Game #49: Mets 2, Yankees 1

Who would have guessed that whole "Mariano Rivera throws out the first pitch" thing turned out to be a scouting strategy?

(NYTimes.com)

The Mets got three hits off the Sandman in his final appearance in Flushing, as Lucas Duda's walk-off single led his team to another 2-1, come-from-behind victory over the Yankees.

The Good Stuff:

• Down 1-0 in the 9th, things looked bleak for the NL New Yorkers as they faced the greatest closer of all-time, who at age 43 still shows no sign of slowing down. But just for one night, Mariano Rivera looked like a man on the precipice of retirement, as he blew a save for the first time all season.
• Daniel Murphy led off with the Mets' only extra-base hit of the night, a double down the left field line. That brought up David Wright, who lined a shot just out of reach of the shortstop (and just inches behind the baserunning Murphy). Murph raced around and beat the throw from centerfielder Brett Gardner (who robbed him of another long hit tonight - a second last laugh), and Wright went to second when the throw ricocheted off Murphy and to the backstop. Up came Lucas Duda, who took a jamming 1-1 cutter and looped it into right field to score Wright and send the paid Citi Field crowd of 31,877 into a frenzy. It was the Big Dude's first walk-off hit since he did it off Heath Bell in August 2011, and it earned him not one but TWO whipped cream pies in the face (Ruben Tejada joined Justin Turner for the double take).
• "Attention, patrons: tonight, the part of jilted Mets ace will be played by Matt Harvey, who will allow just one run on six hits in eight sparkling innings, walking none and striking out 10 on 114 pitches. Unfortunately for the young Mr. Harvey, he will be stacked with yet another no-decision. Better than a loss, though. Carry on."
• Murphy, Wright, and Duda each had two hits, combining for six of the team's seven on the night.
• Scott Rice tossed a scoreless 9th for his third W of the season.

The Bad Stuff:

• If hitters #2-4 picked up six of seven hits, it means that hitters #1 and #5-9 combined to produce only one. That was Rick Ankiel, by the way.
• Ike Davis went 0-3 with two more strikeouts, restarting talk of an extended weekend in Las Vegas. At least he'll get to see Bradley Cooper.
• Ruben Tejada was picked off second base to end the 6th when umpire Reid Brignac changed his call mid-motion. Terry Collins went out to argue and was promptly rejected when he did his best "Lou Pinella bobblehead" impression.

Final Analysis:
Some of the finest Mets wins come at the expense of the New York Yankees, and the finest of the fine are when our scrappy bunch is able to chip off a bit of gold dust from the golden closer. You already know this is going to be one of our Top Ten Wins of the Year. That was fun. That was a fun game.

And this is turning out to be a very fun Subway Series! Tomorrow the Mets and their fans hop on the 4-Train and take this orange-and-blue-a-thon to the House That Sits Next To Where The House That Ruth Built Is Now A Parking Lot. Doesn't quite roll off the tongue.

MM

Game #48: Mets 2, Yankees 1

In the battle of the town so nice they named it twice, the home team thought of the same duplicity on late-game comebacks.

Daniel Murphy's line drive up the middle scored the game-winning run in the 8th inning and Bobby Parnell shut the door on the Yankees for a 2-1 Mets win in the opener of this year's Subway Series.

The Good Stuff:

• Down 1-0 in the bottom of the 7th, David Wright started the scoring by taking Phil Hughes deep (and I mean waaaaay deep). Wright's monstrous solo home run not only tied the game, it would have left the stadium had it not  clunked off the wing of an airplane destined for LaGuardia and settled in the first deck.

(NYDailyNews.com)

• With one out in the bottom of the 8th, Mike Baxter laced a ground-rule double to start a rally. Jordany Valdespin walked, then the both of them advanced a base when Yankee catcher Chris Stewart couldn't handle a rare strike from David Robertson. Baxter was thrown out at home on Ruben Tejada's ground ball, but that left one out for Daniel Murphy, who was looking for some revenge after his two-run homer in the 6th was stolen at the wall by Brett Gardner. Consider him avenged: Murph ripped a line drive up the middle to score Valdespin for what would be the deciding run.
• With the lead in his pocket, Bobby Parnell continued to establish himself as a legitimate major-league closer, striking out two Bronx Bombers on the way to a hitless 9th and his eighth save of the season, surpassing his total for all of last season.
• Like last night, the Mets' runs came late for their outstanding starter. This time it was Jonathon Niese who was stuck with a tough-luck no-decision. Niese's final line was one of his best of the season: 7 innings, 8 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts on 107 pitches. He also went 2-2 at the plate to bring his average up to .250 (more than that of half the Mets' regulars).
• The NL New Yorkers turned three more double plays to kill AL New Yorker rallies in the 2nd, 6th, and 8th frames.

The Bad Stuff:

• Ike Davis regressed against Hughes and Robertson, striking out in all three of his at-bats.
• Ruben Tejada also went hitless in his four at-bats in his first game back in the leadoff slot.

Final Analysis:
I've been happy to admit I was wrong before, and I'm happy to do it again: Bobby Parnell is a major-league closer. Maybe he picked up a different mindset over the offseason, maybe it's the new knuckle curve (thanks, R.A.); whatever it is, the New York Mets seem to have a legitimate stopper for the first time since Francisco Rodriguez in his first season with the club. The Mets may not be able to give him many leads (he's only had 10 save opportunities in the first two months), but the team can finally rest easy knowing any lead that goes into the 9th has a better chance of staying put than not.

Daniel Murphy continues to hit the cover off the ball, and David Wright may have busted his slump with a two-hit night (the other was a 1st-inning triple). All-in-all, a great way to start the season's only Subway Series. And tomorrow night Matt Harvey looks to keep the party going on national TV.

MM