Mets Game 32: Loss to Nationals

Nationals 3 Mets 2

Another close game, but the Mets fall short.

Game Notes

John Maine pitched fairly well, tossing 6 innings and allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks. I couldn’t tell by the off-kilter angle of the outfield camera, but it looked like Maine might’ve been rotating his upper body a little less than normal — it’s so hard to see what’s going on from the view of my living room couch. He threw about 95% fastballs, mixing in a handful of changeups. Velocity was around 86-88 MPH, occasionally hitting 90 MPH. All in all, encouraging. There looks to be the possibility that Maine can be a legitimate #5 or possibly #4 MLB starter, if he can keep opposing teams from sitting dead-red on the fastball.

Jose Reyes was thrown out of the game for arguing a called strike three to end the inning with Angel Pagan on 2B in the bottom of the 7th. Can we please end this ridiculous experiment of Reyes batting third? It’s clearly messing with his head.

Jerry Manuel was also thrown out after supporting Reyes after the fact, leaving Dave Jauss in charge of the club.

Alex Cora replaced Reyes and made a spectacular play in the 9th to save a run, then drove a base hit to set up a heroic opportunity for Jason Bay in the bottom of the frame. However, Bay struck out to end the game.

Ike Davis hit a single off LOOGY Sean Burnett in the 8th. He’s now 8-for-14 vs. LHPs, and has an OPS of over 1.800 against them.

Pedro Feliciano had another disappointing outing, allowing three hits and a run in 1/3 of an inning. His 1.88 ERA is deceiving, because he’s allowed 12 hits and 10 walks in 14 IP, and allowed 10 baserunners in his last 7 outings, spanning 3 1/3 innings. One must wonder if he’s getting worn out from overuse.

Pudge Rodriguez went 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI. He’s hitting .393 on the season with a .417 OBP.

Miguel Batista earned his first save of the year, and only his third since 2005. Matt Capps was given the day off after saving both games over the weekend. Imagine Jerry Manuel resting K-Rod after pitching in back-to-back games?

Six out of the Mets’ last seven games were decided by one run. The seventh game was decided by two runs. Talk about keeping things tight.

The Mets had 12 hits but struck out 11 times, and were 1-for-12 with RISP. They left 11 runners on base.

Next Mets Game

The Mets and Nationals do it again on Tuesday night at 7:10 PM. Jon Niese faces Scott Olsen, who has been lights out in his last four starts.