Jonathon Niese had a good outing, but two errors in the fifth inning lead to two unearned runs, and the Mets offense struggled today in its 6-2 loss to the Cardinals
Game Notes
Jonathon Niese pitched a good game, but his pitching line will not show that. Jonathon went six innings, giving up five runs (three earned) on five hits, walking one while striking out seven and giving up a two-run HR to Albert Pujols in the first. Niese was victimized by poor defensive plays in the fifth, because outside of the HR, he only allowed one other run. The defensive struggles of Lucas Duda and Angel Pagan have been evident for the last few weeks, with Pagan struggling to field balls cleanly and Lucas Duda struggling at first base.
The bullpen today was essentially mop-up, with D.J. Carrasco pitching two clean innings, striking out one. Manny Acosta came out for the first time in five days, and gave up one run on two hits walking one and striking out one. Hopefully, this was rust and not his usual #AcostalypseNow routine
The bats today were fairly quiet, and the only run scoring hits were a Justin Turner RBI groundout scoring Jose Reyes and a Jason Pridie RBI single scoring Lucas Duda. Other then those hits, not much damage was managed against Jake Westbrook, who gave up four hits and walked one in eight.
Reyes, Turner, Beltran – 2 for 11 with an RBI, a walk and two strikeouts. As the top of the lineup goes, so do the Mets.
Lucas Duda – 2 for 3 with a run, but that big error in the fifth could have been inning-ending.
Turning Point
The aforementioned Duda play. Ends the inning, game is 3-1.
Game Ball
Carlos Beltran, not based on his day at the plate, but because there is a pretty good chance this was his last game at Citi Field. Carlos, you were maddening sometimes, injury prone and probably slightly overpaid, but when you performed, you turned in huge seasons. You will be missed
On Deck
Tommorrow, the Mets will begin a big road trip in Florida, and will see the return of David Wright at third base. Mike Pelfrey will face off against fellow maddening sinkerballer Chris Volstard and the Marlins. Game time is 7:10 P.M.
