For those who have been confused the last two days, what the Mets pitching staff did there is called a shutout. Its an event in which the opposing (not Mets) team is limited to zero runs. Its the sort of thing we could get used to around here.

Santana only went five due to a rain delay, but gets the win. He was no Mike Pelfrey out there, but he limited the Giants to three hits and three walks before the storms forced a retreat to the dry confines of the inner workings of Shea.  When the skies a calmed down, Heilman came out with two hitless innings, Dirty and Joe Smith had an inning apiece.

Ramon Castro was responsible for the victory, with a three run homer in the fourth.  Delgado doubled Reyes #2 went 2 for 2 after entering the game in the seventh to hit for Heilman, and remaining in at second. His single in the eight scored Delgado, and he later scored on a Jose Reyes single, clearly proving we should just field an entire team out of people named Reyes.

Its nice to see Johan get some run support, and it’ll be curious to see if Jerry goes with his previous stated use of the hot hand, and start Reyes #2 tomorrow. Remember kids, day game tomorrow, so call in sick. Or quit your jobs. We’ll call it dealers choice.

After an abysmal loss to the Mariners last night, the Mets avoided the sweep from the Mariners and beat them 8-2 this evening. Game ball from the Mets goes to Miguel Batista, who walked five in 2.2 innings, while giving upu five hits and eight runs. 

The game had a wonderful start, sparked by a Jose Reyes walk.  Reyes was knocked in by a Luis Castillo groundout, and David Wright followed him with a solo HR, his 13th of the season.  In the second inning, Wright continued to make-up for his day off yesterday, and hit his 14th HR of the season.  The Mets scored two runs in the first inning, two runs in the second and four runs in the fourth.  The scoring in the fourth was topped off by a 3-run Jose Reyes shot to RF, his 9th of the season.  Last year, Reyes only hit 12 the entire season. 

John Maine was also solid like usual, with no hits through four innings.  He allowed two runs in the fifth but sealed it off for a quality start, allowing only those two runs in six innings of work.  Aaron Heilman and Joe Smith made quick work of the M’s in the 7th and 8th, leaving it for Duaner Sanchez to finish ‘em off in the 9th.

A great win, but it’s only important if we build on it for this upcoming series vs. the Yankees.

Not to be this guy, but there were some issues with the game today, that I’ll just throw out.  In the first inning, they left the bases loaded - and had the bases loaded with one out and failed to send any of the guys home.  We also didn’t score after the third inning, and scoring early while being passive late has been what the Mets have been doing too much of lately.  Fortunately this evening, they scored eight in the first few innings, which was enough to sustain them. 

Down the stretch, the Mets will need to start scoring late if they want to win more important games. 

The Mets did not get a hit after the third inning.  The Mets have an off-day tomorrow, before the day-night double header against the Yankees on Friday. 

After a bumpy start, the Mets quickly built up a lead against the Rockies to defeat them 7-2 this evening. The Mets finally return to the .500 mark at 36-36.

John Maine gave up a 2 run HR to Jeff Baker “the home run maker” in the 1st inning but was steady from there on out. Maine did not give up a run the rest of the game, neither did Joe Smith, Pedro Feliciano or Aaron Heilman.

The last time the Mets faced Aaron Cook, they could only get four hits and one run in a complete game work by Cook. Tonight was a different story. The Mets scored five runs in the second inning, begun by a 2 run HR by Carlos Delgado. After that, the Mets strung together a classic singles rally, where Jose Reyes, Endy Chavez and David Wright all hit RBI-singles consecutively. In the 3rd, Trot Nixon hit a monster mash, hitting off the second deck at Coors Field. It was Nixon’s 1st HR as a member of the New York Mets. They tacked on another run in the 7th, off a fielder’s choice.

Overall, it was a top notch win with production from all over: pitching (starter and bullpen), hitting and fielding.

Tomorrow night, the Mets continue their series with Pedro Martinez against Ubaldo Jimminez. The game is at 8:05 pm EST time tomorrow. If you were at home wondering, that is 2:05 pm Hawaiian time.

Ollie Perez went out there and won one for good ole Trot Nixon I suppose. Ollie struck out eight, and went a full seven innings, giving up the sole run and just three hits. Show and Dirty each pitched scoreless, hitless innings, with Dirty walking one. Its safe to say Willie will get at least one night of good sleep, which I assume he’ll spend spooning with Mr Perez. Ollie did kind of err…hit a batter. But hey, its Ollie. Come one. He didn’t balk anyone, unlike certain Rangers starters. I’m just saying.

The offense followed my advice, getting more than a four run lead, primarily off a four run sixth inning, when the team jumped on Feldman, grabbing four straight hits off him. Beltran and Delgado executed the rare Met double steal, and Reyes snagged his 24th of the season. A Delgado double and an Endy Chavez ground rule double were the sole extra base hits, however the team had nine hits in total, including a two out RBI by Beltran .

The Met starters were once again solid, but this time the bullpen held up, and the team was able to finally beat up on another team’s pitching. Consistently too, instead of just scoring a quick few early (which they did) and then petering out (which they didn’t). Now lets make it two in a row.

I would like, at first, to take this oppurtunity to once again say that West Coast games are evil. West coast night games, because end times of midnight are either slept through, or watched, in which case I tend to be unpleasant in the morning. West coast day games are worse. They tease you, like a girl who merely wants free drinks at the bar. Maybe you see a little skin, the eight and ninth inning after getting home from work. Just enough to get you in the mood, but you end up with not enough baseball, and dissapointment.

Anyways, the Mets won, since Oliver Perez was in the dugout and not on the field. Another nice start from John Maine, who gave up two runs, one earned, and seven hits in six innings. His unearned run came off a Reyes error in the third. But he’s keeping his walks down, and he managed to only give up one run via the error, where lesser pitchers would get all frazzled and implode. I’m still looking at you Mr. Perez. Dirty Sanchez went two, and gave up one run. Billy gets the save, giving up one hit. His ERA is now 0.38.

Aside from making his tenth error of the season, Reyes looked good. He started the game off with a double, then scoring on a Beltran double. And made up for the error via a two run homer to score Maine. Apology accepted. He finished 3 for 4 (no triples) and stole a base. David Wright got hit by a pitch, which is kryptonite to him, as he then went 0 for 4. Delgado went 2 for 4 with a double and a RBI, and Beltran went 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBIs. The resurgence of the Carloses continues to prove a key in the Mets performing, hopefully they can keep it up. If both they and Reyes have finally found their groove, then the team will be able to handle things such as Ollie not knowing how to pitch easier.

Ryan Church overcame his most recent brain injury to assist Santana in his 100th career victory. Church joined Beltran, as the pair both knocked out a two run homerun in the third, a five run inning that also included an RBI single by Wright to score Reyes. Reyes had scored previously, on a seperate RBI single by Wright.

I have to say, its nice to see the Mets making pitchers pay for intentially walks again. It feels like old times. And by old times, I mean two years ago.

Some good hitting tonight, including doubles by Reyes, Church and Schneider. Reyes was two for five with a stolen base, Wright 3 for 4 with a stolen base, and Church 3 for 4. Church however, stole no bases. Since days ago he still felt dizzy and woozy, we will forgive him.

Also a key part of Santana’s 100th victory: Santana. He gave up the first run of the game, then settled in and allowed no other Dodger runs. He went long, 7 and two thirds, striking out six while allowing just six hits. Smith struggled, hitting Jeff Kent (who lets face it, probably deserves to get hit by pitches), but Show came in to mop up the mess. Feliciano pitched a scoreless ninth.  The recent ability of starters to go long seems to have done wonders to the bullpen.

Is Tatis having a comeback, or does a jersey with the #17 somehow channel the energy of Mex and allow its wearer to fuel a team? The one jersey to rule them all if you will.

Pelf gave up a lot of hits, but managed to keep himself out of trouble. He kept his walks down (1), his strikeouts up (6), hit not batters, no wild pitches. He even went long, going a full seven, during which he only gave up two runs. Quite a nice effort for Pelf, who’s job is in fact on the line. Pedro is chilling in NY and scheduled to go in just a few days. At the very least, this could buy him some time, possible putting the hook back around Vargas . Unfortunately for him, he gets the no decision, as the Mets took their time to score. Dirty gets the win, pitching a 1, 2, 3 eight inning, and Billy gets his eleventh save of the season and three strikeouts.

Reyes stole a base and Delgado went 2 for 4, but who cares. All thats important, was the three run rally. After being shutdown scoring wise for seven full innings, the Mets did what needed doing. Wright doubled in the lead off spot, and in an effort to remind everyone why he hits next, Beltran homered to tie it up. Well played Carlos. Well played. Rather than spoil the fun, Carlos Delgado singled. Evans moved up a base in a PR situation, Schneider got intentionally walked, and using his all powerful jersey, Tatis once again had the game winner, a single into the outfield to score Evans. As my grandmother always said, victory is a dish best served by Fernando Tatis.

Delgado by the way, went 5 for 12 against LA after riding the bench for two days. Maybe he should just always bat angry.

For those who aren’t quite into my 17 theory, something to chew on: Keith Hernandez, the greatest Met in Met history, wore the #17, and belongs in the Hall of Fame. Tatis, in the #17, had his second game winner in a week, after being banished from baseball for quite some time, for being not good. David Wright, hit his 17th double to start the rally. Earlier in the game, Jose Reyes stole his 17th base. Joe Smith’s favorite magazine: Seventeen. Coincidences? I think not.

The Mets climbed back to .500 this evening by beating the Dodgers 8-4.

While not perfect by any means, Claudio Vargas was good enough.  He allowed four runs through 5.2 innings of work, leaving the rest of the game to the Mets wonderful bullpen.  Carlos Muniz registered a key out to end the sixth inning by striking out Matt Kemp.  Scott Schoenweis pitches 1.2 perfect innings, and got a rare plate appearance going 0-1.  Joe Smith pitched the final 1.1 innings to finish the game.  The bullpen has been truly phenomenal lately, keeping the Mets in every game and giving them every opportunity to win games.  Willie has done a solid job spreading the work around and playing match ups.

As they usually do, the Mets offense pounded Brad Penny.  The first five batters in the order all had two or more hits, including David Wright who was 2-4 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs.  Carlos Delgado and Brian Schneider were both back in the lineup tonight after being benched against lefties the two previous nights.  Delgado even showed some life on defense, making a fantastic diving play on a ball up the line.

The Mets blast off again tomorrow at 7:10 on SNY where phenom Clayton Kershaw takes the hill against our own John Maine. 

These last two games the Mets have played with life and excitement, which naturally translates into W’s.  Willie has had the order perfectly these last few days and has managed the bullpen wonderfully.  Oh, how a few wins change everything - but if we lose and don’t build off this success then our wins are forgotten.  Let’s build off of this gentlemen, let’s. 

The Mets defeated the Marlins 7–6 in 12 innings this evening. 

As one of the announcers said, this was reminiscent of the excitement that the 2006 team had. 

Oliver Perez was dominant most of the evening, but left a few meaty pitches out there, all of which where whacked for HRs.  He gave up five runs in six innings, while striking out seven.

The bullpen was dominant, including a scoreless inning from Scott Schoenweis, and two scoreless innings from Aaron Heilman.  Heilman looked fantastic, throwing two perfect innings while striking out four.  Billy Wagner threw a perfect 10th and Duaner Sanchez gave up a run in the 12th after pitching a scoreless 11th.

The magic was on offense tonight though.  The Mets began the night with a bang from Luis Castillo hitting a 2–Run HR in the 1st inning.  With the Mets down 5–4 in the ninth, Endy Chavez did some yard work to tie the game at five.  When the Metsies were down 6–5 in the 12th, more magic was made.  David Wright walked, then Carlos Beltran hit a hard single.  With one out, the Mets were Tatis-ed!  Fernando Tatis hit a game winning single to the left field corner. 

Tonight was the first night in so long that the Mets seemed like they were enjoying the game.  There were hits, energy and vigor coming from the usually grumpy Aaron Heilman.  Jose Reyes continued to be a spark plug, and the 2006 Mets shined: Heilman, Endy et all. 

Oh, and the Mets played with a youthful vigor tonight: Coincidence that Carlos Delgado was out of the lineup? I think not…