The Mets are three games over .500 for the first time in the 2011 season. Much of this is a result of strong pitching out of Jonathon Niese and the bullpen and some clutch scoring in today’s game. Ruben Tejada came up with a huge two-run double to put the Mets up 4-1 in the 6th inning. Both Parnell and K-Rod pitched scoreless innings in relief of Niese to lead the Mets to a 5-3 victory.
Tejada slams a 2-RBI double. My Binghamton guy...
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Chris Capuano pitched 6 solid innings, and the Mets scored 4 of their 5 runs with 2 outs to get the win. Tonight’s win moves both Capuano’s (8-7) and the Mets’ season record (43-42) to a game above .500.
The Dodgers took an early 2-0 lead, thanks to RBI singles by James Loney in the 2nd and 4th innings. But the Mets were able to strike back against Dodgers starter Rubby De La Rosa, who no-hit them for the first 5 innings. They took a 3-2 lead in the 6th thanks to RBI doubles from Angel Pagan, Carlos Beltran, and Daniel Murphy. RBI singles by Jason Bay and Lucas Duda in the 8th provided the final score, as the Mets bullpen finished the game by tossing 3 shutout innings.
(AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)
Bartolo Colon pitched like it was 2005 all over again. The Mets couldn’t touch him up for any runs through six innings. The Yankees, however, got to Dillon Gee in the 6th inning, scoring four runs to put them up 4-0. It was all downhill from there as the Mets fall 5-2, dropping their third straight game.
Jose Reyes felt tightness in his left hamstring after this play in the 1st inning and left the game .
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Eduardo Nunez led the way for the Yanks with a 4-4 day at the plate, as they beat the Mets in front of a sellout Citi Field crowd. The win bumps the Yankees’ record to 49-31, while the Mets fall back to .500 (41-41).
Maybe it was nerves, or maybe they were just due for a stinker after their hot streak, but the Mets looked shaky all around from my view up in Section 515. They made a bunch of mistakes that the Yankees pounced on: from bad fielding (Daniel Murphy dropped a routine throw that led to a run in the 8th) to bad baserunning (Jose Reyes got thrown out at 3rd on a crucial play in the 7th — more on this a little later) to bad situational hitting (the Mets were 2-10 with RISP. One of those hits came in the 9th with 2 outs, and the game pretty much already decided by then).
The Yanks jumped all over Jon Niese early — 4 of the first 5 batters got base hits, and it was 3-0 before the Mets had a chance to bat. But Niese settled down after that and allowed no more runs. Ivan Nova put guys on in his 5 innings of work (7 hits and 2 walks), but pitched out of his jams effectively, only allowing 1 run.
Derek Who? (Nick Laham/Getty Images)
The New York Mets looked fatigued from their previous two victories in Detroit. Justin Verlander wasn’t even at his best and pitched seven strong innings. A couple of solo homers off the bats of Daniel Murphy and Carlos Beltran were all the runs the Mets offense scored.
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With the bases loaded in the 13th inning, Justin Turner was hit in the thigh by a Brad Ziegler pitch, and the Mets escaped with a win. The win bumps their record up to 36-38 on the year.
Starters R.A. Dickey and Gio Gonzalez were on their A-games tonight, allowing only a run apiece. They combined for 15 innings and allowed a total of 7 hits, while striking out 17. Heading into the bottom of the 8th, Jose Reyes came up huge with a one-out triple, which was then followed by a Justin Turner RBI single. The Citi Field faithful were ready to celebrate with Francisco Rodriguez coming in for the save.
The A’s, however, had other plans. With 2 outs and 2 strikes, Conor Jackson stroked a single off K-Rod to drive in Coco Crisp and prolong the night. Innings 10-12 featured mainly clutch pitching and very solid defense to preserve the 2-2 tie. In those innings, the teams totaled 9 baserunners, without any of them coming around to score.
Yep. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
The Angels’ bats battered Mets starter Jon Niese early to cruise to the win in Sunday’s rubber game. The loss drops the Mets to 35-37, and it their first series loss since May 27-29 (Phillies).
The difference in the game was the starting pitchers. Angels starter Tyler Chatwood pitched 7 shutout innings for the win, while Niese gave up 5 runs (4 earned) in only 4 innings of work. The heavy damage in the game came in the 2nd inning. With the bases loaded and 2 outs in the inning, Erick Aybar tripled to clear the bases and give the Halos a 4-0 lead. The Angels plated individual runs in innings 5-7 to push the lead to 7-0. The Mets then scored 3 runs off the bats of Jose Reyes, Justin Turner, and Carlos Beltran in the 9th to save some face.
The look says it all (Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
The New York Mets defeated the Los Angeles Angels 6-1 on Saturday night. A complete game pitching performance and great hitting gave the Mets the advantage in this one. With the victory, the team is now 35-36 as they look to get back to .500 and win the series tomorrow.
Pelfrey and Beltran slap hands after a win that both of them played a big part in.
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Dillon Gee, D.J. Carrasco, Bobby Parnell, and Francisco Rodriguez combined for a 2-hit shutout to blank the Braves on a stormy night. Bobby Parnell got the win, and the Mets brought their record to the .500 level — 34-34.
Gee entered the game looking to extend his record to 8-0. Had the weather permitted, he probably would’ve done so — he was dominant the first 4 innings, only allowing 1 hit and striking out 5. But the rain clouds had other plans — by the time the game resumed over an hour later he was long gone, one inning short of qualifying for the victory.
On the hitting side, once again, Jose Reyes provided the initial spark. He doubled to lead off the game and then advanced to 3rd on a throwing error by Jason Heyward. Rubin Tejada drove him in via groundout, and that was really all the Mets would need. Angel Pagan hit a 2-run homer in the 4th to push the lead to 3-0, and (who else?) Reyes drove in the final run of the game in the 7th on a groundout.
(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The Indians are in a free fall, the Red Sox can’t lose, and the Phillies just won’t give up that number one spot. MLB’s big contenders have awoken and it’s shaking the landscape of our weekly top ten power rankings. Let’s see who made the list this week.
