Mets Game 3: Win Over Marlins
Mets 13 Marlins 0
Where was all that offense on Tuesday? Never mind the idea that Matt Wise threw a hanging changeup in the tenth inning of game two — it wasn’t he who lost the game, but rather the ineptness of the Mets’ offense against one of the worst pitching staffs in MLB that caused the loss.
But I digress … back to game three, which was an old-fashioned blowout.
Oliver Perez was spectacular, spinning six shutout innings of five-hit ball, walking one and striking out eight, expending 93 pitches in the process. Newest addition Nelson Figueroa came on to pitch a perfect seventh, and Pedro Feliciano pitched a scoreless eighth. Billy Wagner summoned an unusual amount of courage to close out the game. Collectively, Mets pitchers allowed no runs on six hits and one walk, striking out 10 in a 126-pitch performance.
While Ollie’s outing was outstanding, the big story was the bats. The Mets pummeled Andrew Miller for five runs in four innings, then bashed reliever Lee Gardner for another five in the sixth inning. Leading the way was David Wright, who continued his MVP argument with three hits, two runs scored, and three RBI, finishing one triple away from hitting for the cycle. Carlos Beltran added three hits of his own, scoring two runs and driving in another. Every Met in the starting lineup had at least one hit except for Perez, with five of the starters collecting two hits or more.
Notes
Ryan Church — who drove in three — is hitting .385 this season, but that’s 15 points less than fellow former Nationals teammate Brian Schneider (2 RBI), who is at .400. Imagine if those two — combined with Angel Pagan’s .400 hitting — can keep up that pace at the bottom of the lineup? Not likely, but hey, we can dream.
Lastings Milledge, BTW, is hitting .182.
Marlins closer Kevin Gregg is the highest-paid Fish, with a $2.5M contract.
Next Game
Day off on Thursday, then the Mets travel north to Atlanta to face the Braves for a three-game weekend series. John Maine faces Tim Hudson in the opener on Friday night at 7:35 PM.