Another game that didn't really seem like the Mets were going to run away with it, despite an early lead. The Marlins just won't go away - all season, even early in the year, every time the Mets play them. But the important difference between this game and the one on Tuesday night - the Mets came out a winner.Roberto Hernandez, Pedro Feliciano, Chad Bradford, and Aaron Heilman all combined to get the Mets from Steve Trachsel to Billy Wagner (new Met Hernandez gave up 2 runs) - and prevent the Mets from blowing a 6-0 lead.
The Mets built a 4-0 lead after one, and managed to build their lead without an extra-base hit. Typical of the night, probably, was Carlos Delgado, who was 1-for-1, with 3 walks. But this should have been a blowout - the Mets couldn't get a big hit. David Wright left 10 men on base, going 0-for-5. Cliff Floyd was 1-for-5, with an RBI, but he left 6 men on.
All told, the Mets left 28 men on base - not a formula for success.
The Marlins left their share on base, too - including two in the ninth. Wagner was back to his tightrope-walking self, but managed to get three straight outs, after letting the first two men on (including a pinch-hitting pitcher, who Wagner hit with a pitch - the pitcher was up there only to sacrifice bunt). The Marlins left 19 on - I almost feel like these are typos - that seems like way too many people left on base. I wouldn't know if it's correct or not - I had the Marlins broadcast - those guys drive me nuts. You barely know there's a game going on listening to them. It doesn't help, I guess, when the most boring man on earth, Steve Trachsel, starts the game.
It was just another typical Steve Trachsel night. Trachsel is 10-5 now, but his 5.12 ERA really bothers me. That's way too high. The Mets still have a chance to take two out of three from Florida, with a Pedro Martinez*-Dontrelle Willis matchup Thursday night. That should be a good one.
MAGIC NUMBER: The Mets win knocks the magic number down one, to 44, but the Phillies beat the Cardinals Wednesday night, keeping the number from going down one more. I'm tired of waiting for the Phillies game to end, matter of fact, so I'm posting this before it's final. The Phillies blew an 8-2 lead, with Saint Louis making it 8-7, before the Phillies have opened it up again, to 16-8. But I'm done waiting for it to be over. The Cardinals stink. I'm telling you - if they're the Mets' stiffest competition in the playoffs, the National League playoffs will be a breeze.
BOOF: All-Star rookie sensation Francisco Liriano hurt his elbow, and couldn't make his start for the Twins on Wednesday afternoon against the Rangers, so guess who got the call from Rochester to make the emergency start? That's right, Boof. He showed up, unfortunately, the Twins defense didn't.Bonser pitched 4 innings, giving up 7 runs, of which only 4 were earned, while striking out 5. He should have been out of his bad inning (5 runs allowed) a few different times, but different players kept making errors, forcing him to get extra outs. It really wasn't fair. The loss dropped Bonser's major league record to 2-3, and his ERA is now 5.67. He was sent back to Rochester after the game.
THE KID'S KIDS: St. Lucie moved into a tie for first with Daytona, after beating Daytona, 6-2 Wednesday. There's one more game in this series - both teams are 22-16 in the second half of the season, with about a month left to play.
ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: A start at second base for Edgardo Alfonzo on Wednesday, and he was 1-for-2, with 3 walks, and a run scored. He's now hitting .224. Things are certainly on the upswing.
CHASE'S CHASE: It took five at-bats, but Utley legged out a nubber past the mound in the 8th inning against the Cardinals, extending the streak to 34 games. He really didn't look like he was going to get it - maybe this will bring the streak a second wind.
BEAT THE STREAK: I managed to not jinx Utley (barely), so maybe Vladimir Guerrero's hitting streak against the Rangers will continue as well. I have him for all 4 games. My streak stands at 1.
1 comment:
The most runners a team could leave on base in a nine-inning game would three per inning, or 27.
To do so, a team's on base percentage for the game would be at least .500, since the number of baserunners would at least total the number of outs.
The Mets had 12 hits and 6 walks for 18 runners. Minus the six guys who scored is 12, minus another runner from a double play (Wright), that would make for 11 LOB.
But the Marlins made four errors, which would probably explain why the box score in the paper says they Mets left just ten men on.
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