Mets Game 107: Win Over Cardinals
Mets 9 Cardinals 0
What a difference a day makes!
Fueled by the support of screaming, sugar-filled children, the Mets delivered an overwhelming win to the Camp Day crowd.
The Mets offense exploded for five runs in the first two frames against starter and loser Kyle Lohse, then tacked on another four in the sixth and eighth innings to make it a laugher.
Nelson Figueroa, who came on to pitch after Jonathan Niese injured his ankle in the second, earned the win and redeemed himself with a stellar 4 1/3 innings of shutout relief. Bobby Parnell earned a rare 3-inning save, striking out 3 and allowing only one hit.
Notes
Parnell is now tied with Frankie Rodriguez for the team lead in saves since the All-Star break.
Angel Pagan and David Wright combined to go 6-for-8 with 3 runs and 6 RBI. Pagan had a booming homerun to centerfield and ripped his 7th triple of the year. Despite a paltry 146 times to the plate, only one man in MLB has more triples than Pagan — Michael Bourn, who has 9 in 451 plate appearances. Who needs Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran when you have Angel Pagan?
Parnell and Figueroa were a combined 2-for-2 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.
Rick Ankiel had a difficult time in centerfield during that second-inning offensive outburst by the Mets. He made a diving attempt for a blast by Nelson Figueroa but the ball missed his glove and resulted in a triple — nearly a quadruple, in fact. (Jim Edmonds would’ve had that ball, BTW.) Minutes later he misplayed a low liner off the bat of Angel Pagan, with his glove fingers up instead of down, allowing Figgy to score and Pagan to reach first. And moments after that, Pagan challenged him by going first to third on a David Wright single. Ankiel, I think, had a great shot to nail Pagan, but he hesitated and then took a long windup before unleashing his throw, which was a little too late.
Next Mets Game
The Mets fly cross-country to face the Padres in San Diego for a four-game series. Livan Hernandez faces Clayton Richard in the opener, which begins at 10:05 PM EST on Thursday night.
I almost cried when I saw Niese collapse into a heap after his first warmup toss. I know that injuries are a part of the game, but this is getting absolutely ridiculous already. Castillo falls down the dugout steps and sprains his ankle, Niese makes a stretch at 1B and tears his hamstring, Reyes has the legs of a 80 year old, Sheffield is 80 but has the legs of a 90 year old, Nieve gets hurt running to 1B, Beltran has a bionic bruise that won’t heal, Maine yada yada, Putz yada yada, FMart yada yada, Cora yada yada. When does it freaking end? When do we start seriously considering if this team is cursed or is being sabotaged? Who in the crowd is messing around with the voodoo dolls? Just what did the Mets do that made them deserve this absolutely wretched string of bad luck?
Seeing as how 2 more bodies are likely to wind up disabled every day from now until season’s end, it might be wise for Omar to call upon some offensive reinforcements who could help the Mets remain somewhat respectable and who could audition for a spot on the team in 2010. And while Nick Evans, Chip Ambres, Wilson Valdez, Argenis Reyes, Robinson Cancel, et al toil in Buffalo, by in large we already know what they bring to the table and how they fit into future plans. Ryan Freel was recently DFA’d by KC, and though he’s worn more uniforms this year than I have fingers, he may be worth a look. He’s versatile, he’s a gamer, and his style of play would seem to fit at CitiField. He could end up like Chris Woodward circa 2005. What have the Mets got to lose at this point, besides more players to the DL?