Mets baseball blog

Two for the road for Mets

- Either the Mets have discovered how to win on the road or the Orioles are such a debacle that your local beer-league team would be a threat to win a series at Camden Yards.

What matters to the Mets is the Ws count. It took more than one third of the season, but with last night's 3-1 victory, the Mets can finally say they have won a road series in 2010.

Coupled with their win over the Orioles on Friday, the Mets have consecutive road victories for the first time since July 25-26 of last year.

"It's embarrassing," Jeff Francoeur said. "As a team it's something we can laugh about because we're playing well and know what kind of team we have this year, but it kind of shows you how bad things were last year and how bad we've been on the road this year." Continue

Niese is nice in return from DL

When David Wright's ninth-inning home run off Philadelphia's Ryan Madson cleared the left field wall at Citizans Bank Park on Sept. 12, 2009, Phillies fans expecting a win were abruptly silenced. As it turned out, Wright's bat would also be quiet for the remainder of the season.

That decisive homer was the third baseman's 10th and final homer of last year's lost season. In Saturday's 6-1 win over Florida at Citi Field, Wright matched that total more than three months ahead of his 2009 pace. Wright's third-inning blast was his 10th of this season, and helped spark a Mets romp over a team that had dominated them before this weekend.

The previously slumping Ike Davis posted his first career four-hit game, and Jon Niese was dominant in his first start since returning from the 15-day disabled list after a mild hamstring strain. Niese allowed one run on six hits in seven innings as the Mets won their seventh straight in Flushing, giving them a major league-leading 21 home victories. Continue

Dickey does it

There is a physical sensation when a good knuckleball leaves your hand,R.A. Dickey was saying. You know it, you repeat it over and over and the pitch flutters through the strike zone, prompting bad swings by frustrated hitters.

In the early innings of his start Sunday against the Brewers, though, Dickey rarely enjoyed that feeling. In the past, he might've abandoned the pitch that he's thrown for five years, the one that got him back to the majors. But he has enough know-how now that he made adjustments after giving up five hits and two runs in the first two innings.

His knuckler revived and dancing, Dickey pitched the Mets to a 10-4 victory over the Brewers in front of 36,559 at Miller Park, avoiding a sweep in the finale of a three-game series and likely keeping himself in the rotation. Dickey got plenty of help from the similarly revived Met bats, which matched a season high in runs and hits (16). Continue

Pelfrey keeps shut out streak alive for Mets

What a bunch of zeroes.

No, that's not a description of the three-time defending NL East champions -- just jaw-dropping bewilderment over what the Mets accomplished in three games against the Phillies.

The humiliation ended last night with the Phillies spanked and blanked for a third straight game, 3-0 by the Mets at Citi Field.

The three-game shutout was the Mets' first against an opponent since Sept. 26-28 of 1969 (also against the Phillies).

"To think we held that team to no runs over three games," Jeff Francoeur said. "I might never see that again while I'm playing against that kind of team."

The Mets (25-23) won their fifth straight and moved within two games of the NL East lead. Tonight, they begin a six-game road trip through Milwaukee and San Diego before returning to the comfort of home cooking. Continue

Pelfrey carries Mets again

Would it be blasphemy to suggest Mike Pelfrey has become the ace of the Mets’ rotation?

Johan Santana still carries the title, but Pelfrey continues to pile up the big victories — whether it’s on a day team COO Jeff Wilpon flies to Atlanta for an emergency meeting, or whether it’s with the Yankees in the house threatening to deliver a knockout punch on manager Jerry Manuel.

Pelfrey rode to the rescue last night with six strong innings that thrust the Mets to a 5-3 Subway Series victory at Citi Field and eased the pressure on Manuel for at least another day.

David Wright also came up big, delivering two hits, two RBIs and a slick fielding play, and Jason Bay went 4-for-4 with three runs scored. Continue

Pelfrey stops slide

The door remained shut for more than 90 minutes, save for when Jerry Manuel left his office in the visiting clubhouse at Turner Field Monday afternoon to retrieve two coaches and a trainer and include them in the conversation.

"I've got a uniform on," Manuel yelled, beaming as always before reentering the office.

When the meeting finally dispersed after 5 p.m., all those involved were still employed, yet their boss was not smiling. But owner Jeff Wilpon was surely a tad happier after Mike Pelfrey's locked-in 7-2/3 innings led the Mets to a 3-2 victory over Atlanta Monday night that ended a five-game losing streak. The win also allowed the Mets to climb out of last place at Atlanta's expense. Continue

Let the Jerry Manuel watch begin, again

Custer’s troops battled, too.

The Mets can battle, scrape and claw all they want, but unless they start winning games in a hurry, manager Jerry Manuel will be staring at his own Little Big Horn.

With yesterday’s 10-8 loss to the Marlins at Sun Life Stadium, the Mets put an exclamation point on a week of futility, losing their fifth straight, which included the embarrassment of getting swept in four games here.

“It’s good that we continue to fight back,” said David Wright, whose Mets (18-20) fell into a seven-run hole before making it a game. “But it doesn’t do us a lot of good in the win-loss column. We’ve got to start winning some close ones.”

The Mets’ immediate concern is for Jon Niese, who left the game in the third inning with an aggravated right proximal hamstring. The lefty is headed back to New York for further evaluation, leaving another question mark in the rotation beyond the identity of Oliver Perez’s replacement for Wednesday. Continue

Maine can't stop Mets slide

The Mets, like any team, can contend while coping with a mediocre fifth starter. But they cannot contend with three fifth starters and a sometimes rickety ace.

Hours after Jerry Manuel banished Oliver Perez  to the bullpen, where the lefty will spend far more time sitting than warming up or jogging onto the field, John Maine began his start Saturday night in spectacularly poor fashion. His first 12pitches sailed out of the strike zone, loading the bases on walks; with one out, Maine nearly nailed Dan Uggla in the head with a 3-2 changeup that brought in the Marlins' first run. Continue

If only this was football, Mets could cut Ollie

It turns out all the talk about Oliver Perez pitching better in warm weather was a bunch of hot air.

Citi Field, Antarctica, the Sahara -- it's all the same. Perez seemingly is an incurable mess, and the Mets' ship be sinking.

The lethargic lefty might finally be out of the rotation, after he was pounded for seven runs -- including four homers by the Marlins -- over 3 1/3 innings in a 7-2 loss at Sun Life Stadium last night that dropped the Mets back to .500.

On top of Perez's dreadful performance, the Mets managed only four hits for the second straight game. Continue

Mets lose on wild pitch

The setup presented to the Mets with no outs in the ninth inning Thursday night was enviable: Tie game, Luis Castillo on second after singling and advancing on an error, Jose Reyes, Jason Bay and David Wright coming up, closer K-Rod getting ready.

All the Mets needed was one run - and all three batters missed the layup. So Fernando Nieve remained in the game to pitch the bottom of the ninth after working a scoreless eighth, and the major league leader in appearances issued a one-out walk to Cody Ross that came back to haunt him. After Ronny Paulino singled to move Ross to third, Nieve uncorked a wild pitch on his first pitch to pinch-hitter Dan Uggla, bringing home Ross to give the Marlins a 2-1 win. Continue