Kuzul

POST GAME: D-BACKS 3, METS 2

The Mets lost another one in the desert tonight, 3-2, to the Diamondbacks. For the 11th straight game, the Mets failed to score more than four runs, and lost With Dickey starting for the fifth straight time.

Dickey was solid through seven, allowing three runs on seven hits. The Mets couldn’t get to D-Backs rookie Barry Enright.

They got a leadoff home run from Angel Pagan in the ninth, cutting the deficit to 3-2, but went down in order after that.

The Mets are now 1-5 on their current 11-game road trip.

PLAYER MOVES

After hitting his first career home run in the eighth inning, Josh Thole remains with the club, even with Oliver Perez being reactivated. Justin Turner was demoted to Triple-A Buffalo to make room for him.

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Oliver Perez pitched in front of Jerry Manuel and Dan Warthen, and Manuel said “He’s healthy and ready to go.”

Perez may be activated as soon as after tonight’s game. Josh Thole is in tonight’s lineup, but may be sent down after the game in Perez’s place.

Perez has been on rehab, and if the Mets do reactivate him, it’s not a given he’ll start on Thursday. He may be used as a lefty specialist and long reliever to eat up innings.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel did say he’ll advocate keeping Thole in the majors.

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PHOENIX—Suddenly, a once solid Mets starting four has become a huge concern. Besides the fact they don’t have a clear number five starter, they’ve seen Mike Pelfrey suffer through a historic meltdown.

One guy that has been Mr. Reliable is R.A. Dickey. The Mets have gotten more than they could’ve imagined out of a one time “spot starter.” Now though, with the way Pelfrey has collapsed, Dickey must continue pitching the way he has.

Or maybe that isn’t fair to ask of him. Afterall, he is a 35-year-old journeyman knuckleballer, trying to reinvent himself. Maybe, the Mets just have to trade for a starting pitching at the deadline to fortify the rotation.

Right now though, the Mets have to hope Dickey has as much left in the tank as they need. With 11 days to go until the July 31 trading deadline, the Mets are stumbling down the stretch of July.

They had an off-the-charts month of June, going 18-8. The Mets were actually playing their best baseball without most of their regulars—Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo.

Now, with the entire starting lineup back together, the Mets need to take advantage of their opportunity, especially against teams like the one they’re facing in this series— Arizona—or later on Pittsburgh and Houston.

Starting last night, the Mets had 20 of their remaining 70 games left against the three bottom-feeding teams in the National League. They needed to go at least 14-6, and right now, they’re already 0-1.

They have the clear pitching advantage in tonight’s game, with R.A. Dickey going against rookie Barry Enright. After winning six straight Dickey starts, the Mets have lost his last four, with him losing three of them.

He was a hard-luck loser in his last start on Thursday, the first game back from the All-Star break. He went seven innings against the Giants, allowing only one run on five hits. He left after seven, trailing 1-0. The Mets would go on to lose that game, 2-0, to begin what is now a 1-4 road trip.

The Mets also blew a start in which he out-dueled the Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg on July 3. In that game, he went seven, allowing two unearned runs, and Francisco Rodriguez blew the save and game.

Those things just can’t happen when a Mets starter hurls those types of gems. They are in a position where every game is critical, now 5.5 games out of first place, behind the Braves in the NL East.

The Mets have now gone 10 straight games, scoring four or less runs. Even with their full lineup of starters in there last night, the Mets only scored two runs, with one coming in the ninth inning.

Now, you can relate that to being flat after Pelfrey’s first inning, 51-pitch debacle, but this is becoming a trend for the Mets.

The Mets generally don’t fare well against pitchers they have never seen before, and they’ll face that challenge tonight.

Going for the Diamondbacks will be 24-year-old rookie right-hander Barry Enright. He has made three starts so far for Arizona, and has pitched solidly.

He has not gone more than 5.2 innings in any of those starts so far, and being the Diamondbacks bullpen is historically bad, that may be a good thing for the Mets.

With ace Dan Haren going tomorrow night, this is the game for the Mets to take. They don’t want to be looking at a possible sweep at the hands of the awful Diamondbacks, as this road trip is starting to get really ugly.

R.A. Dickey this season (11 starts)
6-3, 2.63 ERA, 72 IP, 71 hits, 20 BB, 51 SO

Barry Enright this season (3 starts)
1-2, 3.45 ERA, 15.2 IP, 15 hits, 6 BB, 13 SO

2010 season series (New York vs. Arizona)
July 19: Arizona 13, New York 2
Diamondbacks lead series 1-0

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PHOENIX—After a disappointing start to the road trip for the Mets, losing three of four in San Francisco, the Mets will try to fatten up on one of the league’s worst.

The Arizona Diamondbacks find themselves in last place in an extremely competitive NL West, with the second-worst record in the National League, 34-58. If there’s anything the Diamondbacks can lean towards to feel positive, it’s their home record. Although not great (21-25), it’s still a complete 180 of what their road record is (13-33).

The Mets, though, can’t use that as a potential excuse. They need to win at least two in this series, if not sweep. A sweep would make up for the extra game they lost to the Giants, when a split would’ve been fine.

Trying to get the Mets off on the right foot will be Mike Pelfrey. Pelfrey was scratched from his Saturday start due to a stiff neck that he suffered on the plane ride to San Francisco.

A stiff neck is not all that he has suffered from. Pelfrey, after starting the season 9-1 with a 2.39 ERA, stumbled towards the All-Star break. In his last five starts leading up to the break, Pelfrey went 1-3 with a 7.52 ERA.

He walked more (11) than he struck out (10). For a career sinkerball pitcher, he uncharacteristically gave up four home runs during the five starts, and also gave up 46 hits in 26.1 innings pitched.

The bottom line is, he was downright awful and his final start, which was supposed to be a sign of things to come, was bad as well. On July 10 against the Braves, Pelfrey gave up four runs on 12 hits in only four innings of work.

The problem for Pelfrey has seemingly been the lack of bite on his sinker. It’s been flat and high in the zone, causing hitters to tee off.

Also, Pelfrey has been seen talking to himself on the mound and has had bad body language. That was the problem throughout his career, leading up to this season.

After a game last season in which he committed three balks, he went to visit a sports psychiatrist and came back a little different. Right now, Pelfrey is reverting back to his pre-2010 days and it’s not a good sign, unless he could prove otherwise tonight.

On the mound for the Diamondbacks will be an old New York friend, Ian Kennedy. Kennedy was a first-round draft pick of the Yankees in 2006, and was supposed to be part of the “Big Three,” along with Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. He’s the only one of them that the Yankees gave up on.

He made nine starts for the Yankees in 2008, and went 0-4, with an ERA of 8.17. This season, he’s in the midst of his first full one as a starter for Arizona, and he hasn’t been great.

After a great stretch from May 4 through June 9, Kennedy has been erratic. In two of his last five starts, Kennedy has allowed six or more runs. He did, though, pitch effectively in his last start before the break against the Marlins.

For the Mets, they’ll have their complete lineup on the field for the first time this season. Three guys who didn’t play yesterday will most likely be in tonight’s lineup: Carlos Beltran got a day of rest, as he’ll be back; Jose Reyes, barring a late setback, will be back; and Luis Castillo will be reactivated from the disabled list to make his first start since June 1 in San Diego, coming off foot and knee problems.

If all goes according to plan for Jerry Manuel, his lineup would look like this: Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Ike Davis, Jason Bay, Catcher, Luis Castillo, and Mike Pelfrey.

Maybe this is exactly what the Mets need to spark them to a second-half run. It’s the perfect time to get all your starters back, heading towards August, and the Mets will hope Pelfrey can get back on track as well.

Mike Pelfrey vs. Arizona (career)
*0-4, 5.22 ERA, 29.1 IP, 30 hits, 15 BB, 21 SO

Ian Kennedy this season (18 starts)
4-7, 4.12 ERA, 111.1 IP, 97 hits, 42 BB, 100 SO, 19 HR

*Only team he has faced without a win (minimum five starts)

2009 season series (New York vs. Arizona)
Diamondbacks won series 4-2

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For the second straight Sunday and start, ace Johan Santana gave the Mets what they needed—a huge lift in a must-win situation, as the Mets wanted to avoid getting swept four games to the Giants.

Although the result showed that Santana was tremendous, he did have to fight trouble all game. From every inning from the first through the sixth, the Giants either had the leadoff man on or a runner in scoring position against Santana.

The Giants got their only run off Santana in the first, on a sacrifice fly by rookie sensation Buster Posey. In the second, after Santana gave up a leadoff double to Pablo Sandoval, he struck out the next three hitters to strand the runner.

The Mets tied the game in their half of the second. Shortstop Ruben Tejada walked and scored on a ground-rule double by Angel Pagan, tying the game at 1-1. They took the lead in the fourth on a leadoff home run by David Wright, his 15th of the season.

Santana would get in and out of trouble for the rest of his outing, although he retired the last nine batters he faced. He went eight innings, allowing one run on eight hits, and he walked one and struck out five.

The Mets added an insurance run in the eighth. Second baseman Justin Turner doubled for his first career extra-base hit. Three batters later, Ike Davis doubled him in, extending the Mets lead to 3-1.

Santana was lifted after eight innings and 115 pitches and was replaced by closer Francisco Rodriguez.

In the ninth, as always, Rodriguez made it interesting. In fact this time, he made it too interesting.

He led off the ninth with a walk to Pablo Sandoval. The next batter, Juan Uribe, singled. After a sacrifice bunt by Eli Whiteside, moving the runners into scoring position, pinch-hitter Travis Ishikawa tied the game with a two-run single.

The game was tied, 3-3, as Rodriguez was on the verge of losing what would have been a devastating game for the Mets.

In the inning, there were some questionable calls by home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi, causing some barking from the Mets and their dugout.

With Ishikawa at first and one out, Andres Torres lined a double to right field, moving the runner to third. The Mets decided to pitch to Freddy Sanchez, with the presence of the red-hot Aubrey Huff on deck. Sanchez hit the ball to third, and David Wright’s throw home appeared to be high, but Ishikawa was called out at the plate.

He was clearly safe, and the call stood to be maybe the biggest of the Mets season. Aubrey Huff grounded out to first to end the ninth.

In the 10th, the Mets put together a two-out rally. Jason Bay singled for his third hit of the game, and scored ahead of Ike Davis’ long double off the high right-field fence, giving the Mets a 4-3 lead.

Shockingly, Francisco Rodriguez came on for the 10th after blowing the save and nearly the game in the ninth.

After he got the first two outs, Edgar Renteria doubled to left, as the potential tying run. Juan Uribe was walked intentionally and Rodriguez struck out Eli Whiteside to end the game.

It was a game that could’ve been the Mets’ worst loss of the season, considering the circumstances, and the way Johan Santana stepped up.

At the end, the Mets won a game that they should’ve lost, had it not been for Phil Cuzzi’s gift call in the ninth.

They settle for one win out of four, and will now head to the Arizona desert, beginning a three-game series against the Diamondbacks tomorrow night.

They will get Mike Pelfrey back from his stiff neck, as they trail the first-place Braves by five games in the NL East.

NL East standings (top three teams)

Atlanta 54-38
NY Mets 49-43 (5)
Philadelphia 48-42 (5)

Next series’ probable pitchers:

July 19
New York: Mike Pelfrey (2010: 10-4, 3.58 ERA) vs. Arizona: Ian Kennedy (2010: 4-7, 4.12 ERA)

July 20
New York: R.A. Dickey (2010: 6-3, 2.63 ERA) vs. Arizona: Barry Enright (2010: 1-2, 3.45 ERA)

July 21
New York: Jon Niese (2010: 6-4, 3.44 ERA) vs. Arizona: Dan Haren (2010: 7-8, 4.60 ERA)

Upcoming schedule:

New York Mets:
July 19-21 @ Arizona Diamondbacks
July 22-25 @ Los Angeles Dodgers

Arizona Diamondbacks:
July 19-21 vs. New York Mets
July 22-25 vs. San Francisco Giants

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SAN FRANCISCO: Since the All-Star break, or maybe even before that, the Mets have suffered from a team-wide slump.

Every team goes through them. Just ask the Phillies, who went through something similar from late May through early June.

The Mets even swept the Phillies at Citi Field in May, shutting them out in all three games.

The Mets came within three innings of being shut out three straight games to the same opponent for the first time in their history.

They finally scored in the seventh inning last night, when Ike Davis clubbed a two-run home run into McCovey Cove.

The Mets would go on to score four runs in the game, losing, 8-4, but this time it was the pitching that let them down.

Hisanori Takahashi, filling in for the stiff-necked Mike Pelfrey, allowed six runs in 2.2 innings, putting the Mets offense in a deep hole. So right now, everything is going wrong, and the whole team is in a slump.

Oliver Perez made another rehab start last night, and pitched effectively, but who knows if it was effective enough for him to be recalled.

No matter what, the Mets are almost in a must-win situation today, needing to fly to Arizona on a positive note. The Phillies came back to beat the Cubs yesterday, so the Mets are now in third place, behind them in the NL East.

It has been said time and time again, but today’s game is the type that Johan Santana was brought here for.

The last time the Mets were in a “must-win” situation, the final game before the break, Santana was on the mound against the Braves and got the job done.

One week ago today, July 11, Santana shut the Braves out over seven innings on five hits, lowering his ERA a tad below three.

The Mets won that game, 3-0, to pull within four games of the Braves, and are now five games back.

The shame of it is, the Braves actually lost two straight home games to a bad Brewers team, but the Mets couldn’t take advantage either time.

This time, Santana better be on his “A” game, just like he has been over his last three starts.

The last time Santana pitched against the Giants at AT&T Park on May 16, 2009, he got rocked. In seven innings he allowed six runs (four earned) on 11 hits, but the Mets won the game, 9-6.

Santana will try and pitch the way R.A. Dickey and Jon Niese pitched in this series, allowing a combined two runs.

Pitching for the Giants will be fourth starter, and a good one, Jonathan Sanchez, who is having the best season of his career.

He has been compared throughout his career to Oliver Perez. A left-handed pitcher who  is inconsistent, with control problems.

Last season in 163.1 innings, Sanchez walked 88 batters. That’s a ratio of one walk every 1.9 innings.

This season, although he’s having a good one, his ratio of walks-to-innings pitched is 1.9 again. He has walked 53 batters in 103.2 innings pitched.

If the Mets want a reason to think they may be catching him at the right time, he has slumped of late, allowing five runs in two of his last three starts, with his last one coming against the Nationals.

The Giants did win the game, 10-5, and that day, July 10, was the one-year anniversary of the no-hitter he threw. When on his game, Sanchez does have no-hit stuff.

He’ll have some advantages in this game, too. The Mets will be without both Jose Reyes (oblique), and Carlos Beltran (rest) today, so it’ll be a below-average lineup that will also include catcher Henry Blanco.

Manager Jerry Manuel did say before last night’s game that Reyes “for sure” will be in Monday night’s lineup.

The Mets less-than-stellar lineup will include: Justin Turner, Jeff Francoeur, and Blanco.

It’s a game the Mets have to try any way possible to win. They’ll hope that Santana can shut down the Giants, so that they can at least scratch out enough runs to fly to Arizona with a win on the road trip.

Johan Santana vs. San Francisco (May 8)
ND, 7.2 IP, 4 ER, 8 hits, 0 BB, 6 SO

Jonathan Sanchez vs. New York (May 7)
ND, 7 IP, 4 ER, 7 hits, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3 HR*

*Two of them to Ike Davis

2010 season series (New York vs. San Francisco)

May 7: New York 6, San Francisco 4
May 8: New York 5, San Francisco 4 (11)
May 9: San Francisco 6, New York 5

July 15: San Francisco 2, New York 0
July 16: San Francisco 1, New York 0
July 17: San Francisco 8, New York 4

Giants lead series 4-2

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SAN FRANCISCO– The New York Mets lineup tonight against the San Francisco Giants is out, and it includes Carlos Beltran for a third straight game, but Jose Reyes has been pushed back until Monday.

Tonight’s Mets lineup against San Francisco:

CF Angel Pagan

2B Alex Cora

3B David Wright

CF Carlos Beltran

1B Ike Davis

LF Jason Bay

C Rod Barajas

SS Ruben Tejada

P Hisanori Takahashi

Reyes will get an extra day to rest his sore right oblique. Mets manager Jerry Manuel did use the word “may” though, when telling reporters he’ll return Monday.

Once again, Mike Pelfrey (stiff neck), scratched tonight. He’ll start Monday in Arizona.

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SAN FRANCISCO: The Mets offense during the first two games in San Francisco has been M.I.A. After getting shut out Thursday night, manager Jerry Manuel attempted something drastically different last night, batting Jason Bay second, and well, the Mets got shut out again.

Once again, after being told he’d play, Jose Reyes was out of the lineup. He did take batting practice around 6:15pm local time, and batted from both sides of the plate.

The Mets now say that Reyes will return on Sunday against the left-hander Jonathan Sanchez. Why Reyes wasn’t in last night’s lineup against the lefty Barry Zito is a good question.

In fact, he wasn’t even available in an emergency role, both Alex Cora and Ruben Tejada were pulled last night, David Wright was to play shortstop had the Mets come back in the ninth.

Things are really starting to get ugly for the Mets at a wrong time. They could’ve gained in both the division and wild card races, since the Braves and Rockies lost.

Now, needing wins in the final two games just to salvage a split, the Mets will go with Hisanori Takahashi in place of the originally scheduled Mike Pelfrey tonight, thanks to Pelfrey developing neck stiffness on the long plane ride to San Francisco. Just another crimp in the Mets plans, pushing Pelfrey back to Monday, the day Takahashi was supposed to start.

Takahashi hasn’t started since July 4, a game the Mets won 9-5. After that, the Mets pulled him from the rotation with an off day on the last home stand, putting him in the bullpen.

In that start against the Nationals, the Mets had an 8-0 lead at one point. Takahashi started off great, but faded after five innings, giving up a three-run home run to Ryan Zimmerman in the sixth. He did get the win, his seventh of the season.

Any start for Takahashi could be his last, as we are now exactly two weeks away from the July 31 trading deadline. Names rumored to be on the Mets wish list are Brett Myers, Ted Lilly, and Dan Haren. Right now, they must worry about winning with what they have, because at this rate, they may not be in it come July 31. They’re already 0-2 on what was to be an extremely tough 11-game road trip.

As they try to get their first win of this road trip and first runs, they will face the Giants’ Matt Cain.

It really has been a strange career for Cain. He came up as a 20-year-old in 2005, and since then has had the hardest luck of any pitcher in baseball.

In 2007 and 2008, he went a combined 15-30, but with an ERA of 3.71. He turned things around last season, going 14-8, with an ERA of only 2.89. This season, he has regressed to 2007-2008. His ERA is 3.34, but he’s 6-8.

He got blasted in his last start on July 9 against the Nationals, giving up eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits in 6.2 innings.

For the most part this season, he’s been terrific, pitching 13 quality starts of his 18 this season. His walks have been a little high, issuing 42 in 121.1 innings, one every 2.88 innings pitched.

The same thing could’ve been said about Barry Zito, but he only walked two last night, striking out 10.

Without Reyes in the lineup, the Mets have been lifeless. Jeff Francoeur got the start in right field last night over Angel Pagan, because he was told he would by Jerry Manuel last week.

Carlos Beltran will not play tonight though, so Francoeur will be in right field again, with Angel Pagan in center.

One thing to look forward to in this game is David Wright’s first at-bat against Cain. They have not faced each other since Cain beaned Wright, causing him to suffer a concussion and first-ever DL stint, last August 17.

No matter what the lineup is tonight, it will be difficult. The Mets must start winning some games on this road trip, before they let this season slip away.

News and notes:
INF/OF Nick Evans demoted to Triple-A Buffalo
INF Justin Turner called up from Triple-A Buffalo
INF/OF Fernando Tatis moved to 60-day disabled list (right shoulder surgery)
2B Luis Castillo may rejoin team in Los Angeles on July 22
SP Oliver Perez to make another rehab start tonight

Hisanori Takahashi this season (25 games/9 starts)
7-3, 4.15 ERA, 78 IP, 79 hits, 31 BB, 72 SO

Matt Cain vs. New York (career)
3-3, 4.26 ERA, 44.1 IP, 45 hits, 13 BB, 25 SO

2010 season series (New York vs. San Francisco)
May 7: New York 6, San Francisco 4
May 8: New York 5, San Francisco 4 (11)
May 9: San Francisco 6, New York 5

July 15: San Francisco 2, New York 0
July 16: San Francisco 1, New York 0
Giants lead series 3-2

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SAN FRANCISCO—The Mets got Carlos Beltran back last night, but also got shut out by Tim Lincecum. Coupled with the Braves win over the Brewers, the Mets find themselves five games out of first place, and seemingly headed in the wrong direction.

Examining the Jose Reyes situation, it’s eerily similar to last season’s debacle. Last season, Reyes had some “hamstring discomfort,” and was listed as day-to-day.

Coincidentally, on the West Coast in Los Angeles, Reyes attempted to play, tore his hamstring, and was never seen or heard from again.

Now, the Mets are saying that he has “oblique discomfort.” Reyes was listed as day-to-day, and played against the Braves on Saturday. Get the point?

Now, five days later, Reyes is still not fully healed. What can possibly keep a player out for almost a week, when they have “discomfort” somewhere?

The Mets had to take Reyes out of Saturday’s game after fielding a ground ball at shortstop. Not to say that Reyes will not play again this season, but is there something significantly wrong with his oblique that the Mets are covering up?

They said before last night’s game that he didn’t play because he still can’t bat left-handed. Being Tim Lincecum is a tough right-hander, as he ended up proving, the Mets didn’t want Reyes batting from the right side against him. They said he “will be in the lineup” tonight facing a left-hander in Barry Zito. If he isn’t, then the Mets have to seriously think of putting him on the disabled list.

The Mets have been flat on offense lately, and having Reyes out of the lineup makes things even worse.

One thing that has been going right for the Mets is Jon Niese, who pitches tonight. Niese’s last start was nine days ago on July 7, a loss to the Reds. The Mets had won each of his last six starts, before he allowed a big home run to Chris Heisey. Niese though, still pitched well, but the Mets got shut down to Bronson Arroyo.

Going for the Giants will be the rejuvenated Barry Zito. What a story it has been for the 2002 Cy Young Award winner, who went 23-5 that season for Oakland.

Zito was the big free agent in the offseason of 2006, and after discussions with the Mets, the former member of the Oakland Athletics signed on with the crosstown-rival Giants.

His first three seasons in San Francisco were horrendous. From 2007-2009, he went a combined 31-43, and looked like one of the biggest all-time busts.

This season though, he magically found his old form, and old 12-to-6 curveball. At one point earlier in the season, he was 5-0 with a 1.49 ERA.

He has been a little less dominant lately, and maybe tailing off just a bit. In his last start against Milwaukee, he threw 113 pitches in only 4.2 innings. The Giants won, 9-3, but he obviously fell one out short of a victory. He has given up four or more runs in four of his last 10 starts. His recent struggles have pushed his ERA to 3.76, a season-high.

If the Mets actually have Reyes back in the lineup tonight, maybe they can get something done, but if not, it may be another long night.

R.A. Dickey pitched well enough for a win last night, giving up one run in seven innings, and that wasn’t even good enough. So even if Niese pitches well, the Mets offense has to pick it up.

This is a big game for the Mets, and every game is seemingly getting bigger. The Mets aren’t winning at a pace they were in May and June, and the Braves keep on winning.

It’s time for the Mets to start playing winning baseball again, and they’ll hope to start a streak tonight.

Jon Niese this season (15 starts)
6-3, 3.61 ERA, 89.2 IP, 94 hits, 28 BB, 73 SO

Barry Zito vs. New York (career)
2-2, 4.28 ERA, 27.1 IP, 29 hits, 15 BB, 20 SO

2010 season series (New York vs. San Francisco)
May 7: New York 6, San Francisco 4
May 8: New York 5, San Francisco 4 (11)
May 9: San Francisco 6, New York 5

July 15: San Francisco 2, New York 0
Series tied 2-2

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SAN FRANCISCO—Jose Reyes will not be in tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Mets, still battling a sore right oblique.

Ruben Tejada will play shortstop and bat eighth. Alex Cora will play second and bat second.

Tonight’s Mets starting lineup:

RF Angel Pagan

2B Alex Cora

3B David Wright

CF Carlos Beltran

1B Ike Davis

LF Jason Bay

C Josh Thole

SS Ruben Tejada

P R.A. Dickey

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