Chris Young had a good outing but ran out of steam in the seventh, and the bullpen faltered in the 9-2 loss against the Phillies
Game Recap
Chris Young went to the mound and has kept with the theme of quality outings, going seven innings allowing three runs on five hits while striking out three and walking none with all of his runs allowed in the seventh inning. Chris gave up two big home runs back-to-back, and the issues as mentioned on the SNY broadcast is that Chris doesn’t seem to tire as much as his repertoire becomes predictable. The only concerns with Chris Young are durability and exactly how many innings is Chris Young good for per start.
The bullpen received some work today, with Miguel Batista coming out for the eighth inning to face one batter, and gave up a hit and a run. Tim Byrdak relieved him and gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning on one hit while walking one. Jeremy Hefner came out to do the heavy lifting, giving up three runs on five hits in one and one-third innings including a home run.
The pen has been horrible. Outside of Francisco or Parnell, the Mets do not have another pitcher they can rely on in a situation of any leverage to get a key out, less in fact a strikeout.
On offense, the Mets hitters were fooled by Phillies starter Cliff Lee for most of the game, minus a Scott Hairston solo home run and a sixth inning that saw a series of singles capped off with a David Wright RBI single. After that, the offense was victimized by Cliff Lee and called third strikes on the day.
Game Notes
Mets one through six hitters each had one hit, with Andres Torres and Mike Nickeas both struggling. Torres struggles have been noted, but with the recent development of Kirk Nieuwenhuis and his hand possibly sending him to the DL, he looks to be the starting center fielder for the foreseeable future.
Ruben Tejada went 2 for 4, continuing his hot hitting since his return from the DL. Ruben’s average on the season is now at .331.
Miguel Batista ended June with a 4.22 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Beato-watch 2012 looks like: after the ASB.
Jordanny Valdespin was called up and took the place of LHP Justin Hampson. Whether this is a precursor to a possible DL stint for Kirk or just to avoid playing with a short bench will be decided.
Turning Point
When the bullpen surrendered six more runs. In only two innings of work.
On Deck
The Mets will look to win the series tomorrow, sending all-star pitcher R.A. Dickey (12-1, 2.15) to the mound to face-off against the Phillies and Cole Hamels (10-4, 3.08). Game time is 7:10 P.M.
