MLB Game Recap: The New York Mets Lose 9-3 To the Chicago Cubs

Flushing Baseball DailyApr 22, 2010

New York Mets starting pitcher Oliver Perez just didn’t have it, the bullpen finally failed and the offense once again failed to show up against Carlos Silva of all people, as the Mets dropped the third game of a four game series 9-3 to the Chicago Cubs.

Notes

Oliver Perez battled through five innings without command of his fastball, which forced him to rely on off-speed pitches. His line: 5 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 0 HR.
Manny Acosta made his Mets debut, as he walked two and gave up a pair of hits with three strikeouts in just 1.1 innings.
Raul Valdes threw 0.2 shutout innings and Kisanori Takahashi gave up three runs over the final two innings.
The bullpen line: 4 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 6 BB, 5 K, 1 HR.
No Met batter got as many as two hits.
Jose Reyes went 1-for-5 with a run.
Luis Castillo went 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI triple.
David Wright went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.
Jason Bay went 1-for-3 with a walk.
Ike Davis went 1-for-4, he also made an amazing catch in the first, falling over the dugout railing.
Jeff Francoeur went 0-for-4, he is now 0-for-22 over his last five games.
Rod Barajas went 1-for-4 with a home run, he raised his average to .204.

Thoughts

Carlos Silva, who has a career losing record and a 4.66 ERA, just looked dominant against the Mets lineup. Maybe he’s finally earning that big contract or maybe the Mets just made him look good. The Cincinnatti Reds and Houston Astros also made him look good too, so it’s not just the Mets.
Ryota Igarashi ’s injury could end up being the difference between a good bullpen and a bad one.
Gary Matthews Jr. is hitting just .179, while Frank Catalanotto is hitting .143. They need Daniel Murphy to return to get some decent production from the bench.
It looks like the Mets have got the same old consistently inconsistent Oliver Perez back this year. He’s had two bad starts sandwiching a very good one.

Quotes

Ike Davis on his first inning catch: “I dove out a little too far and I had to bring the ball back to me. I grabbed the post and sort of rolled over it. I landed on my feet.”

Line of the Night

SB— David Wright (6). David Wright continues to be very aggressive on the base paths. He is now sitting in third place on the National League’s stolen base leaderboard.

Up Next

The Mets will go for their first series victory of the season tonight, as they try to take the final of four games against the Cubs.
Thursday, April 22: LHP Tom Gorzelanny (0-1, 1.93 ERA) vs. LHP Johan Santana (1-1, 3.00 ERA).