Mets Game 10: Win Over the Brewers
Final score: Mets 5, Brewers 4
Again, the Mets got out to a 3-0 lead.
Again, the Mets offense was barely visible in the middle innings, especially with runners in scoring position.
But today, the outcome was different, thanks to newcomer Gary Sheffield. Sheffield’s 500th career home run tied the game at 4-4 tie in 7th inning. NJ.com’s Brendan Prunty has a fact-packed paragraph that sums up the home run nicely:
He is the first player in major league history to have his 500th home run be his first home run with a new team. Plus, in a strange twist, Sheffield’s 500th came against the very team that he hit his first for — the Brewers. His first home run came against the Seattle Mariners Mark Langston on Sept. 9, 1988.
Tonight’s game was downright scary. I don’t have the numbers on the Mets’ performance with runners on base, but it was horrible. Jerry Manuel continues to outmanage himself and the Mets continue to look listless. I can’t find many positives except for the fact that the Mets were able to push across the winning run against future Hall of Famer Seth McClung on a Luis Castillo infield single.
But hey, it’s only April, right?
Abbreviated game notes:
- When the Mets opened the bottom of the 1st with three consecutive hits, WFAN’s Wayne Hagin was quick to mention that Jerry Manuel oversaw a special team BP session today, complete with words of encouragement and special tips to get the team’s bats going. The BP talking point wasn’t mentioned after that, as the Mets offense was virtually invisible until Sheffield pinch hit in the seventh. Beware of announcers getting notes from the PR department…
- Danny Murphy can’t bunt to save his life, but at least he continues to fail in the most hilarious ways imaginable
- If Jerry Manuel wanted to advance Reyes, why not let a pitcher hit for Murphy and then put Tatis in LF?
- Livan Hernandez has nothing but brains and craftiness – kind of like Pedro over the last few seasons, but with more stamina. That just might be enough for him to win 12 games this season. Either way, his starts are already more fun to watch than anyone, except for Santana.
- Carlos Beltran hit with the bases loaded twice. Result: Strike out and pop up to shortstop
- David Wright made a great defensive play on a Bill Hall ground ball in the second inning. Looking back, that play may have made the difference in the game
- The Mets used JJ Putz instead of Francisco Rodriguez in the top of the ninth, despite being tied at home. Not sure what that was all about, especially since K-Rod was warming up during the 8th inning.
- If I’m not mistaken, Jerry Manuel managed to use his entire bench during a 9-inning game
- The Mets are back to .500 (5-5)
UPDATE: The Mets left 13 runners on base, but they did go 3 for 10 with runners in scoring position. For a full boxscore, visit MLB.com.
Thanks to wohjr in the comments section for pointing out that Sheffield’s HR tied the game at 4-4. The original post has been corrected.