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Post-Game Talk... The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly


Blue Jeans

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  • 2 weeks later...
Mets are the first National League team to 50 wins. Lets go into the playoffs the number one seed!

We'll get it, if we continue like this, but our home record is the same as our road record, so should that matter?

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  • 4 weeks later...

Mets rally to overcome Howard's blast, beat Phils

 

NEW YORK (AP) -- Billy Wagner worked the count full against Mike Lieberthal with runners at the corners and two outs in the ninth inning and Tom Glavine, watching on television in the Mets' clubhouse, closed his eyes.

 

He heard the broadcaster say David Wright made a diving stop at third, so he opened his eyes to make sure the throw to first was on line and in time.

 

With his second diving stop of the game, Wright preserved the New York Mets' 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, giving Glavine his first win since June.

 

"I know what's going on. I knew I hadn't won a game in a while," Glavine said. "You start hearing that stuff, and it starts getting in your head a little bit."

 

Ryan Howard hit a three-run, opposite-field homer to left in the first, but Glavine (12-4) didn't allow any more runs.

 

Endy Chavez hit a two-run double in a three-run sixth inning off Jon Lieber (4-9), who retired 17 straight batters but then was done in by a pair of defensive mistakes.

 

"It didn't look good for a while there," Mets manager Willie Randolph said.

 

Lieber led 3-1 and hadn't allowed a runner since the first when he fielder Carlos Beltran's check-swing grounder with two outs in the sixth and threw wildly to first for an error. The game turned on the next four pitches.

 

"I just have to make that play. I'm trying to get off the mound quick. I was trying to rush it," Lieber aid. "It's embarrassing."

 

Carlos Delgado singled up the middle, just past the outstretched glove of shortstop Jimmy Rollins, and Wright took a ball, then lofted a high drive to left field off the end of his bat. Frustrated he didn't make good contact, Wright didn't hustle out of the batter's box. But on a sunny, cloudless afternoon, the ball fell between Rollins and left fielder Pat Burrell for a single that scored Beltran and left runners at the corners.

 

"I should have caught the ball," Burrell said. "It was my play, and I didn't make it."

 

In the Phillies' dugout, manager Charlie Manuel took off his cap and rubbed his head.

 

"Today we kind of beat ourselves," he said.

 

Wright knew he should have been on second, and when he got back to the dugout, he apologized to Randolph.

 

"I'm fortunate he didn't snatch me out of the game there," Wright said.

 

Chavez, who entered in the bottom of the first when Cliff Floyd left because of sore left Achilles' tendon, drove the next pitch off the fence in left-center to put the Mets ahead.

 

"I attacked the fastball and I was trying to be aggressive. I made good contact. It felt great," Chavez said. "It's hard when you know you're not in the lineup every day."

 

Glavine got 16 groundball outs, including two on Chris Coste's inning-ending double play in the sixth. He had been 0-2 in seven starts since June 23, matching the third-longest winless streak of his career, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

 

After allowing five hits in seven innings, he felt good about his performance.

 

"You start putting pressure on yourself to do some things," he said.

 

Aaron Heilman pitched a perfect eighth, and Wagner got into trouble and escaped once again for his 24th save in 29 chances.

 

Howard singled leading off the ninth before Burrell took a called third strike and Coste struck out swinging. Chase Utley pinch hit, a day after the Mets stopped his hitting streak at 35 games, and singled to right to move the potential tying run to third.

 

Wright had made a diving backhand stop on Shane Victorino in the third and threw out Coste from foul territory in the fourth, with Delgado applying the tag. On this one, he made the backhanded stop on Lieberthal and threw to first to end it.

 

"You can't really practice it or teach it," Wright said. "It has to be a first-step reaction."

 

Wright's dives reopened a cut on his arm sustained in Florida earlier in the week.

 

"It's going to be sticking to the sheets tonight," he said.

 

New York, which had lost three of four, reopened a 12-game lead over the second-place Phillies in the NL East. Philadelphia, which had won four straight, lost for just the second time in nine games.

 

"This is a huge loss," said Lieber, who pitched a six-hitter for his first complete game since June 14 last year. "That's the bottom line."

 

Game notes

Floyd, held out of the starting lineup on July 30 because of the tendon, aggravated it when he unsuccessfully chased Aaron Rowand's foul in the left-field corner. ... Howard has four homers against the Mets this year. ... Jose Reyes doubled leading off the bottom of the first and scored on Lastings Milledge's single. ... Lieber has won once in nine starts since May 13.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Mets avoid sweep vs. Phils behind Delgado's two HRs

 

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A comfortable lead in the standings allows the New York Mets to shrug off losing streaks.

 

Carlos Delgado ended a 2½-week homer drought by connecting twice, John Maine pitched six solid innings and the Mets avoided a four-game sweep with a 7-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.

 

Delgado drove in four runs with a sacrifice fly, a triple and a pair of solo homers -- the first time he went deep since July 30. Carlos Beltran also hit a solo shot for the Mets, who have a 13-game lead over second-place Philadelphia in the NL East.

 

"We always try to get back to our approach to the game," manager Willie Randolph said. "We wanted to get out of here without getting swept."

 

Ryan Howard tied David Ortiz for the major-league lead with his 42nd homer, but the Phillies failed to reach .500 for the first time since they were 35-35 after beating the Yankees on June 19.

 

Philadelphia, which has climbed back in the playoff race after overhauling its roster before the trade deadline, remained 2½ games behind NL wild card-leading Cincinnati.

 

"We had chances, but didn't get the big hit at the right moment," manager Charlie Manuel said.

 

Maine (3-3) allowed two runs and eight hits to win his third straight decision. The rookie right-hander lost his first three starts but has given up just six runs in 33 1/3 innings over his last five outings.

 

Howard cut the Phillies' deficit to 4-2 with another opposite-field homer, a two-run drive in the fourth. But Beltran hit his 34th homer and Delgado followed with his 28th to make it 6-2 in the fifth.

 

"I've been working on some things, getting more hand movement," Delgado said. "I got some good pitches to hit."

 

Rookie Scott Mathieson (1-4) gave up six runs and eight hits in four innings. He hasn't reached the fifth inning in four of his seven starts, but Manuel said the right-hander isn't in danger of losing his job in the rotation.

 

"Who we got is what we're using," Manuel said.

 

A crowd of 45,775 that included many Mets fans was the largest in the three-year history of Citizens Bank Park. For the first time in the series, the Phillies couldn't silence the "Let's Go Mets!" chants.

 

New York took its first lead in four games with a run in the first inning and added two more in the second.

 

Jose Reyes led off with an infield single to shortstop. He advanced to third on Beltran's single and scored on Delgado's sacrifice fly to center field.

 

Mike DiFelice and Reyes had RBI singles to put the Mets ahead 3-0 in the second. Delgado made it 4-0 in the third. One pitch after reaching the second deck on a ball that just hooked foul, Delgado drove one off the brick wall beyond the center-field fence.

 

He tripled to right field for New York's final run in the seventh.

 

The Phillies loaded the bases in the seventh against Maine and Chad Bradford, but Pedro Feliciano struck out Chase Utley looking to end the threat.

 

"I'm getting more confident out there," Maine said.

 

Game notes

Beltran's homer was his 23rd on the road, tying him with Howard Johnson for New York's single-season record. Johnson did it in 1987. ... Philadelphia's Mike Lieberthal tied Red Dooin for the most games caught in team history at 1,124. ... DiFelice's RBI was his first since July 7, 2004, with Detroit. ... Phillies third baseman Abraham Nunez extended his hitting streak to nine games with an infield single in the third. ... Delgado has 39 career multihomer games. His previous one was June 9 at Arizona. ... The Mets have hit back-to-back homers five times this season. ... Mets second baseman Jose Valentin left with a slight strain of his hamstring. Randolph said Valentin will be OK.

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Mets top slumping Cards for seventh straight win

 

NEW YORK (AP) -- Carlos Delgado homered for the fourth time in four games and the New York Mets completed a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with a 6-2 victory Thursday night that extended their winning streak to seven.

 

Shawn Green had a RBI single in his debut for New York, which has won 11 straight at Shea Stadium, its longest home winning streak since September 1995. The Mets (78-48) moved to 30 games over .500 for the first time since 1999 and lead second-place Philadelphia by 14½ games in the NL East.

 

Delgado has nine RBI in his last four games, seven against the Cardinals. He had two homers Tuesday night, including a grand slam for the 400th homer of his career.

 

St. Louis, which entered with a one-game lead over Cincinnati in the NL Central, lost for the 18th time in 26 games.

 

Left-hander Dave Williams (3-3), making just his second start for New York, allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. Roberto Hernandez relieved with runners on second and third, and he retired Ronnie Belliard on a foulout, then struck out So Taguchi.

 

Hernandez worked a perfect eighth, and Guillermo Mota completed a perfect night for the New York bullpen.

 

Jason Marquis (13-12) gave up five runs, seven hits and four walks in six innings.

 

New York jumped ahead in the third inning.

 

With one out, Jose Reyes singled and then stole his major league-leading 53rd base of the season. Paul Lo Duca followed with a drive into the right-field corner for his first triple of the season, a ball that glanced off Preston Wilson's glove and scored Reyes.

 

After Carlos Beltran and Delgado walked, loading the bases, David Wright delivered a sacrifice fly and Green, acquired Tuesday from Arizona, singled for a 3-0 lead. Green went 1-for-3 with a walk.

 

St. Louis came back in the fifth when Aaron Miles opened with a single and Gary Bennett, hitting .195, followed with his second home run of the season.

 

Lo Duca opened the bottom of the fifth with an infield single and, one out later, Delgado hit his 32nd homer, a drive to right estimated at 450 feet.

 

Game notes

The start was delayed 30 minutes by rain. ... Cardinals turned double plays in the first two innings. ... Reyes, who snapped an 0-for-12 stretch with three hits Wednesday night, had three more hits. ... Mets left fielder Endy Chavez made two tough catches in the fifth, one on a looping fly by Marquis, the other on a line drive by Belliard. ... The Mets signed catcher Kelly Stinnett to a minor league contract. He was released last month by the New York Yankees.

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