Mets Game 33: Win Over Dodgers

Mets 4 Dodgers 2

Justin time, Mr. Turner made a pinch-hitting appearance to drive in the game winning run.

Justin Turner ripped a pinch-hit, two-run single in the 8th — perhaps the longest single in Citi Field history — to score Jasons Bay and Pridie to give the Mets a victory over the Dodgers.

Mets Game Notes

Chris Young was supposed to make this start, but when he couldn’t get loose in the bullpen prior to the game, Dillon Gee was asked to make an emergency start — literally, minutes before game time. Considering the last-minute nature of the start, Gee was excellent, allowing only two runs on 7 hits and 3 walks in 5 1/3 innings. Usually, I wouldn’t speak so highly of a pitcher who allows nearly two baserunners per inning, but most of Gee’s struggles came in the first few innings — and that was to be expected considering his brief and hurried warmup. Though he had prepared for this emergency in as far as attending the pregame meeting and knowing there was a chance he might get the call, he did not start warming up until around 7:00 PM — and the first pitch was scheduled to be thrown at 7:10. An admirable job by Gee, who continues to impress.

Offensively, Jason Pridie continues to be red-hot. He went 3-for-3 with a double, a sac bunt, and two runs scored.

Jose Reyes also stayed hot, collecting two singles and an RBI, but he made two terrible baserunning mistakes. The first one came when he was picked off of first by Dodgers catcher Dioner Navarro, who made a nonchalant throw to catch the sleeping Jose. That cannot happen, ever. Kids: ALWAYS, ALWAYS pay attention to where the ball is and what’s happening with it for every nanosecond that your foot is not touching a bag. Jose’s second bonehead baserunning error came in the bottom of the 7th, when he got caught between 2B and 3B on a ground ball to short. I can kind of understand what happened there; the score was tied, and David Wright hit a sharp grounder toward the shortstop hole. My guess is that Reyes’ first instinct was that the ball would get through the hole, and he wanted to get an aggressive jump so that he would have a chance to score. But once Jamey Carroll got his glove on the ball, Reyes was a dead duck. It was an error of aggression, but different from a similar one pulled by Dan Murphy earlier this year, because Murphy had no chance of scoring but was simply trying to advance to third. In contrast, Reyes mis-read the ball and made a decision too early. The two players’ errors were similar in that in both cases, the baserunner tried to do too much. Reyes could have and should have avoided that mistake by checking to see where Carroll was positioned before the pitch was made. Had he seen that Carroll was shaded toward 3B, Reyes should not have assumed the ball would go through the hole. Kids: pay attention to where EVERYONE on the field is positioned so you can have an idea on whether you can advance. And when in doubt, in situations where you are not forced, the rule is to stay put when the ball is in front of you.

Mets pitching shut down Andre Ethier, ending his hitting streak at 30 games. Ethier’s pitch selection was awful; he was swinging aggressively at first pitches and was easily fooled by off-speed pitches off the outside corner. Considering that he is incredibly streaky, I will go out on a limb and say that he’ll go hitless again on Sunday.

With his sinister-looking beard, lean muscular body, and closed stance, Matt Kemp reminds me a bit of a righthanded Dave Parker. The Bison, to me, resembles The Cobra.

The Mets are 10-3 with Jason Bay; 5-15 without him. Just sayin’.

Chris Young complained about “stiffness” in his right shoulder and was unable to “get loose”. He has been getting injections and taking anti-inflammatory medicine to address his symptoms. Unfortunately, shots and medicine cannot correct his dangerous mechanics. It’s only five weeks into the season and Young may go on the DL for the second time, so if the Mets get as many as 15 starts from him it will be a minor miracle.

Josh Thole looked a little shaky behind the plate again, and Ryota Igarashi seemed to be uncomfortable with his signals. I’m beginning to wonder if Thole’s catching is negatively impacting the Mets’ pitching performances.

Francisco Rodriguez closed out his third game in as many days, earning his 9th save and finishing his 11th game. 44 more finishes and he gets the pot of gold. In these last three days, he’s thrown 66 pitches. After his 42-pitch effort on Thursday I thought for sure he’d get at least two days off. Instead, he’s pitched three days in a row. If the Mets have a small lead going into the ninth on Sunday, will it be four?

Next Mets Game

The Mets and Dodgers finish the series at 1:10 PM tomorrow afternoon in Flushing. Lefty Clayton Kershaw goes for the Dodgers, and knuckleballer R.A. Dickey starts for the Mets.