Jul
8
2012

Niese Shelled, Offense Stifled, Mets Lose Rubber Game To Cubs 7-0

An article by Clayton Collier

Recap:

It was simply not a good day for the New York Mets as the Cubs exploded for seven runs off of Jonathon Niese to take the rubber game of the final series prior to the All-Star Break by a final score of 7-0.

Niese took the hill going toe to toe with Cubs ace Ryan Dempster and was hit hard from the get-go. Reed Johnson led things off with a single which opened the door to a four run first for Chicago. Niese settled down for five scoreless frames after that and pitched well up until the seventh when Starlin Castro rocketed a three run homer into left center to break the game open at 7-0. Niese ended the evening with a forgetful seven innings pitched, allowing seven runs (all earned) on nine hits while walking none and punching out three, taking the loss to fall to 7-4 on the year while boosting his ERA to 3.73. Not the way Niese wanted to go into the break.

As for the Cubs, Ryan Dempster was dominant to say the least. Making his first start back from the DL, Dempster had the Mets number as he went five shutout frames allowing just four hits while walking none and punching out four, improving to 4-3 on the season with the win while lowering his ERA to 1.88. His only hiccup came in the second when he allowed a triple to Scott Hairston but the Mets were unable to get him home.

From there the Cubs bullpen slammed the door with four scoreless frames, improving to 4-2 against the Mets in 2012. The Mets now go into the All-Star Break six games over .500 and 46-40 and five games back of the Washington Nationals in the NL East.

Notes:

-If it’s any consolation, the Mets bullpen performed well today as Tim Byrdak and Pedro Beato combined for two scoreless innings. Beato now has a 1 1/3 scoreless streak going, making a bid to top his personal best last year of 18.

-Murphy had himself a three hit game in the loss, now batting .295 heading into the break.

-The subject of trade rumors, Justin Turner went 0-for-1 in his pinch hitting appearance today.

-Tejada, Wright, Hairston, Valdespin and Niese had hits on the day in addition to Murphy.

-For a rarity, a game featuring the Mets and Cubs, GM’ed by Sandy Alderson and Theo Epstein respectively, had no walks on the day.

Up Next:

Following a much needed four-day holiday for the majority of the Mets for the All-Star break, the Amazin’s will pick things back up with a series at Turner Field to take on the Atlanta Braves starting Friday at 7pm.

About the Author: Clayton Collier

Clayton, a Long Island native and die-hard Mets fan, started writing online about three years ago. He is currently a Journalism major with a minor in Broadcasting at Seton Hall University. Although very disappointed with the current state of the team, Clayton remains hopeful that the young prospects in the farm system will bring the Mets back to a respected franchise in baseball once again. Besides writing for MMO, Clayton is also a staff member at 89.5 WSOU, Seton Hall's modern active rock radio station. You can contact Clayton by following him on Twitter: @Clayton_Collier or E-mailing him at MaybeNextYearMets@yahoo.com

4 Comments + Add Comment

Gina July 8, 2012 at 4:43 pm

Well it would have been nice to end the first half with a win, but I’m still happy with the results going into the break. Wright is playing like an MVP, Gold Glover, Silver Slugger all rolled into one. Dickey has been phenomenal and just 8 wins and we’ll have ourselves a 20 game winner for the first time since forever. Santana pitched a no-hitter! :We’ve got a taste of some promising rookies in Valdespin and Niewinhise, and OMG I cant forget Ruben Tejada!

Thanks for all you do MMO and I look forward to a great second half! LETS GO METS!!!
Mr North Jersey July 8, 2012 at 4:45 pm

Instead of the Mets hunting Bear (or in this case Cubs) it was the other way around as the Cubs ambushed Niese in the 1st for those 4 runs.

Santana and Niese get smacked around and Gee goes 8 innings and allows 1 run. Cubs for whatever reason just have our number. Mets lose the series but split the homestand. Not what you want to do at home but better than than playing below .500 on the homestand.

Already reports about Santana missing Friday due to ankle not sure if they are being overprotective or if there is more there than being said. Something to definitely monitor in the coming days.

46-40 at the end of the 1st half and what a memorable 1st half it was but the next 6 games after the break on the road will be tough against the Braves & Nationals.
L.J. Phipps July 8, 2012 at 8:13 pm

I am happy with our Mets, basically in second place (actually 3rd at 46-40). They need a break, gets some rest and come out ready to roll in the second half. The improvements I would like to see are: Duda being aggressive at the plate. LuDu needs to jump on that fastball from lefties and spit on those breaking balls. They are getting him to chase the outside pitch and dropping the yakkers right under his hands. He needs to go back to his early season approach taking that outside pitch to left and launching the inside one into the right field bleachers, 30hrs 100+rbi’s. Ike same thing. Thole, need to get some rbi’s from that spot, 11 in the first half is kind of puny or maybe they get a right handed hitter to compliment Thole. Bullpen needs some new arms, although Beato, Parnell, & Francisco are the bright spots so far. Another lefty and an 8th inning bridge guy. If Bay does not make it back, do they trade for a right handed hitter (Quintin)? I am looking forward to the second half, Lets Go Mets!
Metsie July 8, 2012 at 10:43 pm

Maybe they should have saved some of that PLAYOFF Energy they spent celebrating beating the last place team in the NL East so they would have had enough reserve energy left to beat the last place team in the NL Central.

Here is the problem as I see with the Ups and Downs…

They get really up for some series and then fall flat against other teams in the series that follows!

Time to even out the Keel round these parts!

Thankfully they will get a decent bit of rest during the ASG and maybe they can catch a second wind and not blow it all out at once.

NL East Standings

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB
Braves	23	18	.561	-
Nationals	23	19	.548	0.5
Phillies	20	23	.465	4.0
Mets	16	24	.400	6.5
Marlins	11	31	.262	12.5

Last updated: 05/18/2013

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