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April 23, 2011 Mets 2011 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 21: Win Over Diamondbacks

Mets 6 Diamondbacks 3

Look out, National League — here come the Mets!

The Mets won their third consecutive game, tying their longest winning streak of the season.

Mets Game Notes

Dillon Gee pitched well in gaining his second victory of the season. Gee allowed 4 runs — 2 earned — on 5 hits and a walk with 5 strikeouts in 6 innings. I would argue that only one of the runs was earned, because an error wasn’t charged when Ike Davis dropped Ryan Roberts’ foul popup in the fourth; on the next pitch Roberts hit an RBI single and later scored.

Dan Murphy also made an error that inning, which led to runs scoring, and he made a few mental errors in the field during the game as well. I would say that Murphy’s troubles in the field cost the Mets at least two runs, maybe three — but since he drove in two as well, I guess that evens things up.

Jason Bay carried the Mets in the first few innings, putting the Mets ahead with a two-run single in the initial inning and then clubbing a solo homer in the third. He was hitting well during his minor league rehab stint so it’s safe to say he is on a hot streak.

Hmm … Bay’s been back for three games, the Mets have won all three. Coincidence?

After Bay’s bomb, Ike Davis followed with one of his own — his third in as many games. If he can do this for five more games he’ll tie a record.

I still don’t get Barry Enright. He has truly mediocre stuff, poor location, and doesn’t really change speeds all that well. Yet he’s in MLB, getting outs. I was stunned that Kirk Gibson left him out there for the sixth inning, but I guess he didn’t have much choice — the arms in his bullpen aren’t terribly impressive, either.

Pedro Beato pitched a perfect seventh and Jason Isringhausen followed with a scoreless eighth. Beato continues to impress, and as I mentioned before, he should continue to mow down hitters through the first time around the league. He spots his 95-96 MPH fastball well and is fooling hitters with his offspeed pitches. Keep it going, kid.

Francisco Rodriguez earned his 4th save of the year but not before giving all of us a collective heart attack. It was also K-Rod’s sixth “finish” of the year. 49 more to go for the pot of gold.

Next Mets Game

The Mets go for the sweep against the Diamondbacks with a 1:10 PM game on Sunday afternoon. Jonathon Niese goes to the mound against Armando Galarraga. As long as Jason Bay is in the lineup I don’t see how the Mets can lose.

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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. gary s. April 23, 2011 at 10:31 pm
    Joe, The pitching staff is going to hate Murphy the way he turns outs into baserunners at second base,Granted he got 2 big base hits, but he can’t do that every game.He seems to be able to field ok with the glove but he has no feel or instinct for the position.Turner is probably the better option to get most of the games.I would only play murphy once or twice a week and let hom be the #1 pinch hitter off the bench.It’s mind boggling to me that Alderson could not come up with a better player and second than murph, turner or emaus..
    l
  2. Steve S. April 23, 2011 at 11:23 pm
    Not so fast on our Mets duplicating the ’62 clowns!

    The pitching staff actually looks OK—and it’s six deep (seven, if you count Meija at Buffalo). The bullpen looks OK too, with Izzy, KRod, Beato, and Buchholz all pitching well.

    Bay may actually hit 20+ HRs and Beltran is hitting, as well.

    And the infielders are pretty good, with Davis developing well, and Reyes looking more like his old self. Murphy will eventually be adequate at 2B.

    The Mets might even wind up with 80+ wins.

    • Joe Janish April 24, 2011 at 10:43 am
      I admire your optimism. Before we talk about winning 80 games, let’s see them get to .500. And before we talk about the “depth” of the pitching, consider that the #1 starter has thrown one acceptable game out of 5, the two lefties have ERAs a hair under 6.00, and RA Dickey is not the pitcher we saw last year (he’s a fine mid- or back-of-the rotation starter, but not the ace he was in 2010). As for Mejia, you can count him now, but let’s hope he’s still healthy when/if the Mets need him. His mechanics still scare me.

      Also consider that there will be a fire sale in July because the Wilpons have no money. That said, enjoy Beltran and Reyes while you still can.

      Murphy may develop into an adequate 2B some day, but watching him try to do it at the big-league level is painful.

      • Steve S. April 24, 2011 at 12:42 pm
        .500 or Bust!

        In Dickey we trust! (Also in Ike!)

        Pelfrey does scare me, I admit. Hope you’re wrong about Mejia though.

        I have a feeling that with attendance down again, the Mets might make an effort to sign Reyes.

        • Joe Janish April 24, 2011 at 8:17 pm
          I hope you’re right. I don’t care if Jose Reyes’ OBP is .250, he’s still one of the most exciting players to watch in baseball.

          We have seen enough games without Reyes over the past few years — they’re not interesting.

        • Steve S. April 24, 2011 at 10:14 pm
          Four in a row, Joe! We should be able to handle the Nats. The real test this coming week will be in Philly.

          BTW, I saw Jackie Robinson play at Ebbets Field, and Reyes is right up there with him for excitement! Except Jackie slid feet first.