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June 15, 2010 Mets 2010 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 64: Win Over Indians

Mets 7 Indians 6

The Mets continue their absolute dominance over American League opponents, and this time they did it in come-from-behind fashion.

After falling behind 4-1, the Mets stampeded back with five runs in the fifth to take a lead they never lost, en route to their 36th victory of the season.

Game Notes

Johan Santana didn’t have his best stuff … blah blah blah. You’ve heard that story before. This time, though, the Mets gave him run support, and in this case it was much-needed.

As usual, Santana struggled to break 90 MPH, didn’t have great command of the changeup, and was inconsistent with a sparingly-used slider. He allowed 4 earned runs on 7 hits and 2 walks to a lineup that is made up mostly of AAA and AA players. But as Bobby Ojeda might say, “he did what winners do”. Yes, he did, but I’m still concerned.

Ike Davis once again was the difference maker, as his two-run homer broke a 4-4 tie and gave the Mets the lead they never relinquished.

David Wright was 3-for-5, driving in three runs on two infield singles (with a little help from the speedy Jose Reyes). Wright now has 50 RBI, leading the National League. Not bad for a guy who was having a “terrible” year until recently.

Jose Reyes had only one hit but scored twice and stole his 17th base. Angel Pagan also swiped a bag, his 13th of the season.

Jeff Francoeur and Alex Cora combined to go 4-for-8 with two runs scored in the bottom two spots of the lineup.

Pedro Feliciano pitched the entire 8th inning in his new role as setup man and in his NL-leading 39th appearance. Though he didn’t allow a run, he looked dull — meaning, the opposite of sharp. Could it be the result of overuse? Nah.

Francisco Rodriguez made things interesting in the 9th, allowing a pinch-hit two-run homer to the ugliest man in baseball, Shelly Duncan.

If nothing else, the two bookend pitchers from this game are consistent in that Johan Santana never has his best stuff, and K-Rod always makes things interesting.

Justin Masterson pitched through the end of the seventh inning, despite allowing 7 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks. How often do you see that these days?

Seven of the Mets’ twelve hits were infield hits. Another rare feat.

Next Mets Game

The Mets and Indians do it again at 7:05 PM on Wednesday night in Cleveland. Jon Niese faces Mitch Talbot.

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. isuzudude June 16, 2010 at 12:50 pm
    As opposed to last season, and at certain points earlier this season, when I saw the Mets go down by 3 runs, I still felt they would be able to come back and make a game of it, whereas not that long ago I was always waiting for the Mets to relinquish their lead and give a game away. And the Mets didn't let me down, as they rallied for that big 5-run inning, prompting Cleveland to essentially wave the white flag until Shelly Duncan came to bat. I almost forgot how fun baseball can be to watch when your favorite team has the ability to fight back like this.

    Are we aware the KRod and Feliciano have combined to throw 6 innings over the last 4 games, while the combination of Mejia/Valdes/Dessens/Nieve/Igarashi have thrown 3 innings altogether? Something ain't right with that picture, and it'll be a shock to me if this pronounced overuse/underuse doesn't come back to bite this time sooner or later. And then I bet, yet again, that many of the fans will choose to blame the pitchers for sucking and Omar for constructing a bad relief corps, while Jerry and his awful bullpen management are allowed to skate free.

    I'm also concerned about Johan. I have a feeling his next outing at Yankee Stadium is going to get ugly.

  2. MikeTomaselli June 16, 2010 at 2:18 pm
    What I saw from Santana was a guy that took a few inning to settle in, and then once he FINALLY got run support, his body language changed and I think even his velocity increased. Is it possible the consistent lack of run support was getting to him? I think it might have, and I don't blame him for it. Dude had like a sub 2 ERA for 6 starts and won none of them. I have the exact opposite feeling, 'dude, I think he is about to go on a role because of increased confidence in his team. I'm predicting that he is feeling less pressure to be perfect, and is just going to let it fly. But then again his last start in Yankee Stadium was just barely better than his start in Philly earlier in the year…
  3. Bill June 16, 2010 at 2:49 pm
    Mike, I agree with you. Yes, Johan's strikeouts are down, Yes, he's given up some runs lately. But like you said, he had 6 starts with an ERA in the 1's and couldn't get a win. That HAS to take a toll on a pitcher and his confidence. I mean, to go out there and put up a 0 for 7 innings and get no run support. It would drive someone crazy. Granted, he was going against many other teams' aces, but still, the Mets just gave him no support. Now, as we get further into the season, he will face the #2-5 starters on other teams more often, I expect him to pitch well and start piling up the wins.
  4. isuzudude June 16, 2010 at 3:44 pm
    I don't know, man. No amount of increased confidence can add extra MPH on the radar gun. If Johan is still maxing out around 88-90 MPH with poor control at Yankee Stadium, even in his most confident state of mind will he be suspect to a poor outing. Remember what happened to him in the Bronx last year? 3 IP, 9 ER. Not exactly the most encouraging, or confidence-boosting, statline to be reminiscing of.
  5. wohjr June 16, 2010 at 4:13 pm
    He doesn't look the same to me, but I saw a few 92's on the Cleveland feed from Johan. Animal switched to the black bat in his final AB… does this mean he's trying someone else's bat?
  6. Joe June 16, 2010 at 9:36 pm
    I saw Johan put more effort into some pitches, but it didn't result into much of a difference in velocity. He hit 92 once or twice but mostly sat at 89-90.

    Though he had a stretch of games where his ERA was low, he didn't look dominating, and he threw too many pitches. He seems to set up hitters for the K rather than create quick outs. But then, nearly every pitcher in MLB does that these days.

  7. metstoday June 16, 2010 at 9:47 pm
    Not sure about the bat … did he break his bat in the previous at-bat? I don't remember.

    It was Carter's 4th AB vs. Masterson and he was pulling him on the ground in his previous 3. Maybe he chose to use a slightly heavier bat to slow down his swing a hair. The result was a fly ball to CF so if that was the logic, it worked.