Results tagged “bradenlooper”

If the ceremonies at the end of the season and the trade for Paul Lo Duca didn't make it clear enough, it's now official. The Mets will not be re-signing Mike Piazza (at least until May 1st) as they declined to offer salary arbitration, effectively ending his eight-year stint with the team. The 37 year-old Hall of Fame bound catcher hit only .251 with 19 home runs and 62 RBI last season. The .251 average was his worst since entering the Majors in 1992. In all likelihood, Piazza is now on his way to an American League team to be a designated hitter.

The runs for the Mets came in an odd fashion last night. In the 2nd inning, the Mets had three sacrifice flies, becoming the first team in the National League to have three sac flies in an inning. How did they get three? A fly ball to Bernie Williams would have allowed a run to score but Williams misplayed the ball and didn't catch it. The inning was extended with the error and the play was still scored a sacrifice.

The offense was supplied by Jose Reyes's speed, and RBIs by Carlos Beltran and Mike Piazza. Reyes had three singles and three (!!!) stolen bases, Beltran had his first hit since returning to the line-up Tuesday, and Piazza continues to look better after some dismal times earlier this season.

The offense for the Mets was supplied by Cliff Floyd and his bat. After starting the season with a 23-game hitting streak, Floyd was in a 2-22 slump entering the game. One might say that changed with his two home runs last night off of Staten Island's Jason Marquis, who only allowed three hits in seven innings.

Doug Mientkiewicz’s sixth home run broke a 4-4 tie in the 8th. Mike DeJean, just one day removed from allowing the winning run in Sunday's 5-4 loss in Milwaukee, won in relief of Aaron Heilman. Mike Piazza had a three-run home run and Kaz Matsui a solo shot for the Mets, who have won four of five on this road trip and six of seven overall. Heilman survived two rain delays totaling an hour and 35 minutes to last five and a third innings. Dae-Sung Koo relieved him and promptly blew the 4-0 lead, allowing two inherited runners to score along with two of his own.

Cliff Floyd, the new cleanup hitter for the Mets, extended his hit streak to 17 games, the longest in the majors this season. Floyd was 2-5 with 1 RBI and is batting .368 on the season. Mike Piazza, the former cleanup hitter, has moved to 5th in the lineup and is sandwiched between the left handed bats of Floyd and Doug Mientkiewicz.

Aaron Heilman started the game for the Mets and had a performance reminiscent of his one hitter two starts ago. Heilman pitched 7 innings of 2-hit ball and only allowed 1 run to the Braves. It looked like Heilman would be the tough luck loser until the 6th inning when the Mets knocked Horacio Ramirez out of the game by picking up 5 runs. Mike Piazza had an RBI double, Cliff Floyd had a two run homer, and Wright added his own two-run home run before the inning was over. The 5 run inning was the 7th time the Mets have scored 5 runs in an inning this season.

Offensively, the Mets provided Martinez and the bullpen with a three run lead, but that wasn't enough. When Looper came in to "close" the game, the lead was already trimmed to two, but he quickly gave up not only the lead, but the game. Newsday has it right, calling it a 1-2-3 inning - a single for Austin Kearns, a home run for Adam Dunn, a game winning home run for Joe Randa.

The win was no cakewalk though. Mike Piazza won the game for the Mets in the 8th inning when he hit a two-out single that scored Gerald Williams. Braden Looper worked a perfect 9th for his second save since August 14th and his 26th overall. Steve Trachsel, the starter for the Mets, pitched 6 innings and gave up two runs in the no decision.

The runs for the Mets came from Eric Valent, David Wright, Mike Cameron, and Jason Phillips. The shutout by the Mets was courtesy of Kris Benson, who pitched six strong innings, Bartolome Fortunato, and Braden Looper. Guess Benson's shoulder is now well rested.

At least the weather for the afternoon game was nice. The Mets managed 3 runs, all in the 9th inning, making a game of it, losing 10-3 (box score). It might have helped if the Mets didn't give up seven runs in the 7th and 8th innings. With games like the Mets have played, the closers weren't exactly needed. San Diego's closer, Trevor Hoffman faced one batter and Braden Looper made his first appearance in yesterday's meaningless top of the 9th.

Entering the bottom of the ninth, the Mets turned to Braden Looper, the Former Marlin to close the game. Three singles in a row by the Marlins and an error by Mike Cameron led to a tie game. Lenny Harris, a former Met hit a single to take a one-run lead. In the bottom of the inning, Armando Benitez, also a former Met, closed out the game, dropping the Mets back to .500 and into a tie with the Marlins for 3rd. Benitez's performance was something the Mets never saw consistently when he was in Flushing, which was clear when fans booed him when he came onto the field.