Home » Mets 2011 Games » Mets Game 32: Win Over Dodgers
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May 7, 2011 Mets 2011 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 32: Win Over Dodgers

Mets 6 Dodgers 3

How can you not be proud of Jason?

Defensive specialist Jason Pridie followed an intentional walk of Ike Davis with a three-run homer to give the Mets a lead they’d never relinquish, powering the team to their 14th victory of the season.

Mets Game Notes

Jonathon Niese was only so-so, allowing three runs on 7 hits and 3 walks in 5 2/3 innings, striking out 5. He didn’t have great stuff, and he looked flat; literally — his pitches remained on a flat plane, with little downward movement. It’s hard to tell from the center-field camera, but it looks like he might be over-rotating somewhat and doing too much side-to-side motion rather than getting good back and forward momentum. As a result he’s dragging his arm a bit and throwing from a slightly low angle. The only way he was able to get decent spin on the curve was by dropping his elbow to a dangerously low position below the shoulder. I’d like to see him get more upright and get a slightly more overhand release point.

Jose Reyes had two triples, a double, a stolen base, and scored two runs. He displayed exactly what many people pay the price of a ticket to see. It’s a shame he’ll likely be traded away by mid-season, as I sincerely believe he’d have a chance to collect 20-25 triples playing half his games in Citi Field, and possibly join the extremely elite 20-20-20 club. This cavernous stadium was built for Jose Reyes — yet ironically, he may never play a full season there.

Andre Ethier went 3-for-5, extending his hitting streak to 30 games. He’s hitting .379 on the season.

The Mets bullpen hung tough, shutting out the Dodgers over the final 3 1/3 innings.

Francisco Rodriguez collected his 8th save while finishing his 10th game of the year. It was surprising to see him out there after throwing 45 pitches the night before. Supposedly, K-Rod made a point of letting Terry Collins know that he was ready to pitch and was “fine” despite the heavy workload on Thursday. In the past we’ve seen pitchers talk managers into letting them pitch but I’m not so sure it’s a great idea over the long haul. Of course, if you don’t want to see K-Rod’s option vest, you probably don’t care about his long-term health.

Next Mets Game

The Mets and Dodgers do it again at 7:10 PM on Saturday night in Flushing. Chris Young goes to the mound for the Mets against Jon Garland.

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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. AC Wayne May 7, 2011 at 1:49 am
    I was at the game Friday night and let me tell you, when Reyes legged out his second triple, the Mets were down by one at the time and the first thing that popped into my head was that if the Mets are unable to come back and win this game, I believed that the fans in attendance wouldn’t have felt upset by a loss because of what they had seen from Reyes up until that point, that’s why you have to keep this guy, even if the team is playing poorly, his style of play puts, to be frank, asses in the seats.
  2. Joe May 7, 2011 at 6:38 am
    As with Pelfrey, Niese might have been “so so,” but he did what he had to do — he gutted it out after using over 50 pitches in two innings & gave them almost six innings while keeping them in the game. That’s what the team needs.

    Pridie should stay and one of the deadweight Hs moved; in fact, it would be a thought even if Pagan won’t come back for awhile. Now, he might taper off, but he looks to be what the team needs in a fourth OF.

  3. gary s. May 7, 2011 at 8:52 am
    After watching reyes play this year, i have 2 observations.1) Any GM who would trade a 27 year old shortstop playing like reyes is for “prospects” should be fired 2)If the owners of this team after shedding 18 mill in salary for perez and castillo and another 18 mill for beltran next year can’t find a way to find money to pay reyes for 4-5 years they should be arrested and locked up
    • FrankTaveras May 7, 2011 at 9:38 am
      I think they will eventually be locked up, but it won’t be for letting Reyes walk.