Terry Collins was right…twice. First, he stood up for Miguel Batista, saying he was going to get many more chances to prove himself as a starting pitcher. Well, tonight he did more than prove himself, throwing 7 scoreless innings of 4-hit ball. He stymied the Brewers tonight, with Tim Byrdak and Bobby Parnell taking care of the 8th inning. On a side note, Bobby Parnell has allowed only 1 run in his last 12 appearances (11 innings)…quite an improvement from last year.
Terry’s second triumph came tonight after Frank Francisco managed to close out the game. Yes, things looked shaky there for a bit and he gave up a run, but Terry was very forthcoming about how adamant Francisco was about wanting to get back on the mound and pitch. Francisco picked up his 9th save in the process. It was a heck of a risky move, but I have to give Terry credit for having faith in his closer. Hopefully it will give Francisco a confidence boost and he’ll continue to improve.
Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo certainly had his problems tonight, including his catcher Jonathan Lucroy. The two couldn’t seem to get their act together, and both endured a “talking to” from their pitching coach between innings. Gallardo somehow managed to keep the Mets to only 2 runs however, during his 6 innings pitched.
Turning Point
Ronny Cedeno laid down the perfect suicide squeeze bunt, allowing Daniel Murphy to score in the 6th.
Moment(s) of Note
Cedeno’s textbook-perfect suicide squeeze that enabled Murphy to score from 3rd, giving the Mets a 2-0 lead in the 6th.
Aramis Ramirez bobbling the ball and dropping it during a run-down with David Wright, allowing the Mets to score a much-needed insurance run, making it 3-0. The pitcher he scored against? None other than old friend K-Rod.
David Wright with another great night on defense, making two great plays to keep the Brewers off the board until the 9th inning.
Game Ball
Daniel Murphy, the Irish Hammer, who continues to produce in clutch spots, and simply gets better on defense every single night.
Next Game
Dillon Gee (2-2, 4.78 ERA) will take the mound tomorrow against Zack Greinke (3-1, 3.35 ERA) as the Mets (20-15) and the Brewers (15-20) play game 2 of their 2-game series at CitiField tomorrow night at 7:05 pm EST. The game can be seen on SNY and heard on WFAN660 AM. @MetsWFAN @dailystache @Meriwyn
Let’s go METS!!
