The Mets hit four home runs tonight at Citi Field for the first time. Squawker Lisa, I know what you’re wondering: Did they win? As a matter of fact they did!
As great as it was to see all the power (and it could have been five homers with David Wright hitting a ball high off the wall that looked so much like a homer that Wright went into his home run trot) the best thing about tonight’s game was that the Mets won with pitching and defense.
Mike Pelfrey allowed two runs and four hits in six innings, though he also issued six walks. After John Maine’s disappointing outing, the Mets now have quality starts from both Jon Niese (6 IP, 3 ER) and Pelfrey. So far, the rotation may not be spectacular, but it is also not the disaster that was feared.
For the second night in a row, the Mets’ bullpen turned in three scoreless innings. Ace closer Francisco Rodriguez did not pitch either night, and Pedro Feliciano only pitched a total of 1/3 inning. Instead, it was Fernando Nieve and Hisanori Takahashi coming through on both nights, and phenom Jenrry Mejia having his first successful outing tonight.
There were several nice plays in the field, with Wright racing across the infield (he was near second base in a shift against Adam Dunn) to track down a popup near third. Alex Cora made a diving stop while playing second. The Mets only have one error so far this season.
So what if the game was against the Nationals – the Mets played well enough tonight to be competitive against anyone.
There was also good news off the field, with Jerry Manuel abandoning his ridiculous plan to bat Mike Jacobs cleanup against righties. With Jason Bay now hitting behind him, Wright had two hits and a walk. The way things are going for Jacobs, it may not be his only downward lineup move.
But the best news of all was also off the field – Jose Reyes is finally coming back tomorrow.
It figures, though, that Reyes’ return would come in the same game that Oliver Perez makes his season debut. My first game at Citi Field was the second exhibition against the Red Sox. By the time Lisa and I got to our seats in the bottom of the first, Ollie had already allowed six runs.
I just hope the fans are still in a good mood by the time Reyes comes to bat for the first time.
Then again, Ollie can’t do any worse than Javier Vazquez did in his season debut tonight, can he, Lisa?
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