Newly acquired Daisuke Matsuzaka took the mound for the Amazins tonight, but unfortunately the results were far from spectacular.
It didn’t take long for the Tigers to strike. On an 0-2 pitch to Torii Hunter, Matsuzaka conceded his first run as a Met, an absolute moon shot to left field. He allowed subsequent hits, but escaped relatively unscathed at 1-0.
From there it only got more ugly. Marlon Byrd tied it up with a single in the bottom of the first, but the Tigers answered with four more in the second, thanks to a Miguel Cabrera dinger to left.
Although he settled down after the next three, Dice-K’s night was done after five frames. His final line was a mediocre one:
5 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
He was relieved by Carlos Torres, who pitched a scoreless sixth. However, the Tigers bit again in the seventh when Austin Jackson hit yet another home run to, you guessed it, left field. 6-1 Tigers.
Tigers’ starter Doug Fister lasted one out into the seventh, when he was relieved for Drew Smyly. Fister’s final line, unlike Dice-K’s, was an impressive one: 6.1 IP, 8H, 1ER, 2BB, 4K.
Pedro Feliciano relieved Torres and threw .2 innings of scoreless ball, and David Aardsma finished the eighth with a strikeout.
The Mets threatened slightly in the eighth, but to no avail. Travis d’Arnaud popped up to center with runners on first and second to end the threat.
The theme continued in the ninth, as the Mets went rather quietly (besides an Eric Young Jr. double) as they were handed their 68th loss of the year.
The series continues tomorrow at 4:05. We have a heavyweight pitcher’s duel on our hands, with Matt Harvey taking on Max Scherzer.
