Results tagged “aaronheilman”

In two days Omar Minaya has revamped the Mets bullpen and turned it into a formidable weapon. Minaya has completed a three-team, 12-player trade with the Mariners and Indians that brings relief pitcher J.J. Putz to New York. Putz, who has been closing games for Seattle the past three seasons, had some elbow problems last season but pitched very well at the end of the season. The combination of Putz and Francisco Rodriguez should make the Mets very hard to beat in the late innings. In addition to Putz, the Mets receive outfielder Jeremy Reed and reliever Sean Green, both from the Mariners. Leaving New York are seven players, Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez, Jason Vargas, Maikel Cleto, Ezequiel Carrera and Mike Carp, all to the Mariners, and Joe Smith to the Indians.

• Yankees 10, Red Sox 3: Fenway Park is allegedly a hitter's haven, but the Red Sox haven't enjoyed it much the past few days. That's because the Yankees' pitchers have been stingy. Don't look now, but the Yankees are only one game worse than the Red Sox in the American League East. Andy Pettitte surrendered a homer to J.D. Drew in the sixth inning. That's the only earned run the Red Sox have in this series so far. (They scored two unearned runs in the first after an error by Alex Rodriguez.)
  Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Movin' On Up"

And it was that call to the bullpen that was the Mets’ undoing. Willie Randolph went to Aaron Heilman who walked the bases loaded and gave up a grand slam to Felipe Lopez. The Nationals added three more runs in the seventh off of Jorge Sosa. The Mets mounted a rally in the ninth with Marlon Anderson homering and the first two runners reaching base, but they could not get the tying run out of the on-deck circle.

Cubs 7, Mets 1: After losing to the Phillies on Sunday and getting in to Chicago at 3:30 a.m. local time Monday, the Mets had to get ready for a game at 6:05. They looked like they could have used more rest. John Maine labored but got through six innings of two-run ball. But he got little if any help from his defense and bats.

For a team used to making miracles, conjuring up a disaster had an especially bitter taste. With a sloppily played 8-1 loss to Florida and the Phillies' 6-1 win against the Nationals, the Mets' season ended about a month too early. The loss capped an agonizing stretch of two and a half weeks in which the Mets played some of the worst teams in the National League and still played their worst baseball of the season.

• Tigers 8 Yankees 5: Detroit is a great offensive team and the question the Yankees have to answer is, can their pitching stand up to a great offensive team? In the first of eight games against Detroit, the answer was a resounding no.
  Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Double Bummer"

• Yankees 11, Indians 2: We thought things were supposed to be tougher for the Yankees when they played winning teams, but that doesn't seem to be the case. While Mike Mussina allowed one run in the first inning, the Yankees scored all they would need in the second when they tagged Paul Byrd for 7 runs. The inning included a two-run homer by Alex Rodriguez, who added another two-run shot in the 8th inning. While each Yankees starter had a hit, Jose Molina had four hits and Derek Jeter had three for the 2nd night in a row. The home runs by A-Rod continues his streak of home runs against Cleveland this year. He's now hit one in each of the five Yankees-Indians games this season.
• Marlins 7, Mets 5: It was looking good for win #301 for Tom Glavine until the Mets bullpen entered the game. Handed a 3-1 lead in the 7th inning, Guillermo Mota proceeded to load the bases full of fish (he inherited 1 runner, to be fair) before giving up a grand slam to Josh Willingham. The Mets bailed Mota out in the bottom of the 7th, scoring two runs to tie the game, but Aaron Heilman was quick to give the Marlins the lead again in the 8th inning. David Wright had two home runs (two-run and solo) to the left field bleachers in the loss.
• Doubledays 3, Cyclones 0: Auburn took the lead with a two-run bases loaded single in the 1st and never looked back. Brett Cecil and three relievers held the Cyclones to five hits in the victory.

• Yankees 5 White Sox 1:If the Yankees are going to get off the deck and get back into playoff contention, they will need a lot more nights like this. Chien-Ming Wang was brilliant, going the distance while allowing only one run and six baserunners. Wang also struck out four as he cruised to an easy win, his fifth of the season.
  Continue reading "Last Night's Action: A Complete Win"

As for the Nets, it is hard to understand why they didn’t make a deal. With Vince Carter probably opting out of his deal at the end of the season and Jason Kidd getting older and older, this would have been a great opportunity to start the rebuilding process. Instead, the Nets will play out the string and possibly win the division, though that isn’t saying much.

With his teammates and fans crossing their fingers, John Maine held the Cardinals scoreless over 5 1/3 innings, and the Mets bats scratched their way to a 4-2 win over St. Louis on Wednesday. The win forces a deciding seventh game in the National League Championship Series on Thursday.

- Mets 4, Phillies 3: Since June 23rd, Tom Glavine was stuck on career win number 286, but thanks to Philly starter Jon Lieber, he was finally able to move one win closer to #300. Glavine and the Mets trailed the Phillies by two runs after one inning but took the lead in the 6th inning when Lieber threw away what should have been the third out of the inning. Prior to the error, Lieber retired 17 straight batters. Aaron Heilman pitched a perfect 8th inning and Billy Wagner picked up his 24th save.

-Aberdeen 3, Brooklyn 1: At least the Cyclones' struggles have been overshadowed by their parent club's. They've lost eight of nine to start the season, including this most recent lost Thursday at home.

- Orioles 6, Mets 3: For the Mets, their 8-game winning streak had to end sometime, and that sometime was last night against the Orioles in a rematch of the 1969 World Series. Alay Soler struggled at the start of the game, but it he pitched well enough to give the Mets a chance for their 9th straight victory. Aaron Heilman blew the save and the Mets chances at victory in the 7th inning when he allowed 4 runs.

-Mets 9 Phillies 7: Carlos Beltran is making everyone forget his poor 2005. Beltran homered again, his 18th of the year, while the Mets battered Philadelphia for nine runs and thirteen hits. Carlos Delgado and David Wright also homered in the win. All of the offense was needed because Tom Glavine and Aaron Heilman had off nights. Glavine struggled through four-plus innings, giving up seven hits and four runs while Heilman came in with a five-run lead and gave up two hits, a walk and a three-run home run.

A four-run Yankee first inning and Randy Johnson starting against them couldn't stop the Mets from a come-from-behind, 7-6 victory over their neighbors in the Bronx Friday. David Wright's two-out single off Mariano Rivera won it in the bottom of the ninth.