On Tuesday, the Mets and D'Backs were in a race with a huge weather system bearing down on Shea, and each team scored early. Arizona got a run in the top of the first off John Maine, and the Mets answered with three runs off Micah Owings. David Wright hit a two-run homer deep into the left-field bleachers in the 2nd, and with Maine settled down, it looked like possibly a successful and quick night as the skies gradually darkened. Maine kept throwing more pitches than he would have like, though, and by the end of the 5th, with score now 5-3, he was over 100 pitches and needed to sit down. No problem, right? It's an official game, and the rain is coming any second.
Yup, here it comes. Any second now. Meanwhile, the D'Backs rallied for two runs to tie it in the sixth off Claudio "I Belong in New Orleans" Vargas. Of course, now it finally rained. I went to bed, disgusted at the Mets for blowing an easy rain-shortened win, so I missed the rest of it. Apparently. the rain subsided quickly, and Chris Snyder belted a home run off Joe Smith in the 8th to make it 6-5. Duaner Sanchez was brought in for the ninth but could not keep the game close, yielding dingers to Stephen Drew and Conor Jackson for a 9-5 final. Same old Mets.
The weather was better on Wednesday as Mike Pelfrey made another attempt to stay in the rotation. I was stuck in my bedroom and couldn't watch because my wife was using the so-called Man Cave for her book club. The Mets picked up three runs in the fourth off D'Backs ace Brandon Webb. Jose Reyes and Luis Castillo led off with singles, with Reyes advancing to third on a throwing error by Webb, and after Wright moved Castillo over with a groundout, Carlos Beltran drove home a pair with a base hit to right center. Carlos Delgado reached on an infield hit, and then Marlon Anderson, playing for the (surprise!) injured Moises Alou, grounded into a fielder's choice to pick up an RBI. Webb's pitch count in the 4th inning was 28, and he left after five still trailing 3-0.
Pelfrey, meanwhile, was uncharacteristically brilliant, averaging a strikeout per inning and generally baffling the D'Backs' hitters. Willie was prepared to let Pelfrey try for the shutout, but after Drew led off the 9th with a single, in came Billy Wagner. Again, no problem, right? Billy's pretty reliable. Down went Orlando Hudson on strikes, and things are looking good. Uh-oh, double by Conor Jackson, tying run at the plate, Chad Tracy up. Tracy K'd, and now the D'Backs were down to their last out, with Mark Reynolds up. Reynolds bats right and leads the team in HR's. I don't like where this is going. And where this is going is way up in the left-field bleachers on a 3-2 pitch. Two strikes on him, even! Tie game, 3-3, and Mike Pelfrey goes from a shutout to an ND in record time. Thanks, Bill.
I finally was able to tune in on MLB.TV in the bottom of the 9th just in time to see Brian Schneider hit a can of corn to center with two on to send the game to extras. It looked like another dispiriting loss was on the way, and it was only a question of when. The innings dragged on with neither team threatening. Feliciano relieved Wagner, who gave way to Heilman (ugh) and then Vargas (double ugh), but the Snakes couldn't take advantage. We did nothing against Chad Qualls, and then Edgar Gonzalez, the very dregs of the Arizona bullpen, came in and pitched a scoreless 12th. Just as it seemed the game might last until well past my bedtime, Castillo hit a harmless grounder to third that Reynolds botched. After Wright popped out for what should have been the third out, Beltran stepped up and on a 2-2 count, hit a screamer toward the scoreboard in right. "IT'S OUTTA HERE!! IT'S OUTTA HERE!! AND THE METS WIN THE BALLGAME!" bellowed Gary Cohen through my PC speakers. 5-3 in 13. We NEEDED that one.
The Johan battles the other Diamondbacks ace, Danny Haren, today. Moises is limping, Church is on the DL, and some guy named Chris Aguila is wearing #29. We're six and a half out, and two games under .500. This season is rapidly disintegrating, but at least for one night, it was fun to be a Mets fan. I guess I'll stick with it.