Mets Survive in DC: Series Recap

The Mets were down to a slim one-game lead in the standings at the beginning of this series. With every loss the word “collapse” echoed in the Mets’ heads (collapse…collapse…collapse…echo…echo…echo…pinch hitting for Pedro Borbon…Manny Mota…Mota…Mota…). After splitting four games with Washington, the Mets are now a half game behind Philly but have a one-and-a-half-game lead over Milwaukee for the wild card lead. We have to start keeping an eye on the sliding Brewers now. Have you seen Prince Fielder lately? Ned Yost didn’t get fired. Fielder ate him. After going 1-5 against the Nats down the stretch last September, the Mets went 4-2 against them this year, and finished 12-6 vs. them for the season. Here’s what happened down in DC.

Monday, Nationals 7-2: Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Day to Quit Drinking

Five lousy hits. Two lousy runs. A pedestrian Pedro Martinez (yet again). A disastrous Duaner Sanchez. One hit off John Lannan by an offense that came into the game hitting .407 against him. A David Wright double play with the bases loaded in the eighth inning. The best thing you can say about this game is that nobody died.

Tuesday, Nationals 1-0: Looks like I Picked the Wrong Day to Quit Smoking

Four lousy hits. No lousy runs. Here we go again. The offense completely shut down. The heart of the order―David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado―went one for 12 (after going 0 for 11 in the first game). The whole lineup was swinging at pitches in the dirt and out of the zone. Shutout by Odalis Perez? Pressing a little? Umm, yeah. What else went wrong? Pinch runner Ramon Martinez didn’t go from first to third on a hit-and-run. Willie Harris made another circus catch on a Wright liner over his head with two outs and two on. And Fernando Tatis dislocated his shoulder trying to make a diving catch and is out for the season. What a disappointing way for his great comeback story to end. Mike Pelfrey was the only bright spot in this game. But it’s too late for bright spots. The Mets need wins.

Wednesday, Mets 9-7: Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Day to Quit Sniffing Glue 

There’s an old joke about the 1962 Mets: A man walks into a bar and says, “Hey, the Mets scored nine runs last night.” The bartender answers, “Did they win?” Even an easy win isn’t easy for the Mets. The offense finally got untracked, sparked by a Jose Reyes leadoff home run. Carlos Delgado also went yard and added an RBI single. Daniel Murphy belted an RBI triple (he runs like either Pete Rose or Barney Rubble, I can’t decide). But Carlos Beltran was the star of the game. He hit two lasers over the fence (one from each side of the plate), and Gold Gloved his was around center field all night long. Brandon Knight gave the Mets exactly what they needed out of him―a non-disastrous start. He picked up his first big league win (but barely). While only giving up two runs, he had to fight his way out of trouble in the fourth and fifth innings. And then the fun started. It took seven relievers (tying a team record) to hold a five-run lead―against the Nationals. Poor Aaron Heilman even gets booed on the road. Do you think he gets booed at home, too? Does he pull his lawn mower out of the garage and then get booed and heckled by his neighbors? Luis Ayala finally stopped the bleeding by striking out the only batter he faced to notch the save. Phew.

Thursday, Mets 7-2: That’s More Like It 

This is what the first three games of the series should have looked like. I was so relaxed watching this game, I felt like Kevin McReynolds. The offense scored runs in each of the first five innings. And Johan Santana had another impeccable outing, earning his 14^th victory of the year. Even the bullpen couldn’t blow this one. Santana went seven innings, gave up one run on eight hits, struck out eight and walked two. After suffering through all the Bret Saberhagens and Tom Glavines, we finally get Santana, who’s been everything he was supposed to be. Brian Schneider got some revenge against his old team by cracking two dingers. Ryan Church also punished his former franchise with two hits and two RBIs (hopefully this game will get him going again), and Reyes and Beltran each had an RBI. Daniel Murphy had his usual excellent game (two hits and a walk, and even his outs are hit hard). I think it’s time to forget the righty-lefty thing and just play him every day and plug him into the two hole. The guy just knows what he’s doing at the plate. David Wright, on the other hand, is just plain confused. After tearing it up against the Braves last weekend, he went 1-18 against the Nats.