The Mets blew three leads on Friday night before finally beating the Florida Marlins 7-6… and that was the high point of the weekend.
Mike Pelfrey (5-9, 4.67) and Chris Volstad (5-8, 5.59) tried to outdo each other to see who was the worst pitcher in either team’s rotation. Volstad “won,” earning a ticket to Triple-A New Orleans for allowing four runs on eight hits and three walks over five innings. Pelfrey, despite surrendering four runs on five hits and four walks over six innings, remains on schedule to face Bronson Arroyo in Cincinnati on Wednesday.
The Mets had a 2-0 lead on Saturday when Chris Capuano fell apart in the sixth inning. The third time through the batting order, Capuano allowed home runs to Gaby Sanchez and Logan Morrison to give Florida a 4-2 lead. D.J. Carrasco and Ryota Igarashi added to the misery, letting the Marlins have an 8-2 lead after eight. Even though Leo Nunez struggled to close the door, they won 8-4. At least Lucas Duda finally has his first major league home run of the season.
Sunday, Dillon Gee didn’t have it. Still, he battled through five innings and kept the Mets in the game. Jason Bay shocked everyone when drove in a run in the sixth to help the Mets close the gap, then David Wright hit a two run homer in the seventh to put New York ahead. 4-3. Manny Acosta (of all people) pitched two scoreless innings, but Bobby Parnell blew it in the eighth. And when it mattered more, Nunez had no problem closing the door on a 5-4 Marlins victory.
Wright has been a positive offensive force since coming off the DL. He went 6-for-14 with three doubles and a homer in the weekend series. But his throws have been infuriating – he was charged with two errors and had another play or two that would have resulted in outs with better throws. I’d love to find a charity that Wright isn’t fond of and make him donate $1,000 to it every time he throws sidearm.
In case anybody is still thinking about the wild card, the Mets trail Atlanta by 8.5 games and have three other teams in front of them. I think it’s time for Sandy Alderson to show a bit more urgency in his trade talks.
The trade rumors are getting frustrating. Carlos Beltran has been linked to five teams, but it doesn’t seem like anything is close. I’m beginning to wonder if he might still be a Met when they get back to Citi Field. Meanwhile, Angel Pagan left Sunday’s game and that fueled speculation he had been traded until it was announced (two or three innings later) that he was dehydrated. If I’m getting tired of it already, I can only imagine how much worse it is for the players.
What are you expecting from the Mets this week?
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