Mets, Dickey Continue To Roll
The New York Mets beat the Detroit Tigers 5-0 behind the fluttering knuckler of R.A. Dickey and the bat of Jose Reyes.
Dickey (6-0) pitched eight shutout innings and would have had a chance at a complete game if Francisco Rodriguez didn’t need the work. K-Rod hadn’t pitched since Friday and even though Dickey had allowed just four hits and had retired the last 13 batters he faced, he was lifted by Jerry Manuel for the ninth inning.
“I know that we have to keep Frankie on some type of game regimen and it’s a difficult, difficult decision that you hate to deprive a guy of a complete-game shutout,” Manuel said.
Dickey was okay with being lifted, although he would have liked the complete game.
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“Keeping Frankie sharp is going to win us ballgames,” Dickey said.
He missed out on what could have been his second complete-game shutout of his career. His first was against the Tigers in 2003 as a member of the Texas Rangers, before he revived his career as a knuckle ball pitcher. With the win he became the first pitcher to start his Mets career 6-0.
A day after Angel Pagan just missed the cycle, Jose Reyes just missed one of his own. He had three hits and only lacked the double. He scored three runs and stole his 19th base of the season. Reyes is hitting .344 since being reinserted into the leadoff spot 35 games ago and it no surprise that the Mets are 23-12 in those games.
Ike Davis had two hits, drove in two and sure isn’t playing like a 23-year old rookie. The first round pick of the 2008 draft has settled in well to the clean up role between David Wright and Jason Bay.
The Mets are now 11-3 in interleague games (they went 5-10 last year versus the AL) and are 15-4 in the month of June. The shutout was the 10th of the season for the Mets staff which leads the Major leagues.
Mets Pummel Tigers
The New York Mets jumped on the Detroit Tigers early and didn’t stop until they scored a season high 14 runs, highlighted by an eight run third inning that was interrupted by an hour long rain delay. When the mud settled, the Mets came away with a 14-6 victory and moved back to 10 games over .500.
The return to Citi Field did the Mets good. After scoring just three runs in the final two games at Yankee Stadium, they roughed up Justin Verlander (8-5) for five runs in just two innings. After getting a pair of runs in the first inning, they made sure that Verlander never saw the fourth inning. Well, that and the rain.
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David Wright walked to lead off the inning, then Ike Davis singled. Jason Bay followed with a double into the gap and then the rains came. After a 58-minute rain delay Verlander didn’t return and the Mets made sure that rookie Jay Sborz had a debut that he wouldn’t soon forget.
Sborz became the first pitcher in eight years to hit the first two batters in his debut and he did so on back-to-back pitches. The second Mets batter he hit was Jeff Francoeur and that drove in a run to make the score 4-0. He was able to retire the next two and was close to escaping the inning down just 5-0, but he allowed three straight singles and was yanked before the inning ended.
Sborz line in his debut: two-thirds of an inning, three hits, five runs, two hit batters and an ERA of 67.50. Normally a number like 67 gets you a D, but in this case it was a failing grade.
The Tigers were able to close the gap to 11-6 as they drove Jon Niese from the game in the fifth inning. Jerry Manuel left Niese in the game after the delay (and the long third inning) allowing him every chance to get a fourth consecutive win, but he couldn’t pitch the required five innings.
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The win went to Fernando Nieve (2-3) who pitched 2.1 innings in relief and allowed no runs while striking out four. Recently called up Bobby Parnell and Ryota Igarashi each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the game.
It was the top of the order that did the damage for the Mets. The 1-4 hitters went 13-21 scored 10 runs and drove in 10. Angel Pagan had four hits and finished a homer short of the cycle. Wright reached base all five times he came to the plate (three hits & two walks) and Davis had three RBIs and three hits, two of each in the third inning.
This was the Tigers first trip to play the Mets in New York since 2004 and both teams came into the game 9-3 in interleague play. The Mets are 11-1 in their last 12 home games and with the Braves loss they moved to 1.5 games back.
Monday Update
Three months into the season and the Mets rotation has finally settled down.
Forty percent different than the one that started the season and for the Mets the two guys who are no longer in the rotation are the two most fans don’t miss.
Gone are Oliver Perez and John Maine, replaced by R.A. Dickey and Hisanori Takahashi.
Perez should have never been in the rotation to begin with. If it wasn’t for his albatross of a contract he wouldn’t even be a Met this season. This past Friday he threw about 70 pitches in a simulated game in Port St Lucie. Omar Minaya called it “a good outing”. Wow, there’s a ringing endorsement. A perfect outcome for the Mets would be Perez staying hurt all season, and finding it in his heart to return the money we are paying him.
The news on John Maine is less encouraging. His most recent rehab start in Triple-A Buffalo was a struggle. He threw 88 pitches in 4.1 innings and his fastball was topped out in the high 80s, down from the mid 90s that Mets fans remember. The start wasn’t the problem for Maine, it was the day after.
“John Maine didn’t feel particularly well after the last start,” Manuel said. “So what we’re doing with him is somewhat of a reevaluation, a day-to-day type of thing. He’s not very comfortable with how he’s pitching right now. We’re going to have to reevaluate the situation.”
The injury to Maine, while a set back, is in his best interest. The right hander has a history of hiding discomfort in his pitching arm and the Mets aren’t taking any chances. There is a possibility that this reevaluation will shut him down all season, which would be better than Maine trying to pitch through the pain.
While the rotation was in flux, one of the names being thrown around as a potential starter was Jenrry Mejia. The 20-year old rookie will get his shot as a starter. In Binghamton, the Mets Double-A affiliate.
Normally demotions mean the pitcher hasn’t done his job in the majors, but Mejia has pitched rather well (0-2, 3.25 ERA) in 30 games. His demotion has more to do with the future plans the Mets have for him. He is going to Binghamton to become a starter, and to work on his secondary pitches. He is accepting his reassignment with a positive attitude.
“I’m going down, but I don’t have to put my head down, because I’m going to continue to work hard,” Mejia said. “I don’t think they’re sending me down because I didn’t do my job.”
The roster spot opened by the Mejia demotion and Maine reevaluation, is going to Bobby Parnell. The one time starter has been used exclusively as a reliever this year in Buffalo. He has pitched well in his new role (1-1, 4 saves, 4.25 ERA) and is being brought in to solidify the bullpen.
Mets Have A Bad Weekend
The consecutive losses to the Yankees over the weekend couldn’t spoil the end of the Mets long road trip. They went 7-2 and raised their road record from ‘truly abysmal’ to ‘nearly respectable’.
The bad news is that they did not gain any ground on the division leading Atlanta Braves. They remained exactly where they were when the road trip began, 2.5 games back. However, the Mets were able to put some room between themselves and the third place Phillies, who are now three games back of the Mets.
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The two losses for the Mets on the road trip came in games started by their best two pitchers. Mike Pelfrey lost to Phil Hughes on Saturday and Johan Santana lost to CC Sabathia on Sunday. Both of these games were rematches of the series at Citi Field in May and had the opposite result from the first series.
In May, it was the Mets that won the final two games of the series, with Pelfrey beating Hughes and Santana defeating Sabathia. The Yanks got their revenge this weekend, beating the Mets twice and moved into first place.
On Sunday Santana (5-4) made one costly mistake, a 1-1 pitch to Mark Teixeira that bounced off the top of the left-field wall and into the stands. It came with the bases loaded and put the Yankees up 4-0. That was all Sabathia (8-3) needed. He shut down the Mets for eight innings and only a rain delay kept him from getting a complete game.
After scoring at least three runs in the first eight games of the road trip, the Mets couldn’t get anything going against Sabathia. They were able to get just six men on base and went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. The Mets grounded into two double plays and didn’t get a runner to third all day.
The only time the Mets threatened was in the 7th inning when they had runners on first and second and no one out. Rod Barajas struck out looking, then pinch hitter Fernando Tatis grounded into an inning ending double play. Mariano Rivera pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close the game out.
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The Mets have been plagued by the grand slam this year, Santana in particular. They have allowed seven grand slams this year, which leads the majors, and Santana allowed his third of the season and fourth in his career as a Met, both team records.
The Mets get a day off on Monday, then continue the interleague play with three against the Detroit Tigers and three against the Minnesota Twins.
Mets Notes
One of the Mets that has been responsible for the recent turn around is Jose Reyes. Since being reinserted into the lead off spot the Mets are 21-11 and his numbers are far from what you would expect from a lead off hitter. A .335 average, .380 on-base percentage and he is slugging .526. Those are numbers for a guy in the 3-hole, not a lead off hitter.
Reyes has been a different player since being put back up the top. He has raised his average 60 points and looked more like the Reyes of old. Stolen bases are up, triples are up, and he’s hit all five of his homers from the leadoff spot. If Reyes continues to produce like this, it will be a good summer.
Soon the Mets will have to answer the question ‘What to do with John Maine?’ He is due to make one more rehab start in Buffalo, but with Hisanori Takahashi pitching so well and Jerry Manuel’s promise not to remove Takahashi from the rotation, where is he going to end up?
You think there would be more fanfare when someone hits the 200th homerun of his career. But things are different when those 200 homers are all in the minor leagues.
At least you can say Buffalo Bison Val Pascucci hit his in style. It was the third homerun of the game for him. Read more about it here.
