Diamondbacks 3 Mets 1

It had to happen eventually — the Mets couldn’t win EVERY game in Arizona.

Mike Pelfrey pitched another mixed bag game. On the one hand, he kept the Mets in the game by allowing just two runs in 5 and one-third innings. On the other hand, the bookends of his start — the first and sixth innings — were shaky and glaring reminders of his immaturity.

Pelfrey’s first inning jitters returned, as he walked two batters and looked to be aiming the ball. It was getting painful to watch him throw ball after ball — it couldn’t have been much easier for big Mikey to endure. In the end, he gave up only one run, but the entire inning was a struggle.

In the sixth, Pelfrey hit Eric Byrnes to start the inning, and he allowed him to steal second base on a 3-0 pitch to Stephen Drew. No doubt the advance scouts are putting in their reports the fact that it is easy to steal on Pelfrey, and we’ll see more teams take advantage as the season wears on. Eventually, Drew bounced a ball to second base to move Byrnes to third, bringing Carlos Quentin to the plate. Pelfrey quickly got ahead of Quentin 0-2, seemingly setting him up for the slider. However, Ramon Castro called for an inside fastball, and Pelfrey hit Quentin in the hip. That was an opportune situation for Pelfrey to grow as a pitcher — by striking out Quentin. Instead, he went backward a step, and was removed from the game. No one said it was going to be easy for him.

Mike Pelfrey continues to struggle in the early innings, but improves as the game wears on. One has to wonder, does it mean he needs to extend his pregame warmup routine? Is it a mental issue? He looks lost and confused in the first two innings, then settles down and does a nice job of hitting spots with the sinker. Each inning seems to feed his confidence, making me think it’s more a mental thing than anything.

By the way, how awesome must it be to be a raw young pitcher like Pelfrey, returning to the dugout between innings to be schooled by future Hall-of-Famer Tom Glavine? Not many other young pitchers have that kind of a resource at their disposal.

It’s too bad the Mets had their “Sunday afternoon” lineup in place for this game, as Pelfrey pitched well enough to earn his first win of the season. Unfortunately, he’s now 0-4, which can’t be much of a confidence booster — for a kid in dire need of confidence.

The only Mets run came on a single by Ramon Castro in the fourth. Otherwise, the bats were lackluster, other than two hits — including one double — by Endy Chavez.

Notes

Despite hitting an opposite-field homer in this series, David Wright is not yet out of his slump. He’s still swinging with an uppercut, causing him to get beat on pitches inside and popping balls up. Swinging with a lift turns Wright from a tough out into an ordinary hitter with vulnerable holes in his swing.

Shawn Green has done a great job of seeing the ball and getting himself into good counts all year, but in this game he looked really locked in. Earlier in the season, he looked like he was constantly thinking, trying to figure something out. But against Livan Hernandez, he had a look on his face that exuded extreme confidence: a man with a plan. If Wright continues to struggle, Willie may consider moving Green up in the lineup while he’s swinging a hot stick.

Something that may have gotten lost in the boxscore, but was a major disappointment, came in the top of the seventh inning. Down 3-1 with one out, pinch-hitter Damion Easley worked a walk. Jose Reyes then took a defensive swing at the first pitch, which was low and outside. The result was a weak foul fly ball that Eric Byrnes caught for the second out. Endy Chavez followed by swinging at the first pitch — once again, low and outside — and bounced weakly to first base. Why both Reyes and Chavez were swinging at the first pitch, down by two so late in the game, against Livan Hernandez — who might have been starting to tire — defies comprehension. Their over-aggressiveness effectively erased a good at-bat by the veteran Easley, and instead of getting Hernandez on the ropes, they handed him an easy inning.

Lino Urdaneta finally has an ERA, albeit a very high one. He pitched two-thirds of an inning without allowing a run.

Jose Reyes dove to stop a ground ball by Quentin, then threw a one-hop bullet to Delgado — from a seated position. Reyes snapped off the ball while sitting back on his butt, and still got Quentin by several steps.

Ruben Gotay made some flashy plays at second base, including two glove flips. The first was shuffled to Delgado after he charged a slow grounder, the second came on a miraculous backhand stop behind second base that Reyes bobbled. Had Reyes caught the ball cleanly, it no doubt would have been an ESPN web gem. Gotay also had a very good at-bat in the top of the ninth against Jose Valverde, which culminated in a searing line drive right at second baseman Orlando Hudson. The Mets may have something here with Gotay.

Next Game

Oliver Perez takes the hill in San Francisco against Barry Zito. It’s a 10:15 PM EST start. Man I hate the late-night, Left Coast games.

Mets 6 Diamondbacks 2

Going against reigning Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb, not much was expected of Jorge Sosa. The Mets hoped he could somehow get through five innings and hold the Diamondbacks to a few runs in what promised to be a low-scoring game. In other words, keep the Mets in the game, keep things close enough to give the bats a chance to win. If he could do that, Willie Randolph would be ecstatic.

Instead, Sosa gave Willie six and one-third innings of shutout ball.

In those 6 1/3, Sosa gave up 4 hits, 2 walks and 1 earned run, striking out 3 in the process. 65 of his 101 pitches were strikes, as he mixed a 95-MPH fastball with a diving slider. Simply put, he did more than keep the Mets in the game — he handed them an opportunity to win.

Sosa seemed a bit nervous in the first inning, giving up a single and a walk, but settled down to end the threat without a run. Few believed it would be Arizona’s best chance to score for the next five innings.

In the top of the second, Shawn Green dropped an opposite-field, two-run homer over the leftfield fence to provide a seemingly fragile lead that stood for much of the game.

Then the dam burst.

It started out simply enough — two walks issued to the two Carloses by Brandon Webb to start the inning. Paul LoDuca followed with a line drive single to leftfield that went under Jerry Hairston’s glove and to the wall, scoring Beltran and Delgado and landing LoDuca on third. A few pitches later, Shawn Green jumped on a high change-up and sent a grounder up the middle to score LoDuca. Green stole second and was advanced to third on a chopper back to the pitcher hit by Damion Easley. Endy Chavez followed with a sacrifice fly to score Green and make the score 6-0.

Other than the homer to Green, Webb had pitched very well up to that point. He clearly had run out of gas but D’Backs manager Bob Melvin was caught blindsided by the sudden lack of effectiveness, and had no one getting ready in the bullpen. It was up to Webb to get himself out of the inning, and luckily for the Mets, he wasn’t up to the task.

Notes

Brandon Webb had a lot of fun in the early innings displaying his overhand curveball. His 12-6 deuce is a prime example of why I disagree with Rick Peterson’s decision to ditch Mike Pelfrey’s curve. I simply do not buy into the idea that sinkerballers have to be sinker-slider pitchers, nor that the slider is a more appropriate complement to a sinker than a curve. The reason I prefer a curve is that it can and should be thrown in the strike zone; it’s a pitch you throw for strikes. In contrast, the slider is a pitch that is more effective when thrown OUT of the strike zone; when pitchers force it over the plate, it tends to flatten and be very hittable. Even John Smoltz’s nasty slider is vulnerable when thrown for a strike. OK, I’ve stepped down off the soapbox … just had to get that off my chest.

David Wright had shown signs of breaking out of his slump, but is now 1-13 in this series. He’s still taking more of an uppercut swing as opposed to the more level, line-drive cut he used previous to last year’s All-Star game. Last week, Keith Hernandez also pointed out a more pronounced front leg lift, which may also be throwing things off. Until he corrects these issues, Wright can forget about being a .300 hitter again.

Delgado, on the other hand, is stroking the ball better, though he is still swinging too hard on occasion. Watch him and you’ll see that both of his feet leave the ground when he swings and misses — he’s actually jumping at the ball. He’ll be fine once he starts staying back and taking a more controlled swing.

Sosa may have benefitted from a weak Arizona lineup. His inability to throw anything other than the fastball for a strike could make him vulnerable to stronger offenses. (Similarly, John Maine had trouble spotting off-speed pitches on Friday night, but it didn’t seem to matter much against Arizona’s weak bats.) However, you can’t knock his guts and ability to rise to the occasion in this standout performance. At the very least, he deserves another start — if needed.

Joe Smith did what he needed to do to preserve the shutout, inducing a routine double-play grounder from Chris Snyder in the seventh. However, Jose Reyes botched the transfer from Damion Easley, and Snyder reached base safely to extend the inning. Pinch-hitter Miguel Montero doubled over the head of Endy Chavez to score two runs. Smith then struck out Eric Byrnes to end the inning.

Pedro Feliciano and Aaron Heilman did their usual thing to close out a game that had been over since the second inning.

For those that missed it, Amby Burgos was sent down to make room for Sosa. So, Lino Urdaneta may yet get a chance to turn that sideways eight into a real number.

Next Game

Mike Pelfrey faces Livan Hernandez at 4:40 PM EST in a Sunday afternoon game.

In the 9th inning of the first game of this series, things looked bleak for the Mets. They were down 4-3, Jose Valverde looked to be on his way to an 11th save, and the possibility of being swept seemed entirely plausible. After all, John Maine was due to take a loss (wasn’t he?), the always-tough Brandon Webb was on the hill on Saturday night, and if they had lost the first three, it seemed very unlikely that Pelfrey would have a chance to beat the wily veteran Hernandez.

However, the combination of a meltdown by Valverde and one sweet swing of the bat by Damion Easley turned not just the game, but the entire series around. Now, a sweep is indeed possible, but by the Mets OVER the D’Backs.

Mets 5 Diamondbacks 3

It was a clearly uncomfortable game for John Maine.

But then, all pitchers should be lucky enough to have his discomfort.

With a look on his face that conveyed frustration, aggravation, or possibly constipation, Maine nonetheless powered through the Arizona lineup, allowing just one run on six hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out three en route to his fifth victory without a loss.

Maine didn’t have his very best stuff — his command on all pitches was way off — but he kept a stiff upper lip and turned in a veteran-like performance, keeping the ball in the strike zone and making great “pitcher’s pitches” exactly when he had to.

While Maine was shutting down the D’Backs batters, the Mets offense is finally beginning to kick into gear. Jose Reyes led off the game with a single, stole second, and scored on a base hit by Carlos Beltran. In the second inning, surprise starter Julio Franco gave Maine a cushion, blasting an opposite-field, two-run homer into the pool beyond the right-center fence off Randy Johnson to put the Mets ahead 3-0. Paul LoDuca — who scored on Franco’s homer — hit a homerun of his own in the fourth, a high drive over the leftfield fence. Jose Reyes drove in Endy Chavez in the fifth to finish the scoring for the night.

Though the Diamondbacks managed three runs, they never seemed to be in the game. The homer by Franco seemed to take all the air out of them, save for Orlando Hudson, who made some nice plays at second base and hit a controversial two-run homer off Amby Burgos in the top of the 8th. Hudson’s fly was about to strike the top of the leftfield fence, but the outstretched glove of Endy Chavez (who else?) managed to swat the ball back onto the field. What appeared to be a one-run double was ruled a homerun by third base umpire Gary Darling. Luckily, there were already two out and Burgos induced a popup from Eric Byrnes to end the inning.

Billy Wagner threw 10 pitches to finish the game without incident, earning his sixth save of the season.

Notes

LoDuca batted fifth in the lineup and went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Reyes went 3-for-4 with a stolen base, a run, and an RBI, and was thrown out attempting to steal in the fifth on a great throw by catcher Chris Snyder. Reyes argued the call for a few moments, and he might have snuck his hand in before the tag, but in reality the ball beat him to the bag and the play was close enough to go either way.

Chavez started because Moises Alou was resting a sore knee. However, Endy might have injured his ankle on the faux-homer by Hudson. He stayed in the game, but limped a bit through the rest of the game.

The Mets turned three double plays, all of which effectively squelched any momentum the Arizona offense could muster.

Next Game – Sosa Starting

As expected, Jorge Sosa has been promoted to the big club to face Brandon Webb in Saturday night’s game (another 9:40 PM start). Sosa has tallied a 4-0 record and 1.13 ERA in AAA, allowing 29 hits and 4 walks in 32 innings, striking out 29 in the process. His low walk total is encouraging, as is the fact he’s only allowed one homerun in the homer-happy PCL. Also encouraging: he’s induced twice as many ground balls as fly balls. Being that the dinger has been his big bugaboo, perhaps he’s turning a corner in his career.

Mets 9 Diamondbacks 4

Why the heck did the Mets sign Damion Easley?

That’s what I was thinking back in mid-November of last year. Here was a little guy with a loopy swing, washed up for five years now. He wasn’t particularly adept with the glove, and not terribly versatile, either. Why were the Mets in such a rush to sign this “never-was”, when guys like Mark Loretta and Adam Kennedy were available?

A few minutes later I recalled similar thoughts from around the same time the previous winter, after the Mets signed Jose Valentin for no logical reason.

Ah, yes, In Omar We Trust.

After a mostly ordinary, often lackluster career — save for a three-year, 20-homer per season spurt — Damion Easley suddenly has a flair for the dramatic. And that loopy swing is connecting at precisely the right times.

With one out and two men on in the ninth, Easley lifted a 2-0 pitch into the leftfield stands to put the Mets ahead 6-4. The blast came against Jose Valverde, who had previously been nearly perfect in the closing role, saving 10 games in 11 chances and entering the game with a marvelous 1.64 ERA. The go-ahead homer, however, clearly affected the volatile Valverde, as he then walked Julio Franco and allowed a base hit to Jose Reyes before being removed from the game. His successor didn’t do much better, giving up an opposite-field homer to David Wright to put the game away for good.

Though it turned out to be an exciting, come-from-behind victory, the Mets nearly gave the game away.

They say the great pitchers seem to get tougher as the game goes along — particularly after they are given the lead. The smell of victory — the blood of the fallen opponent — causes something extra to kick in, a competitive streak that sears the outside skin of the decision, sealing the win inside.

For some reason, however, Tommy Glavine didn’t get tough.

The game was reminiscent of a Glavine start in Atlanta last July, when he was given the lead four times, but handed it right back. Against the Arizona Diamondbacks last night, Glavine fell behind early, but the Mets came back in the fourth to give him a one-run lead. Minutes later, he gave away the lead via a two-run homer to catcher Chris Snyder.

In the top of the fifth, Carlos Beltran evened things up with a prodigious solo homer to right-center. But in the bottom of the inning, Glavine gave up another dinger, this time to Orlando Hudson on a BP-like fastball over the middle of the plate, to untie the game. It was as if Glavine didn’t want to win. Maybe the 300-win thing is getting in his head, causing him to lose his focus

Notes

The ninth inning was a buildup of breaks that bewildered Jose Valverde, and may have caused him to lose his cool. First, a Shawn Green grounder bounced through Tony Clark’s legs, and then Paul LoDuca had a tough at-bat, working the count full and walking on a close pitch off the outside part of the plate. Valverde seemed to disagree with several of the ball calls — though they weren’t close enough to bicker about — and after walking LoDuca fell behind 2-0 to Easley. Ten saves or not, Valverde is still a head case.

Is Carlos Delgado ever going to hit again? Besides these little singles, I mean. At some point, Willie Randolph has to acknowledge that this man is in a slump. He’s not hitting the ball hard anywhere, and in fact is swinging and missing at an astonishing rate. And it’s not as if he’s getting fooled — he’s getting beat, he’s swinging over, he’s swinging under. Hopefully he and Rick Down will check out some video and notice that Carlos’ head is moving too much when he strides and begins his swing, in turn causing the ball to “jump” and leave his line of vision. A lighter stride step will keep his head “quiet”, and he’ll get a better, longer look at the pitch coming in.

Speaking of mechanical flaws, Aaron Heilman’s arm action is now identical to Joe Smith’s. But we’ll keep believing Willie’s mantra that it’s a phase Aaron needs to work out of, or that it’s mental, or he’s simply “getting the ball up”. And no, I don’t particularly care that he pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and received credit for the win — the ends do not justify the means in this case.

After going 2-for-2 with a walk, Moises Alou left the game because of a sore knee. Great. A split lip, a sore shoulder, now a bum knee. And it’s only the first week of May.

Shawn Green’s 10-game hitting streak came to a quiet end, though he did walk once and reach on the error by Clark. He also made an outstanding diving catch in the bottom of the ninth, eliciting a big hand from the hometown crowd.

Next Game

John Maine faces Randy Johnson at 9:40 PM EST. If Maine can continue his recent dominance, it would be a major shot in the arm for the Mets, as the last two games of the series will be tough. The D’backs will send their best two starters — Brandon Webb and Livan Hernandez — against someone who hasn’t made an MLB start this year and the shaky Mike Pelfrey. A bit of momentum going into the third game against Webb will be a big lift for the Mets.