The New York Mets slated to an early 4-0 lead, could not sustain the early momentum, allowing the St. Louis Cardinals to rally to a 6-4 Victory at the new Busch Stadium in Missouri Tuesday night. OF Rick Ankiel had the go ahead double, while superstar 1b Albert Pujols had 2 rbi. The St. Louis bullpen was key, going 4 scoreless innings, led by rookie flamethrower Jason Motte(first ML win with a scoreless 2/3rds of an inning in the 8th) and new closer Ryan Franklin.(3 saves in 3 chances)
The Mets jumped on Cardinals starter Todd Wellemeyer, scoring 4 times in the first 4 innings. CF Carlos Beltran, SS Jose Reyes, LF Daniel Murphy and 3b David Wright posted rbi, while 2b Luis Castillo continued his torrid streak with 2 hits in 4 at bats.(15 hits in last 30 at bats)
Maddening Mets LH Oliver Perez(DEREK LOWE, anyone?) was strong until he gave up a leadoff single to Wellemeyer!!(The Cardinal sin, no pun intended). After an out and single, Pujols doubled in 2. A walk, infield single and bases loaded walk(By new Mets reliever Casey Fossum) ended Perez’ sheet and tied the score at 4-4. His stat line: 4 2/3 rd innings, 6 hits and 4 runs with 4 Ks and 5 walks.
The Mets blew a chance to go ahead in the 8th, after a leadoff walk to Beltran and sacrifice put him at 2nd. Carlos tried to score from 2nd when a errant relay throw rolled in from 3rd to pitcher. Mets killer, C Yadier Molina, apllied the tag for a huge out. Beltran, who is battling leg issues, did not slide and Molina, an excellent defensive player, did a great job blocking the plate.
J.J. Putz was the victim of misplayed triple in the 8th. Ankiel followed with a double to make it 5-4. Putz settled down and retired Pujols. However, OF Ryan Ludwick’s sacrifice fly scored Ankiel for the games final run. Franklin retired the Mets in order for the save.
Unfortunately for a promising rookie, this might have been the worst game of the season for LF Daniel Murphy. He was picked off first by the catcher, thrown out at the plate and made two huge fielding mistakes: throwing to the wrong base on a relay and his misplay of Ryan’s liner. “I guess I’m a little concerned,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. “I have to be honest with you. He’s a hard worker. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. I think for the most part, I’d just like to see him relax.”
UGH: Without question, the worst loss of the season, mental errors and if this team made any of 4-5 plays specifically correctly, they win. “We had a four-run lead and we didn’t hold on to it,” Manuel said. “We have enough offense. We should add a run here or there and we didn’t do that.”
Hats Off: To Mets stand up set-up guy, Putz ,postgame. He defended the kid LF (“It was crushed,” Putz said. “Those balls, line drives right at the outfielders, are probably the hardest ones to get a read on. It was unfortunate that he just lost his footing and the ball got behind him.”) about 9 days after staff ace threw him under the bus.(Murphy’s error on April 12th allowed a run to score)
Star of the Game: St. Louis pen, kept the Mets at bay and allowed the comeback(or implosion, depending on which team you support)
Game Notes: Mets #2 starter Mike Pelfrey threw live batting practice today and has no issues with his injured forearm. He will throw one more time but is on schedule to start Saturday vs the Nationals…Fossum gives the Mets another lefthanded option with Pedro Feliciano…Reyes,Wright,Beltran and Castillo all had 2 hits to pace the club… The loss is the Mets 3rd of the season while holding a 3 run lead, last season NY tied the Detroit Tigers with 14 such losses… NY is 6-7 yet has allowed the fewest runs in the NL. 11 of their 13 games have been decided by 2 runs or fewer
