Mets 12 Dodgers1

Wow … where was all that offense in the first two games?

The Mets went ape on Dodger ace Brad Penny, slapping him around for ten runs on ten hits and three walks in four frames, then assaulted Scott Proctor for another two in his one and one-third inning of work.

Meantime, John Maine was Just Magnificent, plowing through eight and and a third before giving up a run. His final line: 8 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 ER. His near-shutout performance came just hours after the sports talk radio jockeys and other pundits pointed out that the Mets had no starting pitcher go more than seven innings in the season.

When a dozen runs are scored, it’s hard to highlight one or two players. Ryan “Lastings Who?” Church was the brightest star of the day, going 3-for-4 with a homer and three runs scored from the six spot. Luis Castillo, back in the two-spot, went 2-for-4 with two two-out RBI. Raul Casanova also went 2-for-4, with 2 RBI and 2 runs.

Notes

The Mets drove home six runs with two outs — and John Maine was responsible for two of them.

A bright green flag (usually we talk about “red flags”) from today’s game was the Mets’ patience at the plate. For the third straight game, the Mets batters were exhibiting good plate discipline, working deep counts, letting the ball get deep, and hitting to the opposite field. Is it any coincidence that Jose Reyes, at the top of the lineup, has become more selective lately? Is it possible that the rest of the order is following his lead? Keep it up, Jose.

Interestingly, the Mets had this offensive explosion with regulars Carlos Delgado, Moises Alou, and Brian Schneider riding the pine. Marlon Anderson, Angel Pagan, and Casanova were all productive in their places.

Pagan, by the way, made a spectacular play in the first inning, catching a fly ball at the wall in foul territory and then doing a somersault over the wall and going headfirst into the seats. He stayed in the game but eventually left due to shoulder tightness. Pagan is scheduled for an MRI and is day-to-day.

Two things great to see from Johnny Maine: getting ahead of the batters (which is easy with a big lead) and pounding the ball inside. On several occasions he made a batter “dodge” his inside fastball, and in fact went so far in on Jeff Kent that he elicited a response from Pig-boy Penny and a warning from the umpires. Despite the warning, Johnny continued to make batters move their feet here and there — I like seeing that nasty side of Mr. Maine.

Carlos Beltran seemed completely over the “flu-like symptoms” that kept him out of Tuesday night’s contest, zipping around the bases and stinging the ball all over the place (he scorched the ball, but right at people). After reading about Darryl Strawberry’s hangovers being reported as “flu-like symptoms” in Bad Guys Won, I’ve been extremely skeptical of players who sit for one day and return the picture of health the next. Don’t get me wrong — I’m not trying to start any rumors — just taking the reason for Beltran’s day off with a grain of salt. Carlos may not have been partying the night before, but Willie Randolph could very well be covering up something else. For example, perhaps one or both of his recently repaired knees is still acting up, and rather than allow the knee to become a media issue, it makes more sense to give an excuse that evokes no questions.

I love listening to Ron Darling, but he’s driving me nutty by identifying two-seam fastballs as four-seamers. For the fifth time in the last three games, he called a particular pitch a “four-seam fastball” as the slo-mo replay magnifying the pitcher’s hand at release clearly exhibited a two-seam fastball (this is when the index and middle fingers are on, or parallel to, the red stitching on the ball). Get yer eyes checked, Ron … maybe you need glasses.

Next Game

The Mets have a day off to travel on Thursday, then return home on Friday to host the Cincinnati Reds for a weekend series. Game one begins at 7:10 PM and will have Mike Pelfrey on the mound against Matt Belisle.

Dodgers 5 Mets 4

Before this contest, Hiroki Kuroda had established himself as a pitcher who dominated opposing batters during the first time through the lineup, but struggled the second time around. However, the Mets jumped all over Kuroda in their first look, and continued the onslaught until chasing him from the game in the fourth frame.

Unfortunately, the Mets’ offense was handcuffed by Sandy Koufax in relief … oh wait, that wasn’t Koufax, but Kuo, as in, Hong-Chih. You know, the same Hong-Chih Kuo(fax) who has a 7+ ERA against the rest of the NL but somehow is to the Mets as kryptonite is to Superman. Kuofax struck out eight batters in three and two-thirds innings. Yes — of the eleven outs, eight were by the big K.

The Mets had a great chance to blow the game completely open in the third, as they scored one run and then loaded the bases with none out. However, they managed to plate only one runner before Ryan Church grounded into a double play. Kuroda then struck out David Wright to extinguish the threat and end the inning.

Meantime, Nelson Figueroa did a fine job of making me look like an absolute fool. Just hours after I anointed him the Mets’ #3 starter, Figgy had the gall to fall back to Earth and give away a three-run lead. His final line was 5 IP, 8 H, 4 BB, 5 ER. Thanks, Figs. On a more pessimistic note, the Mets’ starting rotation is now officially a disaster.

Notes

Aaron Heilman pitched two innings of scoreless relief, and Pedro Feliciano and Joe Smith shut out the Dodgers in the eighth.

Ryan Church had a double and a homerun in the game, but his rally-killing DP in the third negated both, as it was the turning point of the game.

Brian Schneider had two hits and a walk and is now hitting .308 with an OBP right around .400. I’m ecstatic he’s hitting that well, but it’s the lightest .308 I’ve seen in a long time.

Strangely, this Mets team not only defied their recent history by beating up on a pitcher they never saw before, but also took pitches and ran deep counts. Kudos to Howard Johnson for finally getting through to these cement-heads. Now if they can only figure out Kuofax …

By the fifth inning, the Mets had ten at-bats with men in scoring position — but managed a hit only twice.

LOVED seeing 41-year-old (and soon to be 42) Moises Alou taking an extra base on Andruw Jones in the third inning on a single by Carlos Delgado. Jones didn’t charge the ball, and Moises picked up on the nonchalance while rounding second and took off for third. A few minutes later, Alou STOLE HOME on the front end of a double steal — Angel Pagan stole second and Moises charged home when Dodger catcher Russell Martin fired the ball down to second. Remember Moises is not only over forty, but also coming off a double hernia and what we thought was a broken ankle. Talk about a “gamer” or an example of an “old school” ballplayer who plays hard — Alou is the man.

Oh by the way, it was Alou’s first steal of home since 2006.

Also by the way, Alou continues to sting the ball all over the place — though this was the first evening his hard-hit balls were finally finding holes. Watching a healthy Alou, it’s easy to understand why the Mets invested another $7.5M in him, despite his fragility — there are few players with a similar combination of skill and effort. Now if he can only stay healthy for, say, 100 games …

Feeble-hitting Nelson Figueroa walked twice. Joe Torre no doubt was drinking his chamomile tea in response.

David Wright made two more spectacular plays at 3B, including a diving stab of a Jeff Kent liner (D-Wright robbed him in game one as well) that reminded me of Yankee third sacker Graig Nettles thieving the Dodgers in the 1978 World Series. I’ll be the first one to say Wright was a questionable choice for the Gold Glove in 2007, but so far this year he has brandished the leather at an elite level. Unfortunately, his throwing remains an issue, as he committed yet another throwing error in the sixth.

Before anyone gets on Willie Randolph for his complacency or lack of fire, take a long hard look at the manager in the LA dugout. Joe Torre might as well be napping during games, yet his team has won ten of its last eleven.

Next Game

The Dodgers look to complete the sweep behind the arm of Brad Penny. The Mets counter with John Maine in a 3:10 PM start. I can’t freaking believe I stayed up until the wee hours to watch the Mets give away two ballgames. Next West Coast trip I’m watching the games on DVR the following morning.

Dodgers 5 Mets 1

The Mets couldn’t figure out Chad Billingsley, so it didn’t matter how Oliver Perez pitched. As it turned out, Perez looked better than his most recent starts, though the stat line didn’t bear it out.

Perez allowed five runs on six hits and two walks in six innings, but if you take away two pitches right down Broadway in the fifth, he pitched fairly well. Ollie cut down his normally wild, violent momentum toward the plate, pitching with more balanced mechanics and a controlled follow-through. The result was more strikes than we’ve seen from him in a while — though I didn’t see too many of those nasty, down-in-the-dirt sliders. In addition, OPea looked more focused, though I wouldn’t say confident. If anything, he looked angry, pitching like he had a chip on his shoulder and didn’t care whether his pitches were hit — which to me is a good way for him to be. For much of the game, Ollie looked like he was firing the ball in and saying to the hitters, “here it is, I dare you to hit it”. He needs to do more of that cocky, thoughtless execution, because his problems begin the minute he starts thinking — which leads to self-doubt, lack of confidence, and rallies for the opposing team.

Meanwhile, the Mets did nothing with the bats, managing just five hits — all against Billingsley. Bottom line? This game was not worth staying up until 1am to watch.

Notes

Carlos Beltran probably could have had an inside-the-park homer in the sixth, but with a five-run deficit, it wasn’t worth the risk. He stayed on third and was singled home by Moises Alou a few minutes later.

Carlos Delgado had the only other extra-base hit for the Mets, a booming double in the second that chased Beltran to third. Both runners were left on base as Brian Schneider struck out and Luis Castillo grounded out.

Billingsley didn’t exactly dominate the Mets — he allowed nine baserunners in his six frames — but he was able to get key outs when he needed them.

Next Game

Another late start — 10:10 PM — as Nelson Figueroa goes to the hill against Japanese import Hiroki Kuroda. Historically, the Mets struggle against pitchers they see for the first time, so I’m not liking this matchup.