Mets Game 14: Nationals
Mets 3 Nationals 2
“A long, ugly game that turned out pretty.”
— Willie Randolph’s fitting description during the postgame interview on SNY.
It took 14 innings of perseverance, but the New York Mets finally came out on top, winning on a wild pitch and sweeping the Nationals in a four-hour, 45-minute contest.
For a while there, it appeared neither team wanted to win the ballgame. Rallies would begin, but be extinguished quickly. In the end, it was sloppy play by the Nationals that allowed the Mets to win.
Damion Easley led off the 14th with a single — he was 2-for-2 — then took second base on a wild pitch. Shortly thereafter, Easley moved to third on a pickoff attempt that bounced off his knee and went scooting into the outfield. David Wright and Carlos Delgado were walked intentionally to load the bases, but those actions were moot when Joel Hanrahan free mp3 nokia ringtones crazy frog ringtones free nokia ringtones free get ringtones cingular ringtones boost free mobile ringtones free cricket ringtones verizon wireless ringtones totally free ringtones cricket free ringtones ringtones free ringtones verizon free samsung ringtones cell download free phone ringtones download free ringtones cell phone hotlink caller ringtones download free nokia ringtones free blackberry ringtones free ringtones for motorola phone crazy frog ringtones uncorked another wild pitch — the first to pinch-hitter Brian Schneider — that scored Easley, um, easily.
Ironically, the Mets never would have made it to the fourteenth had it not been for a Ron Belliard error in the eighth — with two out — that put Ryan Church on first base. Church scored minutes later to tie the game.
On the mound, Nelson Figueroa followed up his dominating debut with another gem, pitching 7 stellar innings of three-hit ball and striking out seven. He made just one mistake the entire evening, and it resulted in a two-run homer by Nick Johnson. Figgy was saved from a loss, however, when the Mets tied things up in the eighth on a run-scoring single by Carlos Delgado. The Mets had scored their first run in the first inning, when red-hot Ryan Church doubled in Jose Reyes.
The Mets bullpen was outstanding, holding the Nationals scoreless from innings eight through fourteen.
Notes
Is Mets pitching this good or the Nats hitting that bad? The Nationals were held hitless for seven innings at one point in the game — from the fourth to the eleventh.
What’s bothersome to me is that the Washington offense would appear to be better than their pitching … yet the Mets could manage only two runs in 13 innings.
I think I heard “Crazy Train” being played by the Shea Stadium organist. Kind of cool to hear the old keyboard getting tapped again.
The Nats look like a sloppy and lackadaisical bunch. Ronny Belliard is the king of lazy punks, and Lastings Milledge didn’t look so hot lollygagging after a fly ball that allowed Ryan Church to tag up from first to second.
Lee Mazzilli looked really tired during Nissan Postgame Live. In fact, he looked like a cross between George Hamilton and Yoda.
Next Game
Mets head down the NJ Turnpike to Philly for a three game set. Friday night’s opener begins at 7:05 PM and will match up the aces: Johan Santana vs. Cole Hamels. The game will be shown on CW11 and heard on 660 WFAN and XM 184.