Well…that happened.
Johan Santana finally had his run support, and in a rare moment of WTF-ery, he practically gave it all away himself tonight. Taking a 4-0 lead into the 4th inning, he quickly gave up 2 runs, but then managed to hang on until the 7th, until Michael McKenry blasted a 2-run homer over the left field wall to tie the game. Johan wasn’t the only culprit tonight however…
In a botched play that will go into the books as the one that lost this game, Kirk Nieuwenhius and Mike Baxter had a “failure to communicate” in the OF, when they both chased after a Neil Walker fly ball in the bottom of the 8th inning. Kirk waved off Mike, who later said he didn’t hear the call, and the two promptly collided with the ball running away into left field. This little hiccup allowed a triple. Two batters later, Clint Barmes’ sac fly would give the Pirates the lead.
David Wright, who has been stellar in the field all season, picked up 2 errors tonight. Granted, he’s been rather sick, but after only making 2 other errors all season, that’s got to be a tough pill to take. Still, he entered tonight’s game batting .412 and still managed to go 2-for-4 with 2 singles and an RBI.
All this after chasing Pirates starter Erik Bedard from the game after 5 innings and 97 pitches.
Turning Point
Michael McKenry’s game-tying 2-run home run in the 7th that tied the game.
Moment(s) of Note
David Wright notched 2 errors in this game after having just 2 other errors all year…ouch.
Terry Collins consoling a dejected Mike Baxter after that awful play in the outfield.
Ronny Cedeno got his revenge (somewhat) against the boos from Pirates fans, getting 2 hits in his first 2 AB’s.
Game Ball
Jon Rauch, who came in and pitched beautifully. Got a loss he didn’t deserve.
Next Game
R.A. Dickey (5-1, 3.75 ERA) will take the mound tomorrow and try for his 6th win against James McDonald (3-2, 2.68 ERA) as the Mets (22-20) and the Pirates (20-22) play game 2 of their 2-game series at PNC Park 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!!
