Game Summary
It was supposed to be the classic pitchers duel, Randy Johnson versus Johan Santana, but it ended up being anything but. Neither Johnson or Santana brought their “A” games, but in the end it was Santana who came out on top and the Mets who outlasted the Giants 9-6 and won their third straight game in the series.
Pitching
Johan Santana had a tough go of it against the Giants and was tagged for 11 hits in the game. He weaved in and out of trouble, but kept the Mets in the game and gave them seven gutsy innings. Santana’s streak of starts allowing two earned runs or fewer, finally came to an end at 13. Johan Santana allowed a season high six runs (four earned), but improved to 5-2 on the season, and he still leads the NL with a 1.36 ERA.
Bobby Parnell pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and J.J. Putz pitched a 1-2-3 ninth in place of Francisco Rodriguez for his first save since last Sept. 28 with Seattle. Putz was lighting up the radar gun consistently at 95 MPH with his fastball for the first time this season, and his velocity problems may now be a thing of the past.
Hitting
The Mets continued their torrid hitting with another huge game at the plate. They pounded out sixteen hits and scored nine runs in this one, with most of the damage coming from the 3-4-5 spots in the order.
Carlos Beltran had 3 hits, 3 runs and 3 RBI’s and improved his league leading batting average to .379 with no signs of slowing.
Gary Sheffield has been a big reason for the Mets success during this winning streak. He batted cleanup again and collected 3 hits to raise his average to .270. Sheff also drew a walk and scored a run.
David Wright has exploded since being dropped out of the three spot, a move I have cried for since mid 2008. Wright went 3-5 with a run scored and 3 RBI’s. Wright is currently one of the hottest hitters in baseball and has seen his average jump from .296 to .350 in the last two weeks.
Ramon Castro and Alex Cora also picked up a couple of hits each.
Final Thoughts
The Mets are now 12-3 in May and have won three straight and 11 of 13 overall. It has been a remarkable turn around that has them now sitting in first place with a 21-15 record and a slim 1.5 game lead over the Phillies.
Gary Sheffield is 9-for-18 since moving into the cleanup spot on Wednesday.
The Mets were sloppy in the field again, with both David Wright and Luis Castillo committing errors.
The Mets will send undefeated Mike Pelfrey (4-0) to the mound as they look to complete the 4 game sweep in Frisco and if they pull it off, it would be the first time in franchise history.
Game Ball
It goes to our 3-4-5 hitters who were on base nine times and drove in six runs.
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wow, just wow. I remember reading and writing about all the doom and gloom just a few weeks ago, and suddenly this team looks like they have a chance to win every game. Finally Johan gets run support and he struggles himself. Maybe the key is to not give him run support. Putz was throwing so hard I could hear the pop in the catcher’s glove even with the sound muted. Wright is finally showing the MVP candidate potential we all knew was in him…and thankfully since he was the first pick for my fantasy team! And who would have thought Sheffield would have such a hot bat? And how about all the stolen bases, without Reyes???
Of course, the Giants are not very good….they look like the April version of the Mets. But wins are wins. Go Mets!
Jerry Manuel is looking like the Manager of the Year in my book if he keeps this team in contention the rest of the season…even thou he gets more pressure from the New York media and the Mets fans than any other manager, he hangs tough…he keeps the team running, stealing bases, playing small ball, substituting the right players at the right time and best of all using the bull pen with such mastery that in conclusion. we are winning…hopefully when the time comes for a slump we the fans are going to be there to give 100% support to this team…lets go Mets…
A perfect example of why its called a “TEAM”, it takes all 25 guys to win the season, not just a game. Earlier Santana carried the team, yestersday Santana was less then Santana and yet the “TEAM” pulled it off.
LGM YGB
I think David’s hot streak is vindication of all the belief Mets fans held in him that he would work his way out of his slow start (even though there was silly talk of trading him). But even more meaningful is the way Sheffield is playing. He is now showing that he can be a vital force in the lineup and put all the doubts in the past. Additionally, the fear that he would be unable to play the field has been put to rest as well. Sheff is now showing that he was a tremendous pick-up and is a flat out, no question win with no downside and a feather in Omar’s cap. It is great to see Putz’s performance after all the recent doubts. But we need to see if he can repeat this pitching performance in the 8th inning. Was this outing a result of seeing a SAVE sitting there for the taking? Hope that’s not the case; he’ll have to show us more. Finally, it’s great to have a streak going, but moreso to have it with Jose’ on the bench. Perhaps Gary Cohen’s words: “As Jose’ goes, so go the Mets.” is no longer relevant. The Mets have shown they can win without Jose’ in the lineup. That says a lot about the strength of this team.
Yes for now the Mets are winning and good to see that they can without Jose but the record shows that the Mets are a better team with Jose hitting lead off and playing short. Cora does not have the range and you cannot expose the older players, Castillo, Cora, Sheffield as everyday players without their breaking down. I am enjoying this run and maybe Jose will see that he needs to concentrate more but he is the engine that gets this team winning. You will not get to and win playoff games with Cora as your starter period. LGM!
I thought this was going to be one of the 1-0 games, was pleasently surprised. Finally the batters scored some runs.. and the odd thing is usually if we scored 9 runs in a Santana game it would have been a blow out… but it was still close at the end. Saturday is my blackout day, so I was checking the score in ESPN and when I saw the 9 inning I was relieved..i assumed K-Rod was finishing it off. I never would have borne it if I knew Putz was on the mound…but everything turned out well.
The best thing about the Mets this season is the ability they have developed to score throughou the game, which they reall havn’t done since before 2006. They dont have to score 10 runs in the 1st, and then they can pick up the bullpen if they blow it, like how they picked up Parnell on Thursday.