Pedro Martinez and the Mets bullpen combined to throw a one hit shut out against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday afternoon and won the game 3-0. Eight in a row! Wow, this is exactly what the Mets needed, a good streak heading into the all star break. What a great win on Saturday. Their win streak of eight is the Mets longest since June of 2006 and it is currently the longest streak in MLB. Since June 13th, the Mets have reduced the Phillies lead of 7 games to just half a game going into play today.
The Amazin’s seem to be coming together as a team and it looks like they have found what was missing. Do you realize if the Mets can continue their winning ways, and if they get a little luck and a little help from Arizona, the Mets could conceivably be in first place at the all star break?
The Mets are finally getting the pitching they expected. Pedro Martinez started the game Saturday. He left after just four innings of work because of shoulder stiffness and I have also heard that he is nursing a sore groin. Pedro has been examined and has been cleared to make his next start after the all star break. He worked four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while walking three and striking out three.
The bullpen continues to perform in dominant fashion. Carlos Muniz came into the game for Pedro in the top of the fifth, he worked two innings, walking one and striking out two, and got credit for the win. Aaron Heilman and Scott Schoeneweis pitched an inning each and both struck out one batter, walked none, and allowed no hits. And Billy Wagner, with out any drama or undue stress earned his 22nd save of the season by retiring the side in order.
The Mets had been scoring a lot of runs, but they have only managed to score five runs in the first two games of this series. Saturday’s win was good old fashioned baseball. The Mets manufactured runs, they stole bases, they ran hard on the base paths and they got a homerun. The Mets stole four bases yesterday and now lead the National League with 91 steals, just nine behind the Tampa Bay Rays who lead the majors with 100.
In the fourth inning, Carlos Beltran doubled to right, stole third and would score on a single by Fernando Tatis to score the first run of the game. Jose Reyes hit his 10th homerun of the season in the bottom of the fifth to make the game 2-0. In the bottom of the sixth, Carlos Delgado singled to start the inning; he advanced to second on a sac bunt by Endy Chaves and would come around to score on a double by Brian Schneider.
The Mets look good right now. If you’d asked me just a few weeks ago, I would not have been able to say that. But, they are finally getting the pitching they thought they would have. Both Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez have really taken their games to a new level. And while Pedro has been cleared to make his next start after the all star break, you will always worry about his health. This winning streak is nice, and it has put the Mets in a good position, but they are going to have to continue to work and play the kind of baseball they have been playing since the beginning of July. No one, including myself imagined that the Mets would have started out as poorly as they did this season, and after everything they have been through and after watching them play just awful baseball, I would have never thought that they would be sitting in this spot at the all star break.
If the Mets can take advantage of their good play and their ability to beat sub par teams, the schedule plays in their favor when play resumes after the all star break. The Phillies and Marlins will be playing each other at the same time the Mets play an under achieving Cincinnati Red’s team. It is all starting to really heat up and get exciting.
The Mets are on Sunday Night Baseball tonight. (Oh joy, three hours of Jon Miller and Joe “I just keep on talking even if I say nothing of value” Morgan. Mike Pelfrey will pitch for the Mets and the Rockies will have Mark Redman on the mound. Game time is scheduled for 8:05 p.m.
