Monday, July 16, 2007By Mike Steffanos
Mets 5 - Reds 2
Played Sunday, July 15, 2007
6 strong innings from Oliver Perez, a decent amount of runs and some more great work from the bullpen enabled the Mets to take 3 of 4 from the Reds en route to their first series win in July. Showing no signs of any hangover from the sore back that cost him a couple of starts, Perez did a nice job of battling out of trouble a couple of times -- particularly in the sixth inning when he limited Cincinnati to only a single run after they began the inning with 3 straight hits. It wasn't the most dominating we've seen Perez this season, but it was a heartening return as this team finds itself in a divisional dogfight.
| Oliver Perez (Last 5 Starts) | |||||||||||
| 6/9 | @DET | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 9.00 | 2.40 | L |
| 6/15 | @NYY | 7.1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.09 | W |
| 6/20 | MIN | 5.1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 6.75 | 1.88 | L |
| 6/26 | STL | 6.1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2.84 | 1.26 | L |
| 7/15 | CIN | 6 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 3.00 | 1.50 | W |
| Season (16 Games) | 100.2 | 43 | 35 | 79 | 91 | 40 | 12 | 3.13 | 1.18 | 9-7 | |
View Oliver Perez' Full Season Stats
Ruben Gotay failed to get a hit for the first time this month, but had another solid day in the field with a pair of double play turns. He has no fear on those, but he needs to learn how to protect himself from the baserunner a little better. He may get killed out there if he doesn't.
Lastings Milledge came up with another big hit as he doubled in the second and third runs for the Mets. He may only be 4-18 since his return, but he's had a knack for getting some big hits. Good thing Minaya ignored the strident cries of some of the local sports columnists and didn't give this kid away for a bag of balls. He's helped breathe some life and energy into this team.
The recent run of strong bullpen work continued as Feliciano, Heilman and Wagner shut the Reds down over the last 3 innings. For Heilman, it was as good as he's looked this season with some nasty stuff and a pair of Ks.
Brooklyn Lou Manios' Scorecard
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Comments (2)
Gratifying to see Perez, New York's own Lefty Loosie, come back with authority.
By my count the Mets scored three runs from poor outfield play by the Reds, and possibly gave up one themselves on a missed cutoff man. I miss the Mets offense, of course, but I also miss that great defensive unit we started the season with. Mets' defense has slipped from outstanding to merely good.
Meanwhile Milledge managed to overcome a poor read on a hard shot to right field. Lancings looks better out there than he has in previous trials, but there's no comparing his outfield play to Carlos Gomez, or Endy of course. But he has looked like a very different man at the plate, and generally in the way he carries himself. Glad to see he decided to quit screwing around and have a career after all.
Hey, did you notice the play of Cincy's backup catcher David Ross? He's no hitter, but the guy can pick; and he gunned down Reyes with a prefect throw on a stolen base effort.
Big test coming up!
Posted by dd | July 16, 2007 12:40 PM
dd - agreed on Milledge. Ross is a nice defensive catcher, but I think they were counting on him to be the starter this year. A guy that hits .180 in that home ballpark has serious offensive problems. Maybe he was a one year wonder like Jason Phillips with the bat.
Posted by Mike Steffanos | July 16, 2007 3:37 PM