In his 3rd straight solid outing, Jonathon Niese pitched a solid 7 innings and the offense gave him all the support he would need in the 8-4 victory
Game Notes
Jonathon Niese went to the mound today, and pitched a gem against the team he used to root for as a kid. Niese gave up 3 runs on 8 hits walking 2 and striking out 3 in 7 innings. Despite struggling to find his footing on the mound, the same mound that gave Stephen Strasburg trouble this past Saturday, Jonathon Niese worked his way out of major trouble every inning he got into it. The only major blemish was a 2 run HR that Shelley Duncan barely deposited over the left field wall. If this is Jonathon Niese maturing into what he can became, the Mets will have seen two of their homegrown talents finding their way in the MLB.
The bullpen came out, and was out of control. Jenrry Mejia didn’t manage to record an out in his trip to the mound, walking 2. Jenrry couldn’t find the zone throughout his outing, relying on Rod Barajas’ blocking to prevent runners from advancing. Elmer Dessens would come in to stop the bleeding, but not after allowing 1 of Mejia’s runners to score. Elmer Dessens final line was 2 innings pitched, 1 hit allowed, with 1 strikeout and 1 walk. The bullpen hasn’t allowed Raul Valdes, Fernando Nieve or Ryota Igarashi much work, and hopefully they can all find their grooves in the near future
The offense put together another major inning, putting up 5 runs in the 3rd inning thanks to a barrage of doubles from the 2 thru 5 hitters. Angel Pagan kicked it off, scoring Ruben Tejada. Then David Wright hit his double, scoring Jose Reyes and Angel Pagan. Ike Davis kept the doubles rolling, knocking in David Wright. Jason Bay would do the last of the damage, knocking Ike Davis in. Jason Bay would leave the game in the 6th due to a collision at 1st base in the 1st inning. The final 3 runs would be scored in the 6th inning off of a Jeff Francoeur single, scoring Chris Carter and an Angel Pagan single that scored both Rod Barajas and Francoeur. The Mets bats have really come alive in the last 5 or 6 games, unleashing pent-up run scoring on the weaker teams of the AL.
Jeff Francoeur continues his torrid hitting, going 2-4 with an RBI and a run. All a Mets fan can hope for is to ride this hot streak until it ends.
Ruben Tejada brought his average to an even .200 with his 1-3 outing today.
Turning Point
Elmer Dessens pitching out of a bases loaded jam – this may be underscored and lauded as a bad decision – but if the bleeding would’ve kept going the Mets bullpen would’ve been further taxed. Elmer induced the double play and that saved the game and the win for Jonathon Niese
Game Ball
Angel Pagan takes the game ball today. 3-5 with 3 RBI and an SB. Every day that Angel is in the outfield (horrible pun, forgive me) it makes the absence of Carlos Beltran slightly more tolerable.
On Deck
The Mets will look to sweep the series with the Indians, sending outstanding knuckleballer R.A Dickey to face off against (possible future Met?) Jake Westbrook. Game time is 7:05 PM.
