It’s weird because with the Wild Card wide open, the Mets can pretty much determine who their first round playoff opponent is. If they ever have a series where they drop two or three games (I know, but it could happen), that team would have a distinct advantage over the teams like the Astros and Reds before them, who dropped two of three.
Rookie John Maine came out of nowhere on Friday and threw a four hit shutout. The Mets played some extra inning games earlier in the week, so this was a welcome relief for the bullpen. All seven runs were driven in by two guys. Jose Valentin drove in four runs and Carlos Delgado drove in three. Both guys hit homeruns.
Orlando Hernandez gave up three runs in the first and then calmed down and threw a nice game. He ended up pitching scoreless ball the rest of the way and he gave up three runs on four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in seven innings. Xavier Nady gave the Mets the lead with a three run shot in the fourth inning. Billy Wagner threw the ninth and picked up his 20th save of the season.
The Astros avoided being swept and actually got some offense. Mike Pelfrey was knocked around and he didn’t even last five innings. Carlos Delgado tagged Roy Oswalt for a three run shot. It was homerun number 25, and Delgado now has his batting average up over .250.
Next up are Cubs, who are way down in the standings. In fact, they’re one of the very worst teams in the league and one of the few that aren’t realistically in the wild card mess. This should be a beat down.
