Mets Game 30: Loss to Giants

Giants 2 Mets 0

This was sort of reminiscent of a game from the 1970s; it could have been John Montefusco and Jon Matlack on the mound facing lineups that include “hitters” like Chris Speier, Ken Reitz, Marc Hill, Roy Staiger, Mike Phillips, and Del Unser.

Mets Game Notes

Chris Capuano pitched a strong ballgame; like many of his starts, he pitched well enough to win and about as well as a #5 starter can be expected to pitch. But, there was someone other-worldly opposing him on the mound, and allowing even just one run would’ve been one run too many.

Tim Lincecum shut out the Mets through 7 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out 12. Yet, somehow, it seemed to me like Lincecum wasn’t his vintage self — like, maybe he was operating with less than his best stuff. It could just be that with all of his previous success and hype, I have tremendous expectations. Don’t get me wrong — it was still a great outing. But for whatever reason, I expect to see something historic whenever he takes the mound.

The bottom of the eighth inning reminded me of the Jerry Manuel days; three pitchers to get three outs. The only difference was, the three pitchers used pitched effectively and each did their job.

Carlos Beltran continues to look great at the plate, and is hitting the ball hard. Keeping building that trade value, Carlos! Meanwhile, knowing that he likely won’t be around beyond July, I’m giving each of his at-bats my undivided attention and appreciating every pitch he sees.

Speaking of Beltran, I’m prepared to eat crow regarding the health of his knees. I never, ever expected him to play in 18 consecutive games in the first 30 games of the season.

Ike Davis cut down his swing significantly against Lincecum, particularly when he had two strikes. Usually he has that huge dip of the hands and “load” that resembles an approach you might see at a slo-pitch softball game. But in this game he had very short hand movement and was just trying to make contact — not unlike what we see from Josh Thole most of the time. The approach allowed him to hit one single up the middle but he also struck out three times.

Pat Burrell didn’t hit a homerun, and clearly does not enjoy Citi Field as much as he did Shea Stadium, but he did drive in the first run of the game.

When did Aaron Rowand become so awful as a hitter? I know his stats benefited from CBP and the hitters around him while in Philly, but man, he looks terrible; it’s like he has no idea at the plate — no plan, no approach, no concept of what the pitcher has been doing.

Jason Bay missed another ballgame while on paternity leave. I know you can’t necessarily plan when a newborn will arrive, but the timing could have been better. Such as, when he was in the midst of a slump rather than a hot streak. But who knows, maybe being a dad will help him hit even better. It’s just tough to see him finally get that bat going, and then see him leave the lineup.

Next Mets Game

The Mets attempt to avoid a sweep by sending Mike Pelfrey to the mound on Thursday afternoon against Jonathan Sanchez. Game time is 1:10 PM, so set the DVR if you — like me — will be at work. (Expect to see a postgame recap here sometime in the late evening or Friday morning.)