Mike's Mets

I had a feeling going into tonight's game that it was too much to ask for to have Trachsel pitch well two games in a row. The bad news was that I was right, but the good news was that it didn't matter. Behind two home runs and 3 RBIs apiece by Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado, the Mets were able to outscore the D-backs and overcome their pitching. David Wright also chipped in with a home run and 2 RBIs, as the Mets improved to 4-1 on their west coast trip.

The Mets greeted D-back starter Miguel Batista harshly in the first inning, with monster home runs by Delgado and Wright staking them to a 4-0 lead. It only took Trachsel 3 pitches to allow the Snakes to cut into that lead when Craig Counsell took him deep. Trachsel's control was awful -- at one point he had more balls than strikes fairly deep into the game, and wound up with 54 strikes and 46 balls, along with 6 walks in his 5.1 innings pitched. He wound up with the win that he deserved in the finale against the Giants, because he sure didn't earn this one.

People keep trying to tell me that Trachsel is getting it together, but he hasn't had consecutive good starts since April 21 and 25, on the Mets first west coast swing against the Padres and Giants. He pitched to a 5.46 ERA in May, with 11 BBs and only 15 Ks in 28 innings pitched. Today he was at his nibbling worst -- though he did manage to induce 10 ground outs and a double play. It was a disappointing performance from a veteran pitcher. When your team scores 7 runs for you, you ought to be able to go deeper in the game than five-and-a-third.

Feliciano came into the game in the sixth after Trachsel allowed a leadoff homer to Chris Snyder and then 1-out walks to Counsell and Eric Byrnes. He induced Luis Gonzalez to ground to Valentin, but Carlos Delgado dropped the low throw to first for an error. With the bases now loaded, still one out, Chad Tracy hit a sac fly to Milledge in LF to make it 7-4. With first and second, two outs, Conor Jackson blooped an RBI hit to center that Beltran misplayed to allow the runners to advance to second and third, but Feliciano got Shawn Green to ground out to Delgado to end that threat.

Beltran atoned by homering in the top of the seventh to put the Mets back up by 3, 8-5. Aaron Heilman came in and gave up a run on 2 hits to tighten it up again. Heilman actually pitched pretty good -- both hits came on good pitches, it happens.

Sanchez pitched the eighth with the game still 8-6. He gave up a leadoff walk to Eric Byrnes, a deep fly out to Luis Gonzalez, a wild pitch and a walk to Chad Tracy to put men on first and second, 1 out. He's still overthrowing the ball. He toughened up, though, and struck out Conor Jackson and Tony Clark to escape damage. Delgado's 2-run shot in the ninth gave the Mets a 4-run cushion, but Wagner came in anyway and survived a leadoff Orlando Hudson single to pitch a scoreless ninth.

So the streak of good starts from the bottom 3 ends at 3, but the Mets are riding a 3-game winning streak into tonight's game versus Brandon Webb. Soler goes for the Mets, trying to build on that solid game his last time out against the Dodgers.

Box Score