The Mets, beaten and battered, got huge performances from 2 old veterans, leading them to a gutsy 6-1 win over the Washington Nationals Tuesday night at Citifield. 34 yr old Livian Hernandez(4-1, 4.28) pitched the first complete game of the season and lF Gary Sheffield homered for the 2nd consecutive game to led NY. CF Angel Pagan, 3b David Wright and Sheffield all had 2 hits to pace the Mets attack.
To say the Mets are beat up right now is like saying the economy is in a slump. The lineup put out tonight by skipper Jerry Manuel featured TWO players from the opening day sheet- Wright and 2b Luis Castillo. 4 starters are DL-ed and 1 other is dealing with a knee issue. This group has shown a lot of guts and intestinal fortitude to sustain quality baseball over the past week or so.
Hernandez was huge and kept the Nationals bats off balance all night. The crafty veteran used 127(83 strikes) pitches over his 9 frames while allowing 9 hits and 1 run, a 7th inning homer to left by Nationals slugging RF Adam Dunn, which was a tremendous piece of hitting. He struck out 6 and walked 1. The big right hander, who blows bubbles during his starts and appears very laid back, was tired post game, “It looked easy, but it’s not,” he said. “It’s a lot of pitches.”
The New York line-up managed to plate 3 runs in the first three innings, with SS Ramon Martinez(rbi double in the 2nd), 1b Fernando Tatis(rbi single) and rookie Fernando Martinez(1st ML rbi on a fielders choice) leading the way. Nationals starter, RH Craig Stammen(2nd ML start(, did not pitch porly over his 5 innings. He was touched for 7 hits and 3 runs while walking and striking out 2. Veteran RH Jason Bergmann(2.45) allowed Sheffield’s big bomb on the 7 with Castillo and Wright aboard to close out the scoring.
Star of the Game: Hernandez—-Did not look tired in the 9th and was a homer from one of the premier power hitters in the game away from pitching a shutout. Livian became the 1st Mets starter to pitch into the 8th in 2009. The relief corps had to be excited with Johan Santana slated to go Wednesday!
Roster moves/Injury updates: Busy, busy day for the Mets front office and coaching staff. The club placed 2 starting players on the DL – SS Jose Reyes(calf tendinitis) and RF Ryan Church (Hamstring) , made a trade for a back up infielder and called up the Franchise’s #1 prospect. The team purchased veteran infielder Wilson Valdez from the Indians for Cash to help Ramon Martinez and the other middle infielders fill in for Reyes. With Church hurting, the Mets recalled uber prospect Fernando Martinez from Triple A Buffalo. Considered by many one of the top minor talents in the game, the 20 yr old will play almost everyday in RF and bat 6. He was hitting .291 with 8 homers. The club received some good news on 2 fronts. 1st, regarding superstar CF Carlos Beltran and his right knee. An MRI revealed a bone bruise and inflammation in his tibia. He took a pain killing injection and will hopefully return to the lineup Friday. Back up infielder Alex Cora appears to be recovering well from his thumb injury and should be able to return on his scheduled DL date of June 3rd.
Game Notes: Hernandez also ended Nationals 3b Ryan Zimmerman’s 43 game streak of reaching base. The boyhoood friend of Wright, went 0 for 4 with 2 Ks….Mets turned 3 double plays and Pagan combined with C Omir Santos on a nice throw-block-tag play in the 5th.. Rookie Martinez was 0 for 3 with an rbi. He was also hit by a pitch and looked good in right… LHP Oliver Perez made his 1st rehab start in Triple A, going 4 1/3 innings while allowing 3 hits and a run… Sheffield’s homer tied him with ex Met Eddie Murray for 24th on the all time list
Tonight’s Mets Lineup:
1- CF Angel Pagan
2- 2b Luis Castillo
3-3b David Wright
4- LF Gary Sheffield
5- 1b Fernando Tatis
6-RF Fernando Tatis
7- C Omir Santos
8- SS Ramon Martinez
9- Pitcher
Next Game:
Wednesday, series conclusion vs the Nationals at Citifield
7:10
Mets LH Johan Santana(6-2,1.50) vs Nationals RH Jordan Zimmermann(2-1,5.71)
