Game 133: Win

Mets 8 Astros 7

Tom Glavine pitched poorly, but well enough to leave the game in the hands of the bullpen, which is establishing itself as perhaps the best in the Majors.

Chad Bradford, Guilliermo Mota, and Aaron Heilman each pitched a perfect inning, and Billy Wagner gave up one run in the ninth to earn his 33rd save of the year.

Though David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Delgado were responsible for the bulk of the runs, it was the clutch hitting of Endy Chavez and Jose Valentin — in a pinch-hitting appearance — that ultimately made the difference in the game.

It was a 6-6 game from the fifth inning until the eighth, when Russ Springer allowed a leadoff double to D-Wright. Shawn Green followed with a flyout to left, setting the stage for pinch-hitter Valentin. Valentin got ahead 2-0, allowing D-Wright to steal third in the process. All that was needed was a fly ball, and Valentin succeeded by blasting a ball off the right field wall to score Wright and untie the game. Two pitches later, Chavez singled in Valentin for the go-ahead insurance run that turned out to be the deciding factor.

Notes

After going 2-3 with two doubles that both looked like they could have been homers, it’s safe to say that D-Wright is out of his slump. He also stole his 17th base.

Shawn Green had one hit, a double, and he has one of the sweetest swings there is, when he connects. When he doesn’t, he looks pretty ugly.

Holy Mota! It appears Guillermo is for real. He earned the win after yet another excellent outing.