New York Mets’ Updates 4/12/08

Pedro who?

Nelson Figueroa gave up two runs over six innings and struck out six as the Mets’ won their third in a row, defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 on Friday evening.

Figueroa’s feel-good story was his return to his native New York to pitch in front of family and friends. He got three innings of perfect relief from Joe Smith, Aaron Heilman (yes, Aaron Heilman), and Billy Wagner.

The continued hot hitting of Angel Pagan and Carlos Delgado gave Mets fans plenty of highlights, but there was one glaring lowlight.

Jose Reyes had to be removed from the game with tightness in his left hamstring.  Apparently the “bad weather” excuse doesn’t only apply to veterans, but to 24-year-olds as well.

Reyes will likely be out of the lineup on Saturday, with the good old “day-to-day” label being placed on this latest Mets’ injury.

Damion Easley, who shifted from second to short when Reyes departed from Friday evening’s contest, could start in place of Reyes.

Luis Castillo should be able to return to the lineup on Saturday after sitting out for three days with knee soreness. That means the Flushing faithful do not have to cringe every time a ball is hit to Marlon Anderson at second.

Hey, did anybody order a Ruben?  A Ruben Gotay?  Oh, wait, Bobby Cox did.  Darn.

Speaking of injuries, Orlando Hernandez will be sporting the Tom Brady boot for a couple of weeks to rest his strained foot tendons. 

The Mets have signed veteran pitcher Claudio Vargas to a minor league deal as further insurance.  Vargas will compete with Tony Armas, Jr. and Adam Bostick for the next call-up to the rotation.

On the brighter side of things, Duaner Sanchez worked a scoreless inning for AAA New Orleans on Friday, and if he is able to successfully complete back-to-back outings, Sanchez may find himself back at Shea for the first time since July 2006.

Hey, Duaner, do everybody a favor and take the LIRR to the stadium.