Game #161: Brewers 4, Mets 2

Call it deja-deja-vu. (Or would it be daja-vu-vu?) Whatever it was, once again it wasn't pretty.

Eric Young tied the game in the bottom of the 9th but the Brewers scored two in the 10th to put away the Mets 4-2 for the third straight game.

The Bad Stuff:

• Scott Atchison gave up both runs in the top of the 10th inning, assuring himself his third L of the year and New York's 88th of 2013, matching last year's loss column.
• David Wright grounded into a bases-loaded double play in the bottom of the 9th, ending the rally that extended the game into the 10th.
• The Mets hit 1-10 with RISP, stranded 10 men on base, and had no XBHs (and just five hits) the entire night.

The Good Stuff:

• Aaron Harang took a no-decision after six innings of one-run, five-hit ball, walking two and striking out seven on 107 pitches.
• New York managed to tie the game when, after Zach Lutz and Andrew Brown walked, Eric Young slapped a single to left to plate pinch-runner Matt den Dekker.
• Daniel Murphy went 2-3 and picked up his 78th RBI of the year.

Final Analysis:
It would be great to win tomorrow, otherwise the offseason will be even more depressing than anticipated.

After tomorrow, I won't get to say, "There's always another game." I don't care what anyone thinks of the Mets in 2013 - I'm going to miss them when it's all over. So let's enjoy it tomorrow while we still can!

MM

Game #158: Mets 1, Reds 0

Only the pace of the game would have indicated the difference between Daisuke Matsuzaka and Matt Harvey today in Cincinnati.

(NYDailyNews.com)

Dice-K tossed nearly eight shutout innings, and Eric Young's RBI single in the 3rd was all the Mets needed in a 1-0 series clincher over the Reds.

The Good Stuff:

• Matsuzaka out-dueled Cincy's Mat Latos, giving up just four hits and two walks in 7.2 scoreless frames, striking out six on 105 pitches.
• The game's only run came in the top of the 3rd when Wilfrdo Tovar was hit by a pitch, went to second on Dice-K's bunt, advanced on a passed ball, and came home on Eric Young's single to right.
• Pedro Feliciano got the last out of the 8th, and after deferring to Vic Black last night, LaTroy Hawkins completed a 1-2-3 9th for his 13th save of the year.

The Bad Stuff:

• New York only managed four hits on the afternoon, but with pitching like that, offense wasn't needed.

Final Analysis:
Hey, the Mets are on a hot streak! Their 9-4 stretch over the past 13 contests almost makes us forget that half the team is injured. And half those wins came without David Wright! Not all is lost in Amazin' Land.

Tomorrow the Mets return home for their final four games of the year against the Milwaukee Brewers. I don't care how rough the season's been - I'll miss baseball when it's done.

MM 

Game #153: Mets 6, Phillies 4

Now THAT is how you announce your return.

(NYDailyNews.com)

David Wright homered on the second pitch he saw in seven weeks and the Mets held off the Phillies 6-4 to start their final road trip of the season.

The Good Stuff:

• Last year, David Wright hit an injury-busting home run at Citizens Bank Park on the first pitch he saw. Last time it was only a couple days, this time it was nearly a couple months. I guess we could let him get away with using one more pitch.
• Wright's opposite-field shot off Cole Hamels, who he owns, put New York up 3-0 in the top of the 1st.
• Daniel Murphy went 3-5, scored three times, and drove in the game's first run.
• Eric Young went 2-5 with a double, run, and RBI. He also stole his 40th base of the season (32nd with the Mets). He would need to hit 38 home runs in the final nine games, an average of more than four per game, to earn a spot in the 40-40 club.
• The early offense was enough for Daisuke Matsuzaka, who allowed four runs (two earned) on four hits in six innings, walking three and striking out six on 96 pitches.
• Scott Atchison took care of the 7th inning, while a Vic Black-Pedro Feliciano combo handled the 8th, and LaTroy Hawkins locked down the 9th for his 11th save of the year.

The Bad Stuff:

• Young committed a 4th-inning error that led to two unearned runs for Philadelphia.
• Juan Lagares's struggles at the plate continued as he went 0-4 with two strikeouts.

Final Analysis:
With only nine games left after tonight, we all would have understood if David Wright took a slower approach to his rehab. But his presence in the lineup adds new meaning to these final meaningless games. With Captain America in the lineup, the Mets actually look somewhat formidable. Is he the be-all, end-all to New York's offensive struggles? No, but no one player is in baseball. But is a healthy David Wright a reassurance that 2014 will be an up year in Flushing? Yes.

MM

Game #145: Nationals 7, Mets 2

At least you could say New York was consistent in this series. That's about all you can say.

Fresh meat (er, starter) Aaron Harang served up a home run in the 1st inning and it didn't get better from there as the Mets fell to the Nationals 7-2 to complete the sweep.

The Bad Stuff:

• He's the second marginal starter named Aaron to "grace" the Mets' presence this year. If you figure out who the first one was by the end of this post you earn my hearty congratulations. Aaron Harang took the L in his New York debut, allowing three home runs over his six innings of work.
• Pedro Feliciano and Frank Francisco combined to let in the other three Washington runs.
• Ruben Tejada didn't get a hit in three more at-bats and was pinch-hit for by Andrew Brown in the bottom of the 9th.

The Good Stuff:

• For all the grief, Harang wasn't terrible this afternoon - he even earned a quality start. His final line: 6 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 10 K, 101 pitches.
• Eric Young went 2-3 with a run and another stolen base.

Final Analysis:
For the second time in as many years a fightless New York Mets team was swept at home by the charging Washington Nationals (who have the best record in baseball since late August - about time!). I understand the team is shorthanded after being decimated by injury and trade in August, but you'd think they'd be able to put up just a little more fight.

The Mets have four games this weekend, including a Saturday doubleheader, against the Miami Marlins. Surely they'll win ONE of those games, right?

MM

Game #141: Mets 2, Indians 1

Only 13,317 people descended upon Progressive Field for the afternoon game, and both teams combined to use about as many pitchers over the 3 hours and 43 minutes. Fortunately for New York, it was the speedy one who finally put them over the top.

Eric Young's RBI double in the top of the 9th gave the Mets a 2-1 lead, and eventually win, over the Indians in the series finale.

The Good Stuff:

• After putting runners in scoring position with no out and failing to plate anybody in the top of the 8th, Eric Young made sure the same didn't happen on his watch in the 9th, lining a two-out double to right to score Matt den Dekker and make it 2-1.
• LaTroy Hawkins finished the Tribe off for his 8th save, aided by the strong arm of Anthony Recker, who threw out Mike Aviles at second.
• Justin Turner capped his excellent series with his second home run in three days, a solo shot in the 4th to break the scoreless tie.
• Daisuke Matsuzaka bent but didn't break through 5.2 innings, allowing one earned run on three hits, walking three and striking out six on 103 pitches.

The Bad Stuff:

• Vic Black hit Asdrubel Cabrera with the bases loaded in the 6th, leading to the only run charged against Matsuzaka.
• Frank Francisco (remember him?) needed a double play to get out of the 8th after walking the bases loaded, and it was he who scooped up the W in his 2013 debut (about a month too soon, I think).
• New York hit just 1-9 with RISP, including three missed chances in the 8th, and stranded 10 men on base in a lackluster offensive weekend.

Final Analysis:
A win is a win, and this win gives the Mets 64 on the season. I don't really think there's much else to say about that.

The team starts their final long homestand of the season tomorrow night as they host the Nationals for four days, followed by four against the Marlins in a long weekend series, followed by an off day and three against the soon-to-be-dethroned world champion San Francisco Giants.

MM

Game #137: Braves 3, Mets 1

Carlos Torres is looking more and more like Matt Harvey after every start...and he's got the not run support to prove it.

Torres surrendered three runs in the bottom of the 7th as the Braves blew past the Mets 3-1.

The Bad Stuff:

• See Torres's 7th inning.
• See 1-9 with RISP and eight men left on base.
• See only 21,221 at Turner Field and wonder to yourself, "Hey, aren't these guys supposed to be a playoff team?"

The Good Stuff:

• See Torres's scoreless 1st-6th innings.
• See Daniel Murphy's RBI single to score Eric Young after EY's triple.
• See Young's 35th stolen base of the year and 27th since joining the Mets.
• See New York's attendance figures similar to Atlanta's, even in rebuilding mode, and think to yourself, "Hey, things are gonna be great when we start competing!"

Final Analysis:
I think we've seen enough tonight.

MM

Game #134: Mets 11, Nationals 3

Somewhere in New York, Matt Harvey is shaking his head at the run support Zack Wheeler received tonight and has gotten through his seven Ws in 2013, now just two behind Harvey's total for the season.

(NYDailyNews.com)

Wheeler pitched well in his own right and was backed by 17 Mets hits on the way to an 11-3 victory over the Nationals.

The Good Stuff:

• Four Mets hitters had three hits on the night, including:
• Eric Young (3-6, 2 R, SB, 2 RBI)
• Daniel Murphy (3-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI)
• Josh Satin (3-4, 2B, R)
• Juan Lagares (3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI)
• Travis d'Arnaud and Omar Quintanilla added two more hits, as D'Arnaud scored twice and Mr. Q drove in two on a 2nd-inning double.
• Lagares had himself another outfield assist, partnering with Murph to gun down Bryce Harper at third in the 8th.
• Matt den Dekker singled in the 3rd to drive home a run, his first major-league hit and RBI.
• The plethora of runs was more than enough for Zack Wheeler, who delivered the goods in the form of 6.2 innings of two-run, five-hit ball, with one walk and three strikeouts on 99 pitches.

The Bad Stuff:

• Ike Davis left the game in the 3rd inning after hitting a sac fly with an oblique injury that looks like it will keep him out for the rest of the year, the final nail in the coffin that contains at least a quarter of the Mets' big league roster at the start of August.

Final Analysis:
Washington gets hot in August, and the Mets have capitalized on that heat to drive themselves to a series victory over a team that had finally gotten things together. And in the resumed competition to replace Ike Davis at first base, Josh Satin has reestablished himself as the man to beat, although I would like to see Wilmer Flores get some time there this month.

MM

Game #132: Mets 11, Phillies 3

What, you were expecting anything less from a lineup of Young-Murphy-Brown-Duda-Turner-den Dekker-Recker-Quintanilla-Torres?

(NYDailyNews.com)

Home runs by Anthony Recker and Andrew Brown and four hits from Daniel Murphy punctuated a brilliant afternoon for the Mets, who blew away the Phillies 11-3 to salvage a series split.

The Good Stuff:

• In a game filled with offense, these New Yorkers stood out in the box score:
• Eric Young (3-5, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI)
• Daniel Murphy (4-5, 2 2B, R, SB, 2 RBI)
• Andrew Brown (2-5, SB, HR, 2 RBI)
• Anthony Recker (1-2, 2 BB, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI)
• Carlos Torres, supplied with ample run support (five Harvey Days' worth), earned the win with 6.2 innings of one-run, four hit ball, walking none and striking out six on 95 pitches.
• Matt den Dekker made his much-delayed major league debut to the tune of a run, stolen base, and four putouts in center field.

The Bad Stuff:

• How about the obvious: this would have been Matt Harvey's next start. Ouch.
• Lucas Duda struck out twice in his first start since the beginning of the summer.

Final Analysis:
I don't really know how to explain this...so let's just leave it at a fun anomaly of an afternoon. Carry on.

MM

Game #121: Padres 8, Mets 2

Enter one stud of a prospect, exit another. And he took any chance of a win with him.

Travis d'Arnaud's big-league debut was marred by injury to Jenrry Mejia and a rare misstep by the Mets bullpen in an 8-2 thumping at the hands of the Padres.

The Bad Stuff:

• Jenrry Mejia bent in the first three innings. The breaking came in the 4th, when elbow discomfort forced Mejia from the game. Jenrry has acknowledged his need for elbow surgery in the coming offseason, but with Jeremy Hefner's predicament fresh in everyone's minds, Mets fans will be holding their collective breath in hopes the bone chips are all that's bothering Mejia.
• Tied 1-1 at the time of Mejia's departure, David Aardsma let the game get out of reach, allowing four runs and eight baserunners in his two relief innings.
• Carlos Torres wasn't much better in his 2.1 innings after Pedro Feliciano's brief appearance, allowing three more runs to put it permanently out of reach.
• New York hit just 2-7 with RISP and stranded nine.

The Good Stuff:

• Travis d'Arnaud made his much-anticipated Mets debut and showed surprising plate discipline, drawing two walks in four plate appearances, including a four-pitch free pass in his first time up against San Diego starter Edinson Volquez.
• Eric Young had a slump-busting day at the plate, going 2-4 with a walk, a double, two stolen bases, and both the team's runs.
• Daniel Murphy and Ike Davis each had RBI singles.
• Juan Lagares also had a couple singles in hopes of breaking his slump at the plate.
• Wilmer Flores returned to the lineup, going 1-4 with a double.

Final Analysis:
Combine the optimism of the past couple nights with d'Arnaud's arrival to the bigs and you get the "thud" that ended up being tonight's game. It's been a long road trip, and we're all looking forward to it ending after Monday's flyover in Minnesota. The only suspense left on the West Coast is what happens to Jenrry Mejia and whether d'Arnaud gets to stay in the majors for the last week before September.

MM

Games #97 & #98: Mets 2-7, Braves 8-4

The Mets split the final games of their four-game series with the Braves, falling 8-2 last night and prevailing 7-4 this afternoon to salvage a series split.

Wednesday
The Bad Stuff:

• Jeremy Hefner didn't fare any better from his last start, allowing six runs (five earned) on six hits in 4.1 innings. His ERA is now back over 4.00 at 4.17.
• New York could barely figure out Tim Hudson, who tossed 7.2 innings of two-run ball in what will turn out to be his final start of the year: while covering the bag in the 8th inning, Hudson's ankle was accidentally stepped on by Eric Young, resulting in a season-ending brake. (A shaken-up Young left the game himself today.)

The Good Stuff:

• Daniel Murphy had two doubles and drove in the team's only two runs in the 8th inning.

Thursday
The Good Stuff:

(NYDailyNews.com)

• Zack Wheeler picked up a W and another quality start, overcoming a rough 1st to deliver six innings of four-run (three earned), four-hit, two-walk, five-strikeout ball.
• Murphy was just as good at the plate today, going 3-5 with a double, two runs, and an RBI.
• David Wright went 2-5 with a run and a run-scoring triple.
• John Buck had a double and three RBIs.
• David Aardsma, LaTroy Hawkins, and Bobby Parnell proved to be a strong triumvirate of relief pitchers, holding Atlanta scoreless in the final three innings.

The Bad Stuff:

• For all the offense the Mets had, they could have had a lot more if they hadn't stranded 14 men on base and hit just 4-19 with RISP.

Final Analysis:
Jeremy Hefner isn't looking great post-Break. If he regresses to his pre-Yankee form, the Mets will have some trouble.

Daniel Murphy is on another hot streak; let's see if he can keep it up long enough to hit .300 again.

Prayers for Tim Hudson's speedy recovery, and also for Eric Young, who will hopefully not be so hard on himself for what was a freak accident.

Overall, a nice 4-3 homestand. The Mets can now take that momentum on the road as they face the underachieving Nationals and nonexistentMarlins.

MM

Game #86: Mets 4, Giants 3 (16)

Come on, the Mets could only play so many marathons before catching a break. The Giants agreed at about 3:00 in the morning New York time.

Eric Young scored on Brandon Crawford's error in the top of the 16th and Bobby Parnell mercifully closed the door on a comeback as the Mets took a marathon game from the Giants 4-3.

The Good Stuff:

• Down 2-0, John Buck got the scoring going in the top of the 5th with an RBI double. Then in the 6th, the Mets were beneficiaries of some truly dreadful San Francisco defense. The first two miscues were committed by ex-Met Andres Torres, whose misplay of an Eric Young line drive led to a leadoff triple and missed tough catch resulted in Daniel Murphy's game-tying RBI single. David Wright followed with an infield single that Pablo Sandoval couldn't turn the double play on, and Murph went to third on a Marco Scutaro error trying to get out Wright. Ike Davis's double play killed the rally but brought home the go-ahead run to make it 3-2, and if not for the double play another run would've come home on Marlon Byrd's Gregor Blanco-assisted triple.
• After the Giants tied the game on the first two pitches of the 7th, the scoring stopped for almost an entire extra game. The star of the game at this point became the New York bullpen: Carlos Torres (2), David Aardsma (1.2), Scott Rice (0.1), Greg Burke (2), and Josh Edgin (2) stewarded the Mets through eight scoreless innings.
• New York was also beneficiary of some excellent clutch pitching and defense, as the Giants hit just 1-15 with RISP and stranded 18 men on base. And none of those tough outs came through the double play.
• The Mets' bats finally woke up in the top of the 16th, led by Eric Young's one-out single. Young promptly stole second and went to third on Murphy's groundout. After Wright was walked intentionally, Anthony Recker hit into what should have been the third out, but shortstop Brandon Crawford bobbled the ball and had no play. Young scored, and the Mets were back up.
• Bobby Parnell walked Marco Scutaro and allowed a Buster Posey single, threatening to spiral the game back into the Fourth of July's back-and-forth-style affair. But Parnell buckled down to strike out Brandon Belt between Scutaro and Posey, strike out Pablo Sandoval, and force Guillermo Quiroz to ground into the 5-4 force play. Game over, marathon over, Mets win.

The Bad Stuff:

• Harvey Day seemed almost an afterthought after the 13th, but Matt Harvey's outing was spoiled by three bad pitches: a 3-1 1st inning fastball Buster Posey turned into a two-run homer, a fastball Hunter Pence led the 7th off with a triple, and a changeup Brandon Crawfored parlayed into the game-tying single. His final numbers produced a quality start (7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 121 pitches), but based on Harvey's lofty standards we'll categorize it as Bad Stuff.
• New York's bats did their best to make Tim Lincecum look like vintage Big-Time Timmy-Jim, as the former Freak struck out 11 and walked just one in his seven innings.
• The Mets could absolutely not get reigning NL MVP Buster Posey out: Posey went 5-8 with his two-run homer and two doubles.

Final Analysis:
Well, it certainly looks like the Mets will set a record for most innings played in one season. That was a great win, enough said.

MM

Game #70: Mets 4, Phillies 3

For all the abuse the New York outfield has taken in 2013, tonight it was two of its unsung/new additions that put the team over the top.

(NYDailyNews.com)

Eric Young had a couple RBIs and Juan Lagares's run-scoring double in the 6th put the Mets up for good as they beat the Phillies 4-3 in the series opener.

The Good Stuff:

• Juan Lagares got the best of Cole Hamels, going 3-4 with two doubles against the former Philly ace. His two-out double in the 6th inning scored a hustling Lucas Duda to put the Mets up (for good) 4-3.
• New acquisition Eric Young went 2-4 with a run and a two-run single in the 5th inning that tied the game at 3-3.
• David Wright drove in the first New York run with an RBI single in the 4th.
• The runs backed up Jeremy Hefner, who earned his second W of the season (as many as Hamels) with a three-run, 10-hit, six-inning outing that resulted in yet another quality start. He walked just one and struck out six on 107 pitches, knocking down his ERA to 3.89.
• Scott Rice, Carlos Torres, and Bobby Parnell combined for three hitless innings in relief of Hef, and Parnell picked up his 12th save on a 1-2-3 9th in which he struck out Ryan Howard to "put it in the books."

The Bad Stuff:

• New York committed two errors, as Daniel Murphy made an errant play in the 2nd inning that resulted in one of the Phillies' three runs in the frame, and Anthony Recker's throwing error led to an extra baserunner in the 4th.

Final Analysis:
The Mets' best wins always seem to come in Philadelphia, and tonight's showing in front of 40,062 fans at Citizens Bank Park was no exception. The Amazin's had everything from quality starting pitching to clutch hitting to lockdown bullpen work in their corner tonight as they won their fifth game in seven.

Jonathon Niese's injury is certainly unfortunate, but it means Jeremy Hefner will get most likely a full season as a starting pitcher, which up to this point he has earned. His W-L record doesn't show it, but when has it ever for the Terry Collins era Mets (see R.A. Dickey's 2011)? Hef is doing Perkins, Oklahoma proud by establishing himself as a genuine major-league starter: five of his last six outings have been quality starts, and he hasn't allowed more than five earned runs all season. He'll never be more than a fourth or fifth starter in the majors, but every team needs one of those in their rotation, and Hefner has been quite valuable in that role for the Mets in 2013. Here's hoping he continues to impress and keeps on giving us the chance to win night after night.

MM