Baseball officially begins tonight in Miami when the new-look Marlins take on the defending champion, St. Louis Cardinals. The new stadium is apparently pretty cool (there are fish tanks behind home plate), so we’ll get to see first hand tonight! With the excitement brewing around baseball, it’s time for some bold predictions for the 2012 season. Some will be Yankee and Met related, some won’t be. Buckle up and enjoy the ride. We’ll re-visit this article in October.
Browsing Posts tagged Lucas Duda
With the Wilpons’ financial mess emerging as the dominant Mets-related story throughout the entire offseason, it’s easy to forget that the actual team will start playing regular season games in 2 weeks. While Team Wilpon scored a win in court, will the Mets themselves be worth watching after they didn’t add any big names following a 77-85 season? Here are a few reasons to tune in…
- Comeback kid (Jeff Robertson/AP)
During the last year, we’ve watched a few special New York athletes truly breakout. In New Jersey, Jason Pierre Paul registered 15.5 sacks and helped the Giants win the Super Bowl. In Manhattan, Jeremy Lin is the starting point guard of the Knicks and has taken the city (and now country) by storm. On Long Island, center John Tavares has scored 22 goals and is on pace to break his career scoring record. Moving forward, one young New York baseball player is ready to break out and his name is not Michael Pineda..
Who Is This Dude?--AP Photo
The New York Mets were defeated by the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 on Wednesday night. Chris Schwinden quickly put the Mets in a hole 3-0 through the first two innings. The offense battled back to score four runs in the top of the third to take a 4-3 lead. Schwinden settled down to pitch six innings, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five. However, the bullpen let up three runs in the seventh inning to put them behind again. Willie Harris narrowed the deficit to one run in the top of the ninth, but the Mets couldn’t push another run across. They have lost nine of their last eleven games and fall to 73-82 on the season.
Bullpen couldn't secure Schwinden's first career win.
Associated Press
The New York Mets were defeated by the St. Louis Cardinals 11-6 on Tuesday night. Mike Pelfrey pitched six innings, allowing five runs on ten hits and no walks while striking out two. The Mets had a 6-5 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh, but the bullpen let up six runs all with two outs. With the loss, they fall to 73-81 on the season and have sole possession of fourth place in the National League East division.
Pelf had a better night at the plate than on the mound.
Associated Press
The New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves in a 7-5 win on Sunday afternoon. Dillon Gee gave up the first run of the game in the third inning on a Chipper Jones (no surprise there) double. However, the Mets bats took charge in the fourth inning putting up a four spot. Gee quickly gave away the lead when he allowed three more runs to cross in the bottom of the inning. His final line was 4 1/3 innings yielding four runs on eight hits and five walks along with four strikeouts. With the game tied in the seventh, Freddie Freeman put the Braves up a run with an RBI single. The Mets responded again with two runs in their following turn at bat for a 6-5 lead. Bobby Parnell bridged the lead to Manny Acosta, who recorded his second save of the season en route to a series win against the Braves.
Ruben Tejada deserves the game ball for his performance today at the plate.
Associated Press
The New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves 12-2 on Friday night at Turner Field. They immediately put up four runs in the first inning against pitcher Derek Lowe. Chris Capuano gave back two of those runs in his first two frames, but settled down to pitch five solid innings. The Mets had twenty hits in the ballgame, as five batters came through with at least three hits. With the victory, they snap a six-game losing streak.
Wright turns his frustration into homeruns.
Associated Press
The New York Mets were defeated by the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Tuesday night at CitiField. Dillon Gee and Chien-Ming Wang were involved in a pitcher’s duel for the first part of the game. Gee pitched 5 2/3 innings allowing two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five. Those two runs were scored on doubles in the sixth inning. The Mets offense struggled against the Wang and the Nationals bullpen. In the bottom of the ninth with runners on the corners and two out, down by one run, Lucas Duda struck out to end the ballgame. With the loss, the Mets currently have a four-game losing streak.
Duda has been the run threat in the lineup post All Star Break.
Getty Images
3 batters into the game, Lucas Duda sliced a double just inside the left field line to drive in Jose Reyes for a 1-0 lead. That was enough to win the game behind R.A. Dickey, Josh Stinson, and Manny Acosta’s combined shutout. How dominant were they today? The Marlins mustered only 5 hits, 4 of them singles. With the win (their 10th in their last 13 games), the Mets creep back towards .500, at 70-71. With a homestand coming up that features 7 combined games against the Cubs and Nats, the Mets could once again make their way over that hump.
Game over. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Willie Harris hit a 2-run tiebreaking single as part of a 4-run 6th to rally the Mets past the Nats. The Mets now move to 68-70 on the season.
Mike Pelfrey struggled through his 4 1/3 innings of work (3 runs allowed), but the Mets were able to tag Livan Hernandez with the loss (in what looks to be his last start as a Nat). While they are using this part of the season to see what they have for their future, it’s encouraging to see that these games aren’t being mailed in (8-2 over their last 10). Young guys like Lucas Duda (smacked his 9th homer of the year) and Ruben Tejada (2 RBI’s on a hit) are taking the stage now to make their case for playing time in 2012.
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
