The Mets finished off the Cardinals yesterday afternoon to take three out of four for the series against a team that may well be their biggest competition come September if the Mets find themselves chasing the Wild Card spot. The Wild Card seems like a back up plan right now, as the Mets are only a half a game out of first place behind the ever slumping Phillies. The Mets used a combination of effective pitching and timely hitting in the series, something they had been lacking of late.
Nick Evans has done a tremendous job in his two starts since being called up. He’s 3-6 with two runs scored, a homer, and four RBI. Jerry Manuel seems sold on Evans, saying he’ll continue to play if he continues to hit. That’s good news for everyone. I always liked Evans last season. He can play the outfield well, and will probably end up in the platoon of players playing every position out there. He can also fill in at first base when needed. A utility guy like Evans is a great thing to have when your team members are dropping like flies around you.
Johan Santana picked up his ninth win of the season in an effort that I’d call shaky at times. The thing that separates Santana from a “regular pitcher” is the fact that when he’s shaky at times, he still gives you a shot to win. He threw seven innings when at times it didn’t seem like he’d get through five. He is an ace in every sense of the word. It looked like the team was off to the usual type of performance they put in behind Johan, as they gave up an unearned run in the first inning, and were held hitless through three, but they turned things around in the fourth scoring all three of their runs to build a lead that they would hold for the rest of the game.
Pedro Feliciano came in to pitch the eighth. He gave up one hit, a leadoff single, but retired the side in order after that. Frankie Rodriguez picked up his twentieth save of the year, again walking the tight rope as he seems to do a lot. He retired the first two batters in order, but gave up back to back walks to Albert Pujols and Ryan Ludwick on eight pitches to put the tying run on second base. Yadier Molina came up to the plate, much to the chagrin of Mets fans everywhere, but he lined out harmlessly to left field to end the game.
Now that the Mets are done with the Cardinals, it’s time for the Yankees. I was hoping John Maine would come back this week, and the Mets could plug him in for yesterday’s start, leaving Johan to face off against CC Sabathia in the opener tonight. Unfortunately things didn’t work out, but I like the way Mike Pelfrey has been pitching lately, so we should see a great game tonight.
I hope things work out so Brian Bruney for some reason needs to take an at bat during the series. I’d love to see a fastball send a clear cut message to that moustached jackass. It probably won’t happen, but it would be fun to see.
My prediction for the series,
The Mets take two out of three to split the season series the same way they always do. What do you think will happen?
