The month of June for the New York Mets can be cliched as “you win some, you lose some.” Every time you turn around, the Mets are either in brief downward spiral or picking up the pieces on the upswing.
It isn’t a bad thing because it means they are hanging around. It isn’t necessarily good either because it isn’t getting them anywhere fast.
Nonetheless, the Mets have dug themselves out of a hole at a good time to win the first of a four game set against a battered Los Angeles Dodgers team that is in the middle of a mid-season collapse.
By the end, the Mets preserved a 3-2 win without the usual bullpen blunders.
Chris Young took the mound against former rotation cohort Chris Capuano, who’s 2012 campaign for the Dodgers is arguably All-Star-caliber. It turned into a relatively quiet game all-around.
Lately, we’ve seen Andres Torres much more active on the bases. It is very refreshing to see him take an aggressive stance while running the bases despite dismal offensive numbers. He was credited with his eighth stolen base of the year tonight.
David Wright was responsible for a chunk of the Mets scoring tonight with an RBI double and his ninth home run of the season, a solo shot. Torres chipped in an RBI double as well.
Hitting his stride, Chris Young hurled a quality start this evening going six and a third allowing just a pair of runs to score. He was locked in, striking out six and not succumbing to any base on balls. The road to recovery has seemingly passed for Young. Now it is a matter of staying healthy enough to be cemented into the back end of this Mets rotation.
The bullpen didn’t disappoint too much tonight. Tim Byrdak struck out and walked one, and Jon Rauch, after allowing a leadoff hit to rookie Elian Herrera in the eighth, settled in nicely. Bobby Parnell pitched a spotless ninth inning for his first save of 2012.
With the victory, Chris Young is now 2-1, and his ERA sheds itself down to 3.30. Capuano is dealt just his third loss to go along with nine wins.
The Mets win their second game in a row, upping their record to 41-36. The Dodgers fall to 43-34 in the meantime as injuries have generated some gravity in L.A.
