In the fifth inning of Saturday’s 7-3 loss to the Florida Marlins, Mets centerfielder Carlos Beltran left the game with a stomach virus. With Beltran out for the remainder of the game, the Mets lineup resembled something very similar to that of a spring training game in March coincided with the World Baseball Classic. In defense of Mets manager Jerry Manuel, the core of his starting position players were in desperate need of a day off.
Nonetheless, left fielder Gary Sheffield, third baseman David Wright, and second baseman Luis Castillo were back in the Mets starting lineup for the final game of this current home stand against the Marlins today and, wouldn’t you know it, produced a better result. Even with their starting pitcher, John Maine, experiencing the same fate as their absent centerfielder, (Maine was pulled prior to the beginning of the seventh inning Sunday with the same type of stomach virus as Beltran) he managed to propel the Mets to victory and take the series from the Marlins, two games to one.
Maine continued his dominance with the help of his trusty bullpen at Citi Field this season with his fourth win in his last four starts at home. Against the Marlins, the right hander went six full innings giving up only three hits with no runs to go along with five strikeouts to just two walks.
“Not many foul balls were hit. I had a low pitch count. I wanted to keep going but what are you going to do.” Maine said. “I couldn’t help it.”
Today’s 3-2 victory concludes a 5-1 home stand for the Mets. Overall, the Mets are 17-9 at Citi Field. “It’s always important to play well at home,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “Our starting pitching has stepped up for us.”
With that said, right-hander Livan Hernandez will take his 4-1 record for the season with him on the road Monday as the Mets begin a four game series in Pittsburgh. They will then head to Washington to take on the Nationals this weekend before returning home to play the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets currently have an 11-12 record on the road.
Adding to the Mets long list of injuries, outfielder Angel Pagan left today’s game with discomfort in his right groin. Pagan’s status has been listed as day-to-day.
Mets Attempt to Escape Reality Tonight with a Win
May 20, 2009As the Mets prepare for the final game of their current seven-game road trip on Wednesday night in Los Angeles, the number one thing that should be on each and every Mets players’ mind is how they will earn a victory and salvage the final leg of their recent West coast swing. Not only will this be the Mets’ twentieth scheduled game in row, it will also give them another chance to prove to their beleaguered fans that they still possess some might after dropping the last three games in disappointing fashion.
The only way perhaps to explain the latest Mets swoon is that they wandered into San Francisco’s notorious Haight-Ashbury neighborhood and left with what is known in some circles as “Purple Haze.” There’s no question that last Saturday’s comeback-win against the 2008 NL Cy Young-award winner, Tim Lincecum, could be seen as the “peak” of their performance. Unfortunately, even the strongest dose of LSD causes you to eventually “come down.” Prior to having their infield fully decimated, the Mets were Truckin’. Jerry, in this case Manuel, not Garcia, had his team performing on all cylinders. As we all know, there are many other social aspects that are synonymous with the City by the Bay that don’t involve the colors of the rainbow. Eventually, reality begins to settle in.
Ask Mets starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey to explain why he committing three balks in Sunday night’s game, he’ll tell you that he had a case of the “yips.” Hmm…makes you wonder if that’s code word for something else or quite possibly the acid was beginning to wear off. Perhaps the same could be said for right fielder Ryan Church. You never know, instead of trying to score the go-ahead run during Monday night’s extra-inning game, he could have been trying to avoid being captured by little green men as he rounded the third base bag and that’s why he completely missed the base. All in all, the Mets have no reason to make excuses. If they are able to take tonight’s game, they can pat themselves on the back for avoiding a three-game sweep to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Only then will they be able to look back on these last seven games and remind themselves, “What a strange trip it’s been.”
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Tags: Haight-Ashbury, Mike Pelfrey, Ryan Church, San Francisco, Tim Lincecum