Game #83: Mets 12, Brewers 5

I kid you not, the description of the New York Mets in today's Miller Park program began by saying, "The Mets will stand toe-to-toe with any offense that wants to slug it out in the National League." Milwaukee's sports information director must have known something we didn't, because somehow the Mets lived up to the program.

The Man of the Night (Photo by Me)

Kirk Nieuwenhuis had the game of his life, leading the New York charge with five RBIs, as the Mets hammered the Brewers 12-5 in tonight's opener.

The Good Stuff:

• Kirk Nieuwenhuis came into the game batting .179 and got off the Interstate in a hurry. His impressive final line reads like this: 4-4, 2B, 3B, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 RBI. Toss in a stolen base and throwing out Jean Segura at home at you've got a guy who just had the game of his life. Needless to say, Kirk's not hitting .179 anymore (now it's .233).
• Nieuwenhuis's only blemish was in the 8th inning on Logan Schafer's double. Kirk dove for it, came up short, got turned around as he got up, and looked rather silly for a couple seconds trying to find a ball that was right in front of him. So instead of an absolutely perfect game he gets the Amish quilt version: beautiful with a small flaw. How very humble of him.
• Ike Davis returned to the major league roster this morning, supplanting red-hot Josh Satin from first base. If he keeps having games like tonight's, we might forget Satin sooner than we thought: Davis went 3-5 with a walk, two runs, and two RBIs, including an infield hit with the bases loaded in the 2nd. He struck out once but got really good contact on his line out to right.
• Juan Lagares went 3-5 with three RBIs and Eric Young scored three runs.
• While Daniel Murphy committed one error, New York was the beneficiary of some fine throwing in the field. First was Nieuwenhuis's putout of Segura at home in the 1st. Next was Zack Wheeler not falling for the double steal and nailing Norichika Aoki at the plate in the 3rd. Then came a Lagares-to-Murphy-to-David Wright line in the 7th to send Carlos Gomez packing.
• Speaking of Zack Wheeler, he got his second career win thanks to the strong offense. His numbers, while not great, were certainly better than those of his last start, as he allowed three runs (one earned) on seven hits in five innings, walking three and striking out three on 98 pitches.

The Bad Stuff:

• Marlon Byrd had a sure home run taken away in the 6th on a leaping grab by one-time Met Carlos Gomez.
• The game took around three and a half hours, meaning the Mets have played about 20 hours of baseball in the last five days. They must be tired!

Final Analysis:
Now this was a heck of a game to be at. Kirk's career day, Ike's return to his career, and lots of Met fans amidst the Wisconsinites. It isn't often the Mets put up those kinds of offensive numbers, but when they do, and especially when David Wright only had one of the team's 14 hits, the numbers speak for themselves. Way to go, boys.

MM

Game #16: Nationals 7, Mets 6

Author's Note: Please excuse the late edition to the blog - as a result of attending the game in person, it took quite awhile to get back to Washington, D.C., where I am living this semester. It was my first visit to Citi Field and I met up with the staff from my other blog, Rising Apple.

(L-R: Will DeBoer, Danny Abriano, Dan Haefeli, Matt Musico, Rich Sparago, Sam Maxwell)

A fun time was had by all, despite the results and the best efforts of our new nemesis. And now, without further adieu, the recap from this afternoon's game.

For those of you keeping track, this sequel shall be titled Chipper the Met Killer Part XVII: Larry Lives.

The Nationals pounded out four home runs, and Bryce Harper's second blast of the day provided the margin in a 7-6 Mets loss.

The Bad Stuff:

• The trouble started on Jeremy Hefner's first pitch of the 2nd inning, which Ian Desmond deposited into the left field stands (not too far from where I was sitting) for a 1-0 lead. In the 3rd, after a double by Jayson Werth, Bryce Harper continued his hot start with a two-run bomb to right center.
• After the Mets clawed their way back and chased Gio Gonzalez in the 4th, Aaron Laffey gave away a 5-3 lead in the very next inning, allowing a three-run homer to Adam LaRoche to make it 6-5.

(NYDailyNews.com)

• New York once again made a comeback in the 7th when John Buck's RBI double knotted things at 6-all, but on the first pitch he saw from Josh Edgin in the 8th inning, Bryce Harper put Washington back in front with a monstrous home run.
• New York would not have another comeback in them, going down to Rafael Soriano in the 9th to even the series.

The Good Stuff:

• Making the most of rare starts, Collin Cowgill and Justin Turner each contributed two-run singles as part of the Mets' five-run 4th.
• Daniel Murphy went 2-5 with an RBI single.
• David Wright laced a triple to start the rally in the 4th, giving him two games in a row with a three-bagger.

Final Analysis:
Three takeaways from this ballgame.

First: Chipper Jones lives. And his name is Bryce Harper. And he's 20. Uh-oh.

Second: Jeremy Hefner would make a great long man in the bullpen. The problem is, in order for the Mets to have a long man, they need a fifth starter. In turn, in order to have a fifth starter, they need a fourth starter. It's a vicious cycle indeed, one where the answer could be Shaun Marcum, Zack Wheeler, or someone else entirely. But until New York finds at the very least a reliable fourth starter, they will be automatically out of half the games due to simply having half a rotation.

Third: the Mets-Nats series is going to be a good one for the next decade. With a cavalcade of young stars on both sides, the fireworks of this weekend at Citi Field are only the beginning. This season may turn out to be one-sided toward the team from DC, but hopefully it won't stay that way for long.

MM