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IGT 5/9, Pirates at Mets

Kong76 May 09 2009 08:09 AM

PIT: P. Maholm (3-0, 2.97 ERA) NYM: J. Maine (2-2, 5.20 ERA) Pirates-Mets Preview By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA, STATS Senior Writer (AP) -- New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel is set to rest a couple of his left-handed hitters. Carlos Delgado, though, is probably one lefty slugger he's not in any hurry to sit. With Delgado heating up, the Mets look to extend a season-high five-game winning streak in the middle game of their series with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. Pittsburgh (12-17) will send left-hander Paul Maholm (3-0, 2.97 ERA) to the mound as it tries to win for the first time in seven games, so the Mets (15-13) are expected to put right-handed batters Gary Sheffield and Fernando Tatis in the outfield in place of lefties Ryan Church and Daniel Murphy. Though he's 0 for 9 against Maholm, Delgado's spot as the cleanup hitter is most likely safe. The veteran first baseman hit a three-run homer off left-handed reliever Sean Burnett and finished with five RBIs in New York's 7-3 win over Pittsburgh on Friday night. "It's a team effort," Delgado said. "We get guys on, we put together good at-bats, put pressure on the opposition and good things happen." Delgado's fourth homer gave him 1,512 RBIs, breaking a tie with Mickey Mantle for 48th place on the all-time list. He's 5 for 7 in his last two games and tends to be a streaky hitter, so this would be an odd time for Manuel to give him a day off. With his homer, Delgado sparked a five-run eighth inning that saw the Mets send 11 batters to the plate. It was New York's second-biggest inning of the season, just behind a six-run first in a 7-1 victory over Florida on April 27. The Mets will try to continue their momentum with Sheffield (.158) and Tatis (.324) in the lineup. Church is certainly due for a break, going 4 for 34 in his last 11 games. All-Star third baseman David Wright struggled Friday, going 0 for 4 after a 3 for 3 effort in a 7-5 win over Philadelphia on Thursday night. Wright is hitting .214 (3 for 14) against Maholm, who is 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA in five starts versus New York. The left-hander has given up two runs or fewer in four of his six outings. He allowed two runs and six hits while striking out a season-high seven in 7 1-3 innings as Pittsburgh lost 7-4 to Milwaukee on Monday night. New York, 3-0 on its eight-game homestand, will counter with John Maine (2-2, 5.20), who turned 28 on Friday. He seems to be settling down after a poor start, posting a 2.25 ERA en route to winning his last two outings. The right-hander overcame a career-high six walks in his last start, surrendering three runs and three hits while striking out seven in six innings as New York beat Atlanta 6-4 on Monday night. Maine is 2-2 with a 2.93 ERA in five starts versus the Pirates, who have lost 10 of 11 and have been terrible at the plate. Pittsburgh is batting .205 in its last nine games, managing just three homers during that stretch. The Pirates have lost six straight on the road, hitting .167 with one homer during the last four contests. "We've got to stay focused and keep plugging away," said Pittsburgh center fielder Nyjer Morgan, batting a team-high .375 away from PNC Park. "It's part of our learning situation.

Kong76 May 09 2009 10:42 AM

Nyjer Morgan LF Freddy Sanchez 2B Nate McLouth CF Adam LaRoche 1B Brandon Moss RF Andy LaRoche 3B Ramon Vazquez SS Jason Jaramillo C Paul Maholm P Jose Reyes SS Luis Castillo 2B Carlos Beltran CF Carlos Delgado 1B David Wright 3B Gary Sheffield RF Fernando Tatis LF Ramon Castro C John Maine P

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 09 2009 10:51 AM IGT o' ye Gay Dame Variety, Yar! Pirates @ Mets, 5/9/09 Edited 2 time(s), most recently on May 09 2009 11:01 AM

Yar heroes in blue and orange: Reyes...... SS Castillo..... 2B Beltran..... CF Delgado.... 1B Wright...... 3B Sheffield... RF Castro...... C And on the mound, the untamable John Maine. As for the livery bilge rats in ye other clubhouse: Morgan.......................... LF Sanchez........................ 2B McLouth......................... CF LaRoche the Slow-Starter 1B Moss.............................. RF LaRoche the Plain Crappy 3B Vazquez......................... SS Jaramillo........................ C The increasingly pain-in-the-ass-y Paul Maholm starts. How goes the streakin', mama? If we're taking it to 6, we're doing so without the General, out with a one game suspension (while the Lyin' Hawaiian got... oh, wait, apparently breaking the rules isn't AGAINST the rules). Let's do this.

Kong76 May 09 2009 10:52 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 09 2009 11:09 AM

avi wuz here

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 09 2009 10:59 AM

Whoops.

Edgy DC May 09 2009 11:23 AM

Hey, first inning run!

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 09 2009 11:28 AM

Edgy DC wrote: Hey, first inning run! Rarer/more pleasant still: no first inning 3-run spazzing from Maine!

Edgy DC May 09 2009 11:46 AM

Every time I hear Gary say "Maholm," I think "Is Terry Mulholland really stilll in the league?"

metirish May 09 2009 11:52 AM

Edgy DC wrote: Every time I hear Gary say "Maholm," I think "Is Terry Mulholland really stilll in the league?" Yeah it's very strange. I would have pronounced the name with a silent L

Edgy DC May 09 2009 12:01 PM

And... that's eight in a row for Maholm. Someday this team will find a way to sustain a first-inning breakthrough. But it's time for me to shut up. We've got Ralph in the booth after this break.

Edgy DC May 09 2009 12:06 PM

Ralph sounds slurrier than usual. It was collusion that ended Dave Kingman's career.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 09 2009 12:20 PM

="metirish"] ="Edgy DC"]Every time I hear Gary say "Maholm," I think "Is Terry Mulholland really stilll in the league?" Yeah it's very strange. I would have pronounced the name with a silent L Radio here-- I swear that Hagin has actually said "Mulholland" twice. Oh, and WOOT. Nice one, Sugar Pants.

Frayed Knot May 09 2009 12:23 PM

It's a hit parade!! And Castillo continues to silence his critics - and probably faster than most imagine it could have been done this early in the season.

Edgy DC May 09 2009 12:25 PM

And Ralph sounds sharper as the inning progresses.

Frayed Knot May 09 2009 12:28 PM

How stupid is it that this is the only 1:00 game in the entire country?

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 09 2009 12:33 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 09 2009 12:36 PM

"Ladies and gentlemen, at today's matinee performance, Lots of Runs will be playing the role normally played by LOB."

Kong76 May 09 2009 12:35 PM

Ralph sounds fine to me, the guy's freakin' close to 90. 6 - sniffle through four.

Benjamin Grimm May 09 2009 12:37 PM

Frayed Knot wrote: It's a hit parade!! And Castillo continues to silence his critics - and probably faster than most imagine it could have been done this early in the season. Isn't that nice? I hope Oliver Perez will be able to redeem himself the way Castillo seems to have. Oh, and for the record: I approve of five-run innings.

metsguyinmichigan May 09 2009 12:38 PM

I wish the Pirates were in our division so we could play them more often.

Kong76 May 09 2009 12:40 PM

Maholm says sniffle this.

Edgy DC May 09 2009 12:40 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 09 2009 12:41 PM

Duly noted. Things I'd like to see: Murphy a third Cora at short Reed getting a few cuts. Maholm isn't interested in that. Wow, over the Modells sign and all.

metsguyinmichigan May 09 2009 12:41 PM

Except for when their pitchers bat.

metsguyinmichigan May 09 2009 12:44 PM

Maine's at 90 pitches already. With the lead, do they try to stretch him a little?

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 09 2009 12:45 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 09 2009 12:47 PM

Is Joe Morgan producing today's WFAN cast? Howie and Wayne just both agreed that it was better that Maholm hit one out than if he had walked. And they were "No one denies this"-brand adamant about it.

metirish May 09 2009 12:46 PM

I always learn something form listening to Ralph [url=http://yerremy.blox.pl/resource/Nick_cave_and_the_bad_seedsthe_boatmans_call.jpg]Pitcher With Most Career Home runs[/url]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 09 2009 12:46 PM

Maholl-em run!

Edgy DC May 09 2009 12:47 PM

Let's get this Beltran guy to sign an extension.

metsguyinmichigan May 09 2009 12:48 PM

Beltran: Don't vote for Lastings for the All-Star Game, vote for me, dammit!

Frayed Knot May 09 2009 12:49 PM

I thought it was weird enough that Maholm even hit. I know the guy can swing the bat but how many pitchers [u:24d645a8e4]don't[/u:24d645a8e4] get pulled when they're due to lead off an inning after coughing up a 5-spot?

Edgy DC May 09 2009 12:55 PM

It seems Ralph has been sticking around longer than usual. I'm thinking that Keith being out means nobody has to stand up and give him a chair. Without them kicking him out to regain their chair, he isn't leaving. Go, Ralph, go.

Kong76 May 09 2009 12:56 PM

Baba Booey, today's b'cast has it all.

Edgy DC May 09 2009 01:07 PM

Alert the Takahashi fan club. Castro out with a tight thigh.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 09 2009 01:13 PM

Howie and Wayne agree: Takahashi "knows what he's doing out there... he really looks like he knows what he's doing." This time, I agree with their agreement. (I'm thinking the decade-plus in big-league ball helps.) Ken Takahashi: a Professional Pitcher.

Kong76 May 09 2009 01:42 PM

They showed the guys clowning around in the dugout with Takahashi with potential handshake moves and I think it was Santana trying to incorporate some sushi eating move into it. Winning good, nice to be loose.

Edgy DC May 09 2009 01:47 PM

Reyes gets a single half inning off and he looks depressed.

Kong76 May 09 2009 01:51 PM

I was thinking the same thing, "Sandy thinks he's big guy giving me the hook." SIX in a row!

MFS62 May 09 2009 01:55 PM

I just hope Delgado didn't re-injure that hip when he beat out that infield roller. Later

Frayed Knot May 09 2009 02:25 PM

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Howie and Wayne agree: Takahashi "knows what he's doing out there... he really looks like he knows what he's doing." This time, I agree with their agreement. (I'm thinking the decade-plus in big-league ball helps.) Ken Takahashi: a Professional Pitcher. A semi-efficient 25 pitches for 2 full innings is nice to see also. I know it's a small sample but it's a change from what we get from a lot of our guys - starters & relievers.

holychicken May 09 2009 02:41 PM

First place Mets. . . I thought the season was over a couple weeks ago?

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 09 2009 02:46 PM

Frayed Knot wrote: ="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr"]Howie and Wayne agree: Takahashi "knows what he's doing out there... he really looks like he knows what he's doing." This time, I agree with their agreement. (I'm thinking the decade-plus in big-league ball helps.) Ken Takahashi: a Professional Pitcher. A semi-efficient 25 pitches for 2 full innings is nice to see also. I know it's a small sample but it's a change from what we get from a lot of our guys - starters & relievers. Agreed. He's worked well so far, and as long as he's keeping the ball low-- 80-mph anything is getting clobbered up if he leaves it up-- I'm all for him seeing more innings. (I think he and Stokes are an interesting pair to use back-to-back... they're complete opposites as pitchers, and the contrast could work to nice effect if they're used back-to-back in more high-leverage situations.)

Ashie62 May 09 2009 03:00 PM

I retract my 4/29/09 season over post and open myself to all the ridicule I deserve...

G-Fafif May 09 2009 05:21 PM

Marvelous day at CF thanks to awesome game and awesome company in the form of bmfc1 and the sons of everybody's favorite [friggin'] [url=http://faithandfear.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/1/21/4064538.html]fantasy camper[/url]. Think I saw Swan Swan H in a Viva Shea t-shirt. Called out his non-screen name but he didn't respond, so I could be mistaken*. My facility with dates is matched inversely by my inability to remember faces as well as I should. *I'm now thinking it was somebody else familiar from the online rounds. Either way, good game.

batmagadanleadoff May 09 2009 07:32 PM

Edgy DC May 09 2009 07:47 PM

I'm looking forward to that Mayor's Trophy Game.

seawolf17 May 09 2009 07:56 PM

That Seavers is one helluva pitcher.

Swan Swan H May 09 2009 09:17 PM

I was there, but in a Hofstra sweatshirt. We sit in the last row of the ballpark, and by the seventh inning I was in a sweatshirt and a jacket. A wind tunnel, it is. Nice game, eh? Maine looked good, the offense piled up some bloops and blasts, and the defense in the outfield looked way better than I feared when the lineups were introduced. A 1-0 game is nice, but a blowout is like watching in a rocking chair.

G-Fafif May 10 2009 06:22 AM

Swan Swan H wrote: A 1-0 game is nice, but a blowout is like watching in a rocking chair. Shh! The Mets are going to start charging special rocking chair prices.

Swan Swan H May 10 2009 07:35 AM

G-Fafif wrote: ]Shh! The Mets are going to start charging special rocking chair prices. I can see it now - a rocking chair, warm milk and vanilla wafers, and for an additional $5.00 you can rent a blue-n-orange Snuggie.

G-Fafif May 10 2009 07:45 AM

Sometimes it's quiet enough there so such would be appropriate.