I apologized for the lack of posts but I’m back and am going to summarize the Mets first week of the MLB season (not including opening day.)
On April 1st, the Mets didn’t get the start they wanted from Pedro Martinez. That was because 57 pitches in to the game, he limped off the mound. After retiring Matt Treanor in the fourth inning, Pedro grabbed both his midsection and lower back region and after talking with Mets manager Willie Randolph and team medical officials, was taken out of the game. It was later found out that he had a strained left hamstring. Besides the loss of Pedro, the Mets unfortunately came up short in the 10th inning losing to the Marlins 4-5. Florida came out swinging right out of the gates getting two runs in each the first and second inning but the Mets came back scoring three runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to tie the game at four. Neither team could capitalize the rest of the game so it went in to extra innings. After the Mets couldn’t get any runs on the board in the top of the 10th, Marlins third baseman Robert Andino hit a home run with two outs in the bottom of the inning to win the game. Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Delgado, Church, and Pagan all got one hit and catcher Brian Schneider got three hits to lead the team. Wright, Delgado, Church, and Pagan were the players who provided the runs. After Pedro’s bad start giving up four hits, two home runs, and four earned runs, the bullpen played great only giving up one hit and zero runs until Matt Wise gave up that home run in the 10th for the loss. That was the only hit he gave up. The Mets hung in there but it was an unfortunate ending to a long game.
On April 2nd, the Mets redeemed themselves by putting a whooping on the Marlins beating them 13-0. Oliver Perez was great pitching six shutout innings, only giving up five hits and one walk, and striking out eight. After Perez, the bullpen was awesome only giving up one hit to go along with two strikeouts. On the offensive end, Ryan Church and David Wright each homered, Carlos Beltran had three doubles and the Mets racked up 17 hits. A very impressive stat was that besides the pitchers, every player who started on the Mets, tallied at least one hit. A very impressive win for the club. This victory showed how good offensively the Mets can be and the pitching is for real.
On April 5th, the Mets moved to their next destination, Atlanta, to play the Braves. The outcome wasn’t as successful as the last game. Mets starting pitcher John Maine only lasted four innings giving up eight hits and four runs, and the Mets were beaten by the Braves 11-5. The Mets got a total of ten hits so the bats held up their own, but the bullpen was awful giving up seven hits and seven earned runs. The big play of the game happened in the bottom of the seventh inning when the Braves were leading 5-3, Atlanta’s pinch-hitter, Kelly Johnson, hit a two out grand slam to break open the close game and extend the score to 9-3. Some small stats– David Wright was 0-for-4, ending his 20-game hitting streak that began Sept. 19, 2007. Clearly not an area of concern while he is still batting .353. After this game, Carlos Beltran was hitting a team best .438 and had six doubles to lead the MLB in that category. This was a very poor outing from the pitching crew. The boys are very inconsistent and need to improve in many areas. The Mets finish their last game on the road against the Braves before they return to New York for the home opener.
On April 6th, the Mets did basically the opposite at Turner Field then they did the day before. Johan Santana had a very good seven innings only letting in one run but the run support was not there. The game turned into a pitchers battle when John Smoltz, who made his first start after opening the season on the disabled list, pitched five very good scoreless innings and earned the win by beating the Mets 3-1. The Braves completed the mini-sweep and the main reason they won was because they got the runs when they had the chances. The Mets did only have five hits compared to Atlanta’s eight, but the real stat was how many men were left on base. The Mets had 14 compared to the Braves seven. Weird the say but the best hitter on the Mets was probably Santana. He was one for two with a double. Very solid stats for a pitcher. The Mets finished off their road game series on an unfortunate note and with a record of 2-3, but look to start new when they play their home opener on April 8th against the Philadelphia Phillies.
