Mets 3, Expos 2 (7-9, 4.5 GB)

Thursday, April 22, 2004

It's not good when you have to battle for a win for the right to earn a split with the Montreal Expos in your own park. But it's a win, and that's the bottom line. This one got off to a start that made you think the game was never going to be in doubt - the Mets loaded the bases with none out in the bottom of the first. Awesome! With Piazza, Phillips, and Cameron coming up, they'll at least get one run, right? Nope. K, pop-out, and backwards K. Looks like another long day for Steve Trachsel.

Trachsel (2-2) was great again. He's been unbelievable since his first start against Atlanta. He made just one bad pitch, giving up a solo homer to Brian Schneider to tie the game at 1 in the top of the seventh. And that's where this game differed from past Mets games recently.

Instead of making a bad situation worse, the Mets bounced back. They stopped the bleeding, kept it 1-1 into the bottom of the seventh. Then Mike Piazza and Mike Cameron hit RBI doubles to make it 3-1 (Cameron's barely missed being a homer to make it 5-1).

Then, John Franco with a very un-John-Franco-like perfect eighth inning. And the top of the ninth, the Mets stopped playing the crisp defense they had played all game, nearly causing Braden Looper to blow a save. But the way Looper bounced back after a Ricky Gutierrez error at third and Shane Spencer error in left field was great. Looper has four saves, and he was clearly irritated by those errors. But he got the outs he needed. I have more confidence in Looper, even with runners on, than in any Mets closer in recent memory.

Notes: It's good that Kaz Matsui is struggling like hell at the plate, but still managing to get on base. That wasn't supposed to be his strong point. But he reached on an error yesterday, and walked in the seventh to start the rally...Mike Piazza is swinging the bat great. And Ted Robinson and Fran Healy are going to drive me out of my mind. They've been brutal. But I have to credit Robinson with a great point - Piazza wouldn't have played yesterday (day game after a night game) if he wasn't playing first base. And even after the game, Piazza was saying the first base thing isn't such a bad idea, because it keeps him in the lineup when he's swinging a hot bat...The Mets went 4-6 on the 10 game homestand. Not good. This was their second-longest homestand of the year. They have two 11-game homestands later in the year. Big road trip. Must play at least .500 ball against the Cubs, Dodgers, and Padres. Preferably better than .500...Cliff Floyd should be back in the lineup when the Mets play the Dodgers. That's huge...And finally, if you get the chance to stay awake at the end of next week and watch the Mets at San Diego, check out Petco Park. It's a great-looking park, with a warehouse in left field that butts right over the left field wall. It's also a pitcher's park, which should benefit the Mets.