Mets Game 89: Loss to Reds
Perhaps the reason for John Maine’s loss was that he had no losing streak to stop.
The Big Red Machine jumped on John for four runs in the first inning — courtesy of a grand slam by cleanup hitter Brandon Phillips — and added another four before it was all over to topple the Mets in front of a Friday night crowd of over 51,300 fans in Shea Stadium. In short, it was not a good day for John Maine.
It was, however, a splendid evening for Phillips, who finished 3-for-5 with 6 RBI. Cincinnati starter and human eclipse Aaron Harang had a decent night himself, going six innings, allowing three runs, and striking out eight en route to his tenth victory of the season.
The lone bright spot for the Mets was the first homerun of the season for Lastings Milledge, who appears to have brought his hot bat with him from the minors.
Notes
Mike Pelfrey came on to relieve Maine in the fifth. Is it possible someone among the Mets’ brass read my article on Flushing University regarding moving Pelfrey to the bullpen? (Most likely …. NOT!) Pelf allowed two hits, a walk, and a run in one and a third in his debut as a reliever. Not so hot, but on the bright side, there’s plenty of room for improvement!
Ruben Gotay went 2-for-5, including a double and another RBI. If he keeps this up Willie might be forced to start him on a regular basis. However, Gotay did make two errors on one play so maybe now he can’t be trusted in the field.
Carlos Delgado continues to swing a hot bat, also hitting a double and collecting two hits in three tries and driving in a run. His buddy Shawn Green finally broke out of his own slump, with two hits and a stolen base, his seventh of the season.
After Pelfrey was removed, the Mets bullpen pitched three scoreless innings to finish the game — one each by Guillermo Mota, Scott Schoeneweis, and Aaron Heilman. The Show is really proving his worth as a man you can count on in games that are out of hand.
Next Game
The Mets and Reds do it again at 7:10 PM on Saturday night at Shea. Tom Glavine goes for number 298 against Matt Belisle. IMHO, it’s a “must win” for the Mets and for Glavine — not because they have to fend off the surging second-place Braves as much as the Reds are a team they MUST take at least two, and preferably three, from. The Mets will be facing some tough teams in the West next week, and therefore need to take advantage of last-place squads such as Cincinnati.
