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Mets Comeback Falls Short as They Fall to the Marlins 7-5

Jon Niese gave up 5 first inning runs and the Mets could not recover as they fell to the Marlins 7-5. Niese ended the night going 5 and two thirds innings giving up six runs on five hits and took the loss.

Niese looks like a typical young pitcher making his first turn through a major league season. At times this season he had been the Mets best pitcher and when his arm gets used to pitching a full season we can expect more consistency from the young lefty.

The Mets were able to mount a come back, but eventually fell short. With the Marlins leading 6-3 in the 8th, Leo Nunez forced in Josh Thole with a bases loaded walk. Chris Carter followed the walk up with an RBI ground out and Nick Evans ended the inning by striking out.

It was a scenario that has played out on numerous occasions for the 2010 Mets. They have not been able to hit with the bases loaded and gave up a great opportunity to tie the game.

Dan Uggla put the game away for good in the 8th with an RBI single. The Mets were able to mount a mini rally with a Carlos Beltran triple, but Dan Uggla made a nice diving play to retire David Wright and end the threat.

The Mets open a series in Philadelphia on Friday starting at 7:05.

Recap From Last Night: Mets Comeback Falls Short

The Mets could not manage comeback wins on consecutive nights as they fell to the Marlins 5-4. Pat Misch got the loss for the Mets going 6 innings and giving up 4 runs on 9 hits. Misch got off to a rocky start when he gave up 3 consecutive hits to begin the game, but managed to get out of it by making a great defensive play for the first out, and getting two fly ball outs, one of which scored the Marlin's first run.

It was amazing that Misch made it through six innings considering how the game started. It looked like we may have had an Oliver Perez siting. However, the fact that Pat Misch is getting starts for the Mets this year shows the lack of overall depth on the roster this season.

The Mets were able to fight back with 2 runs in the seventh on a triple by Ike Davis scoring David Wright, followed by a single by Jeff Francoeur to make it 5-3. They later got even closer when David Wright hit his 20th home run to make the game 5-4.

It was a good come back effort by the Mets, who for all their short comings this season, have been able to mount some solid come backs. It is also nice to see David Wright hit the 20 home run plateau this season. After last year, I know a lot of people were concerned if we would ever see him hit 20 in a season again.

The Mets return to action on Thursday to finish their 3 game series with the Marlins with Jon Niese (8-5) taking on Anibal Sanchez (10-8) in the rubber game of the series.

Francoeur Stuns His Former Team and The Mets Take Game 2 3-2

Jeff Francoeur hit an opposite field go ahead home run in the ninth inning off of Billy Wagner to give the Mets a 3-2 win over the Braves. Francouer also contributed to tying the game with a 7th inning walk that lead to a Chris Carter RBI single in the ninth.

Jeff Francoeur is easy to route for, but is extremely frustrating to watch at times. That being said, seeing him hit a game winning home run off of ex Met Billy Wagner had to have been one of the highlights of the season to date.

R.A Dickey started for the Mets and gave them 6 innings while allowing 2 runs. Dickey was able to strand Melkey Cabrera on third in the 6th after he had given the Braves a go ahead RBI triple, which proved to be a huge play in the game.

It is still amazing that R.A Dickey has been our best starter over the last two months. When he was signed in the offseason a lot of fans wrote it off as a nothing move, but the truth is, the Mets would be in huge trouble without the knuckle baller.

What will be lost in the papers tomorrow is the performance by Manny Acosta against his old team. Acosta got a huge double play grounder in the 7th and pitched a scoreless 8th to get a win. Considering how many different relievers the Mets have trotted out in the 8th inning this year, fans can appreciate when a guy gets the job done in a pressure situation like he did tonight.

The Mets look to take the series against the Braves tomorrow night as Mike Pelfrey takes the hill at 7:10 EST.

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Mets Lose a Heartbreaker 8-7/ Preview of the Series Finale

On what could have been a signature win for the Mets in this 2010 season, turned into a painful loss as they fell to the Cardinals 8-7 in 13 innings. Johan Santana started for the Mets and struggled with location in the first inning. Santana gave up 6 runs on 8 hits in the first inning alone and dug the Mets a deep hole from the start. Santana settled down and continued to put up zeros to give the Mets a shot at a comeback, but gave up a run in the 6th that ended up really costing his team.

Santana did not have his best stuff tonight. The best thing Santana did for his team all night was making it into the 6th inning after such a dreadful start. The bullpen will be taxed for the finale of the series, but with Manny Acosta warming up in the first inning to come in for Santana if he didn't right the ship, it could have been a lot worse.

The Mets offense continued its recent outburst. Mike Hessman got the Mets 2 runs back from the 6 run hole with a 2 run double in the first inning. Carlos Beltran hit his first home run of the season to make the score 7-3 at the time. The Mets offense would then really explode in the 8th with a 2-run homer from Angel Pagan and Ike Davis' first career pinch hit that plated 2 runs and tied the game at 7.

It was really encouraging how the offense was able to make up for the pitching deficiencies tonight. At this point of the season there are no moral victories, but I do think the pitching will continue to be solid for the most part and if the offense keeps it up, The Mets will be able to string together some victories.

Wednesday Afternoon Preview:

R.A Dickey takes on Blake Hawksworth on Wednesday afternoon for the finale of the three game series. Hawksworth is coming off of a game against the Cubs Sunday afternoon in which he struggled giving up 6 runs (5 earned) and 7 hits in a loss. Dickey has continued to be a solid cog in the Mets rotation eating up a lot of innings (7 innings pitched in three of his last five starts) and pitching to a 1.89 ERA in the month of July. Dickey might have been the Mets second best pitcher this month.

Keys to the game:

Is Dickey Healthy?

Dickey left his start over the weekend against the Dodgers in the 6th inning because it appeared he had tweaked something. The Mets medical staff checked him out and said he is ready to go. With a burnt out bullpen, it is crucial that Dickey gives the Mets at least 6 innings and because of that, the injury becomes a concern.

Keep up the Offensive Production

The Mets scored 15 runs in their first two games against the Cardinals. However, before that they had scored 17 runs in their past 11 games. It is has been nice since they returned to Citi Field to see the offensive production return, but after scoring 7 and 8 runs in a game against Adam Wainwright and Jaime Garcia, the Mets need to take advantage of facing a weaker pitcher in Blake Hawksworth.

Keep Pujols at Bay:

Other than the game winning single last night, Albert Pujols has struggled in the series against the Mets. Going into last nights game, he was 2-19 on the season against the Mets. He is the type of player that can single handedly win a game for a team and with a crucial rubber game this afternoon, the Mets need to make sure that doesn't happen.

First pitch is at 12:10 ET and as always, Lets Go Mets!

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Despite Pelfrey's Struggles, Mets Hold on For a 6-5 Win Over the Fish

It may have been the rain delay, but Mike Pelfrey didn't have his best stuff in Puerto Rico against the Marlins on Wednesday night. Pelfrey gave up 4 runs and was unable to make it through 5 innings. However, 4 Mets relievers were able to hold on to beat the Marlins 6-5.

Pelfrey was unable to locate his off speed pitches tonight. I don't know if it was the humidity or the turf, but it seemed as if all series the Mets starters struggled. In particular, Dickey and Pelfrey had a hard time throwing their offspeed pitches and at times it almost looked as if they were pitching in Colorado.

Just as they did in a loss last night, The Mets were able to score early and staked Pelfrey to a 3-0 lead before he even took the mound. Jesus Feliciano and Ruben Tejada set the table for David Wright who nearly hit the ball out for his 15th homer, but had to settle with a two-run double.

David Wright is 18 for his last 35 raising his average up to .312. He has been on fire and it is nice to see him hit for a high average again.

The Mets got out of two big jams in the game with Elmer Dessens getting Mike Pelfrey out of a jam in the 5th with a fly out and Francisco Rodriguez doing the same in the 8th with a fly out.

The relief pitching saved the day again for the Mets tonight. Last night they allowed the team to come back, while tonight they gave them a win.

The Mets start a 4 game series in Washington tomorrow night as Johan Santana takes the hill at 7:10 EST.

Mets Ride Reyes and Dickey to Another Series Win 5-0

R.A Dickey has been nothing short of amazing since being called up by the Mets. Dickey pitched 8 shut out innings and improved to 6-0 since getting called up by the Mets. He became the first Mets pitcher to win his first six decisions.

It is no mystery that the Mets front office has been looking for another starting pitcher. However, with the way Dickey and Takahashi have been pitching, the Mets may find themselves with a quality problem if and when a deal is made for a pitcher.

Jose Reyes powered the Mets offense coming a double short of the cycle. Reyes scored three of the Mets five runs and added his sixth home run of the season. Ike Davis may have gotten the Mets most important hit when he drove in two in the seventh with an RBI single making the score 5-0.

A lot of people pointed to Beltran as being the biggest blow injury wise to this team in 2009. However, it is clear that Reyes makes this go and he proved it again tonight. Ike's single in the seventh is an example of what the Mets have been doing this season which has been lacking the last few and that has been keeping the foot on the accelerator.

The Mets try to go for the sweep tomorrow night with Hisinori Takahashi taking the mound at 7:10.

Behind a Season High 14 Runs, The Mets Beat the Tigers 14-6

After over an hour rain delay, the Mets came out ready to hit. Leading 3-0 in the 3rd inning, the tarp was put on the field and the game was delayed for over an hour. However, once the teams came back out to play, the Mets were immediately in a great situation with 2 runners on and nobody out with Rod Barajas and Jeff Francouer coming to the plate. What followed was 14 runners coming to the plate in total and the Mets stretching their lead out to 10-0.

Every once in a while, the team needs a blowout win to take the stress off of everyone. Unfortunately, the rain delay forced the Mets to use more pitchers than a usual one sided game, but it still gives Jerry more flexibility to take players out and give them a rest.

Jon Niese got the start for the Mets and before the night was over had given up 6 runs. Niese had to sit through an hour and a half of rain delays and good Mets hitting before retaking the mound in the fourth inning. It was a questionable move by Jerry Manuel, but the Mets scoring 8 runs in the third made it less of an issue.

Niese probably shouldn't have pitched after the rain delay. He was all over the place with his command and there is always a chance a young pitcher can hurt himself in that situation. I hope they use this as an example of how not to handle a similar situation in the future.

Fernando Nieve deserves a game ball for giving the Mets a solid 2.1 innings when things got dicey in the 5th inning. Nieve was able to get the Mets out of the fifth with a strikeout and gave them some length out of the bullpen.

Nieve had become a forgotten man out in the pen. I know a lot of fans have given up on him, but I still think with his mid nineties fast ball and the nice slider he has that he can provide some value.

The Mets continue their series with the Tigers tomorrow night when Jeremy Bonderman takes on R.A Dickey at 7:10.

Mets and Dickey Grab a Road Sweep Over the Tribe

R.A Dickey continued to pitch well and led the Mets to their second consecutive road sweep 6-4 on Thursday Night. Dickey gave the Mets 6 solid innings only giving up 2 runs, while striking out 8.

As the team's 5th starter, Dickey has been a god send. He's given the Mets a chance to win every time he's gone out there and has pitched deep into the game in many of his starts. On top of all of that, he has a rubber arm and would be a strong candidate as a long reliever should the Mets trade for a starter or John Maine prove himself worthy to be in the rotation.

The Mets jumped out to an early lead against Jake Westbrook with RBI singles by Ike Davis and Henry Blanco and a sac fly by Jeff Francoeur that gave the Mets a 3-0 cushion. However, the Indians fought back with an RBI single by Jhonny Peralta in the second and a fielding error leading to a run in the third on a Travis Hafner grounder.

It was a back and forth game, but most importantly as soon as the Indians put pressure on the Mets, they came back and responded with more offense.

The Indians brought the game within a run in the seventh, but Jose Reyes came up with a huge RBI triple in the 8th that gave Francisco Rodriguez some breathing room to work with as he earned his 15th save of the season.

The Mets are playing some of their best baseball of the season this month. They have been getting it done mostly with pitching and solid defense, but lately have also been swinging the bats well. They face another big test this weekend when they go across town to face the Yankees.

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Mets Ride Hot Hitting to Sixth Straight Win

Who says the Mets can't win on the road? Jon Niese and the Mets defeated the Cleveland Indians Wednesday night 8-4 to clinch their second road series win in a row and the second of the year. Niese gave the Mets seven strong innings only giving up 3 runs on 8 hits to get his fourth win of the season. Niese had only two road bumps on the way to his 4th victory. Shelley Duncan hit a 2-run home run off of Niese in the 4th and was able to get out of a jam in the 5th when a Carlos Santana RBI single turned into the last out because Santana tried to stretch it to a double.

Niese gave the Mets his third strong outing in a row. This may not have been a one hit shut out like he threw against the Padres, but with the way the Mets have been swinging the bats, this outing was solid enough to give the Mets a great chance to win.

The Mets provided Niese with plenty of run support tonight. Angel Pagan had a big night giving the Mets an RBI double in the 3rd and producing a big 2-run single in the 6th that made the score 8-3.  Ike Davis, David Wright, and Jeff Francoeur all also drove in runs for the Mets tonight.

Tonight was a night where the Mets needed every run they could get. Scoring runs makes things a heck of a lot easier on the pitching staff and keeps arms fresh for the stretch run.

The Mets ran into potential trouble in the 8th inning when Jenry Mejia came in and walked the bases loaded. The Indians were able to scratch a run across on a Jhonny Peralta sacrifice fly, but Elmer Dessens got the Mets out of the jam on a great defensive play by David Wright that was turned into a double play.

This is yet another example of why Mejia shouldn't be on the major league roster. I know that with limited options currently for the set up man slot, that the Mets want to give him every opportunity to grab the 8th inning, but it is stunting his growth as a starting pitcher.

R.A Dickey takes the mound on Thursday night looking to give the Mets their second road win in a row at 7:05.

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A Catcher The Hero Again? Mets win 5-4

Henry Blanco hit a walk-off home run as the Mets defeated the Giants in extras 5-4. Blanco was the second Mets catcher to hit a walk-off in as many days. Johan Santana got the start for the Mets and went 7.2 innings giving up 4 runs on 8 hits. Santana left in the 8th with a runner on first base and saw a combination of Fernando Nieve and Pedro Feliciano give up his lead.

Santana was very solid today up until the 8th inning. The Giants were hitting balls hard off of him in the 8th and Jerry made the decision that he needed to come out of the ball game. Had Jerry kept Santana in to face one more batter, the Mets could have saved their bullpen and had Francisco Rodriguez save the game in the ninth.

The Mets capitalized around a wild Todd Wellemeyer, who walked 5 hitters in 4.1 innings. Jason Bay got the scoring started with a sacrifice fly in the first inning and later added an RBI single in the fifth inning. Angel Pagan provided the other two runs on a 2-run triple in the second inning, which at the time made the score 3-0.

The Mets offense was able to drive in runs without hits today. In those situations, a team still needs to take advantage and the Mets were able to do that today.

The Mets finish their 3 game series with the Giants tomorrow afternoon with Tim Lincecum facing off against Oliver Perez at 1:10 pm.

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