his first save of the season.

The Bad Stuff:

• John Buck went hitless for the first time in recent memory, going 0-4.

Final Analysis:
Long story short: this Harvey guy's pretty good. We've got a lot to look forward to.

MM

Game #10: Mets 16, Twins 5

Not even the blinding snow of Minneapolis could cool off John Buck, whose heat spread like wildfire to his teammates on Friday night.

Buck's record-setting grand slam in the 2nd inning put the Mets into double digits, as they cruised to a series-opening 16-5 win over the Twins.

The Good Stuff:

• With flurries fluttering all around, the runs came in as such when Jordany Valdespin led off the game with a bloop single to left. Daniel Murphy doubled to put them both in scoring position and David Wright's double made it 2-0 quickly off Minnesota starter Vance Worley. After Ike Davis walked, John Buck converted his blazing hot start into a bit of luck as a hard groundball to third went through the wickets of Trevor Plouffe. After a Marlon Byrd two-run single two batters later, the visitors had a commanding 5-0 lead.
• After the Twins responded with a couple runs in the bottom of the 1st, the Mets kept the train a-rollin' in the 2nd, when Valdespin, Murphy, and Wright produced deja-vu singles to make it 6-2. Davis drew another walk, this one of the 10-pitch variety, to bring up Buck, who left no doubts on who the hottest baseball player on the planet is with a second-deck grand slam to left. After adjusting his beard on the steps, Buck descended into the dugout with the following marks:

(NYDailyNews.com)

• Buck's six home runs on the season have now surpassed the home run totals of all Mets catchers during the entire 2012 season.
• He has hit home runs in four consecutive games, one shy of Richard Hidalgo's franchise record, making him the first Met to accomplish the foursome since David Wright in June 2007.
• Buck's 19 RBIs are the most any player has ever driven in during his first 10 games with a new team. The mark is also the second most in Amazin' history, five shy of Jeff Kent's April 1994 record of 24 ribbies. And we're still closer to April Fool's Day than May Day.
• Buck's heroics relegated these outstanding offensive lines to page two:
• Jordany Valdespin - 2-5, 3 R, 1 RBI
• Daniel Murphy - 4-5, 2 2B, 3 R, 4 RBI (mostly courtesy of a bases-clearing two-bagger in the top of the 7th)
• David Wright - just a HR shy of the cycle, Captain America's line read 3-5, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 4 RBI (doubling his total for the season)
• Even New York's 7-8-9 tandem of Marlon Byrd, Mike Baxter, and Ruben Tejada combined to do great things, collectively going 5-15 with three runs.
• Scott Atchison, Greg Burke, and Aaron Laffey combined for four innings of scoreless, one-hit relief pitching.

The Bad Stuff:

• Jonathon Niese's 22-game streak of six or more innings ended as he only lasted five frames, giving up five runs (four earned) on five hits, four walks, and a strikeout on 101 pitches. This can be excused for two reasons: first, the snowy weather was playing tricks on both starters; second, scoreboard. The result: W #2 of the season for Niese.
• Ruben Tejada's defensive woes continued as a throwing error in the 5th clocked him up to five E6s on the young season. It took him until July 23 to get to that many last year.

Final Analysis:
Said Keith Hernandez on tonight's SNY telecast about John Buck, "I don't think I've seen anyone hotter out of the shoot." Amen, brother. So I'll talk about the rest. Sure, the Minnesota Twins may have some of the worst pitching in baseball (Philadelphia outcast Vance Worley was their Opening Day starter), but they've still managed to win four games so far, so our boys must have been doing something right. In any other situation we'd be singing the praises of a red-hot Daniel Murphy, but instead he takes a backseat to the white-hot Buck. When either of them cool off is yet to be seen, but if they both keep it up for another week or so, they may be battling each other for NL Player of the Month for April. Because just imagine how good they'll be when they don't have to play in (mini) blizzard-like conditions. Whoa baby.

MM