LIVEBLOGGING: New York Mets vs. Colorado Rockies, July 13, 2008.
It's the last MLB game before the All-Star break, pitting the surging New York Mets against the hapless Colorado Rockies. The Mets are on a 8-game winning streak, having taken 3 out of 4 from Philadelphia at Citizen's Bank Park, then sweeping the San Francisco Giants at Shea Stadium in 3 games, and have won the last two from Colorado at Shea as well.
If the Mets win today, they will finish up a half-game behind Philadelphia at the All-Star break, a place where very few people thought the Mets could end up just a month ago. Part of the Mets surge is thanks to the Phillies' own record over the last month or so.
Since Jerry Manuel took over the New York Mets on June 17, 2008 while in Anaheim, the Mets have a 16-9 record. Over that same period of time, the Phillies are 10-14. It didn't help Philadelphia's cause losing that series to the Mets recently.
In the month of July, the Mets are an impressive 10-2, and tonight, they look to go into the All-Star break sweeping another joke of an NL West team, the way they should have done a couple of times earlier in the season.
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5:05pm: ESPN just did a piece on Matt Holliday set to very somber music. Did he die or something?
Top of 1st Inning:
5:10pm: Scott Podsednik hits a ball up the middle into centerfield for a leadoff single.
5:12pm: ESPN broadcaster Jon Miller brings up the remarkable pitching the Mets have had over the last 5 games, setting a modern era record, giving up less than 3 hits in 5 consecutive games.
5:13pm: Clint Barmes grounds into a 6-4-3 doubleplay. 2 out.
5:14pm: Ramon Castro takes a life-shortening foulball off the bat of Matt Holliday into his mask which stuns him for a bit.
5:15pm: Mike Pelfrey gets Matt Holliday swinging and missing at the next two pitches for Pelfrey's first K of the game. 3 out.
Bottom of 1st Inning:
5:18pm: It's a crying shame that the Mets bench is so short that they have to use minor-leaguer-that-can't-hit-MLB-pitching-Nick Evans in LF. That's a situation GM Omar Minaya is going to have to solve over the next couple of weeks.
5:19pm: Jose Reyes hits a hard liner right to 1B Joe Koshansky for the first out.
5:20pm: Of course as soon as I take a knock at Nick Evans, he hits the first pitch he sees into centerfield for a single. Granted, it's off of Rockies pitcher Mark Redman, who hasn't been all that good since 2003 while with the championship Florida Marlins.
5:21pm: David Wright takes a walk. Nick Evans over to 2nd.
5:24pm: Carlos Beltran goes BOOM with a looooong 3-run blast into the leftfield bullpen. Mets go up 3-0.
5:25pm: Damion Easley lines a grounder into 2B Omar Quintanilla, 4-3. 2 out.
5:26pm: Jon Miller says Beltran's HR went an estimated 415 feet.
5:27pm: Carlos Delgado pops out to shallow left-centerfield and the ball almost drops until SS Clint Barmes is able to run it down. 3 out.
Top of 2nd Inning:
5:30pm: Brad Hawpe grounds out, 4-3. 1 out.
5:31pm: Garrett Atkins keeps Damion Easley busy by also grounding out to him. 4-3. 2 out.
5:32pm: Mike Pelfrey strikes out Joe Koshansky with a sinker. 3 out. A very economical 10-pitch inning for Pelfrey.
Bottom of 2nd Inning:
5:35pm: Fernando Tatis hits the weakest grounder ever back to pitcher Mark Redman, though not weak enough to make it look like a swinging bunt. 1-3. 1 out.
5:36pm: Ramon Castro lines a ball into centerfield for a single. Mike Pelfrey will surely be up to bunt.
5:37pm: Mike Pelfrey hits a nice sac bunt on the first pitch back to pitcher Mark Redman. 1-3. 2 out. Castro to 2nd.
5:39pm: Jose Reyes hits a chopper over the middle just over Mark Redman and through the middle infield that scores Ramon Castro from 2nd. Mets up 4-0.
5:43pm: Nick Evans goes the other way by hitting a single to right-centerfield. Jose Reyes to 3rd. You know Mark Redman really sucks when he's allowing Nick Evans to tee off on him.
5:44pm: David Wright hits the first pitch he sees hard at 2B Omar Quintanilla who fields it and tosses to SS Clint Barmes at 2nd for the 3rd out. 4-6.
Top of 3rd Inning:
5:48pm: Pelfrey gets ahead of Yorvit Torrealba with a 1-2 count and gets him swinging at the high heat for a K. 1 out.
5:52pm: Omar Quintanilla has a great AB against Mike Pelfrey, fouling off a ton of pitches before he smashes a 400-ft ground-rule double over the centerfield fence. The Mets are lucky it bounced over or it would have been a triple.
5:53pm: Mark Redman hits a sac bunt back to Pelfrey, 1-3. 2 out. Quintanilla to 3rd.
5:55pm: Scott Podsednik gets jammed and hits a weak grounder towards 3B David Wright who charges and throws the speedy Podsednik out at 1B. 5-3. 3 out.
Bottom of 3rd Inning:
5:59pm: Carlos Beltran hits a hard line drive past the glove of pitcher Mark Redman that goes up the middle for a leadoff single.
6:00pm: Damion Easley hits the ball right back to Mark Redman who hesitates a second before throwing to 2nd for the out, which may have eliminated the double play, since Easley is called safe at 1st on the throw. Replays show that Easley was out but it was very very close. 1-6. 1 out.
6:02pm: Carlos Delgado grounds into a double play, 5-6-3. 3 out.
Top of 4th Inning:
6:07pm: Clint Barmes goes down swinging. 1 out.
6:08pm: Matt Holliday hits a ball like a swinging bunt that goes towards 3B. David Wright charges and fields but has no play on Holliday.
6:10pm: Brad Hawpe singles into left-centerfield with Holliday running on the 3-2 pitch. Holliday to 3rd.
6:12pm: Garrett Atkins hits a grounder to David Wright. Wright throws in the dirt to 2B Damion Easley, who somehow fields it cleanly and still manages to throw to Delgado at 1B without being affected by the sliding Brad Hawpe. 5-4-3 doubleplay. 3 out.
Bottom of 4th Inning:
6:17pm: Fernando Tatis hits a 2-2 pitch up the middle through the rickets of Mark Redman and past a diving Omar Quintanilla for a single.
6:18pom: Ramon Castro singles to RF Brad Hawpe. Fernando Tatis races to 3rd on the play and slides in safe.
6:20pm: Mike Pelfrey bunts up the 1st base line, moving up Castro to 2nd base. 1B Koshansky fields the ball and throws to 2B Omar Quintanilla at first. 3-4. 1 out.
6:21pm: Jose Reyes gets the intentional pass to load up the bases and pitch to the weak Nick Evans. Except that Evans already has 2 singles off Redman today.
6:22pm: That's all for Mark Redman, who pitched terribly against the Mets today. 3.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 HR.
6'7" righty Ryan Speier comes in for relief with the bases loaded, 1 out. Not an easy jam to get out of, even with Nick Evans up.
6:24pm: Nick Evans hits a shot into CF but Scott Podsednik tracks it down. Sac fly for Evans, with Tatis scoring easily. 2 out. Castro tags up to 3rd. Mets up 5-0.
6:25pm: David Wright swings at the first pitch he sees, hitting a hard grounder but right at 3B Garrett Atkins. 5-3. 3 out.
Top of 5th Inning:
6:29pm: Joe Koshansky singles into CF.
6:30pm: Yorvit Torrealba grounds into a routine doubleplay. 6-4-3. 2 out.
6:32pm: Omar Quintanilla grounds to Carlos Delgado's right, but Delgado is able to field it and throw to Pelfrey covering first for the out. 3-1. 3 out.
Bottom of 5th Inning:
6:36pm: Carlos Beltran bloops a single into leftfield for his 3rd hit of the day.
6:37pm: Damion Easley grounds out to 1B Joe Koshansky. 3-6. They try and complete the 3-6-3 double play but Easley beats the throw back to 1st.
6:38pm: Carlos Delgado hits a low inside fastball for one of his patented moonshot blasts that goes a mile in the air before coming down just short of the giant scoreboard. A gigantor Delgado HR, Mets up 7-0.
6:39pm: Fernando Tatis grounds out to SS Clint Barmes. 6-3. 2 out.
6:40pm: Ramon Castro skies out to LF Matt Holliday. 3 out.
Top of 6th Inning:
6:44pm: Seth Smith pinch-hits for Ryan Speier. Smith grounds out, 4-3. 1 out.
6:45pm: Scott Podsednik lines a ball off of Mike Pelfrey's left foot which deflects towards 2B Damion Easley, who throws to Delgado at 1B. Score that 1-4-3. 2 out.
6:46pm: Clint Barmes flies out to shallow center just beyond the lip of the grass. 2B Damion Easley brings it down for the 3rd out. Jon Miller notes that's the first flyball out the Rockies have hit all game.
Bottom of 6th Inning:
6:48pm: Matt Herges is on in relief for the Colorado Rockies. Mike Pelfrey at the plate in a non-sacrifice situation, so he'll be attempting to swing away.
6:49pm: Mike Pelfrey strokes a 2-1 curveball into LF for a leadoff single.
6:50pm: Jose Reyes grounds into a 4-6-3 doubleplay. Quintanilla to Barmes to Koshansky. 2 out.
6:52pm: Nick Evans hits a soft line drive bloop into shallow rightfield which is caught by 2B Omar Quintanilla in a nice grab. 3 out.
Top of 7th Inning:
6:56pm: Matt Holiday strikes out looking. 1 out.
6:57pm: Brad Hawpe grounds out to SS Jose Reyes. 6-3. 2 out.
6:58pm: Garret Atkins lines out softly to 2B Damion Easley. 3 out.
Bottom of 7th Inning:
7:04pm: Luis Vizcaino is now pitching in relief for the Rockies. David Wright hits a high flyball to CF Scott Podsednik. 1 out.
7:07pm: Carlos Beltran strikes out looking. 2 out.
7:09pm: Jon Miller notes that the Mets improved play coincided with the DL trip of Luis Castillo and the resurgence of Damion Easley. I think it's not just Easley, but a combination of the bullpen, starting pitching, and the bench guys finally performing at the level they should be.
7:10pm: Damion Easley strikes out. 3 out.
Top of 8th Inning:
7:14pm: Joe Koshanky grounds out to 2B Damion Easley. 4-3. 1 out.
7:16pm: Mike Pelfrey hits Yorvit Torrealba with a pitch on the elbow which sends Torrealba walking for a while, gritting out the pain before finally going to 1st base.
7:18pm: Omar Quintanilla is fighting off a lot of pitches again. The last time this happened, he hit a ground rule double.
7:19pm: This time Quintanilla fouls out to David Wright, who catches the ball right in front of Peter Gammons. 2 out.
7:20pm: Jayson Nix is in to pinch-hit for Luis Vizcaino's spot.
7:21pm: Big "Pelfrey" chant among the fans at Shea. Pelfrey is ahead 0-2 on Nix.
7:22pm: Jayson Nix hits a 95 MPH fastball on the ground in-between Wright and Reyes for a single.
7:23pm: Pelfrey has thrown 114 pitches at this point, and pitching coach Dan Warthen had initially said that he didn't want Pelfrey to go more than 100 pitches tonight. Warthen visits the mound to check on his pitcher, and he'll stay in the game for now. Now the fans chant "LETS GO PELFREY!"
7:26pm: Scott Podsednik fouls out to 3B David Wright. 3 out. The fans go nuts for Pelfrey, who is done for the night.
Bottom of 8th Inning:
7:29pm: During the commercial break, Pelfrey gave the fans a curtain call hat tip.
7:31pm: Brian Fuentes, now on in relief for Colorado, strikes out Carlos Delgado. 1 out.
7:34pm: Fernando Tatis flies out to RF Brad Hawpe. 2 out.
7:36pm: Ramon Castro strikes out. 3 out.
Top of 9th Inning:
7:40pm: Joe Smith is on to pitch the 9th for the Mets.
7:41pm: Clint Barmes grounds out to 3B David Wright. 5-3. 1 out.
7:42pm: A fan in the crowd shows his broom to the camera, indicative of sweeping the Rockies. You can't bring brooms into Dodger Stadium because it could be used as a weapon, or it might actually be used to sweep up the trash there, made up mostly of Dodger fans.
7:43pm: Matt Holliday grounds out to Damion Easley, 4-3. 2 out.
7:44pm: Brad Hawpe singles to CF. That's the 7th Rocky hit of the game. Hawpe steals 2nd uncontested on the first pitch strike to Garrett Atkins.
7:45pm: Garrett Atkins hits a liner right to David Wright at 3B. 3 out. Game Over. Mets win 7-0.
This is the 9th win in a row for the Mets, the 4th shutout in the last 6 games. Granted, it helps to pitch against the shit teams of the NL West when you want to fatten up.
Keys to the Mets win:
- Lights-out pitching from Mike Pelfrey, who is easily the #2 pitcher on the team right now, and some might even say the best. His line tonight: 8 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K.
- Pelfrey has been amazing since May 31 against Los Angeles. Even his bad starts (June 16 vs. Angels and Yankees) are games the Mets won.
- Carlos Beltran's 3-run HR in the 1st gave Pelfrey all the runs he needed.
- Carlos Delgado's ridiculous HR moonshot off Ryan Speier may have hit a jet before it fell.
- Joe Smith allows a baserunner in the 9th, but who cares? The Mets bullpen is also firing on all cylinders.
There's still a lot more baseball left to play, and one hopes the All-Star Break doesn't stop the Mets winning momentum.
After the break, the Mets go on the road for a 4-game series at Cincinnati before returning to Shea to face the Phillies and Cardinals in 3-game sets.
