Schwei: Mets Hitting The Trifecta
By John Schweibacher
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Carlos Beltran became the first player in the majors this season and the eighth Met to hit three home runs in a game with his three, two-run home runs last week in Colorado.
All three of Beltran's home runs were with runners on base, joining Dave Kingman as only the second Met to hit three home runs with runners on base in a single game.
Here is the list of three home run games in team history:
· Carlos Beltran (5/12/11) at Colorado (HR's 6, 7, 8, 1st inning off Jimenez, 1 on, 1 out, 7th inning off Morales, 1 on, 2 out, 9th inning off Lindstrom, 1 on, 2 out)
· Jose Reyes (8/15/06) at Philadelphia (HR's 12, 13, 14, 1st inning off Wolf 0 on 0 out, 3rd inning off Wolf 0 on 1 out, 8th inning off Sanches 1 on 0 out)
· Edgardo Alfonzo (8/30/99) at Houston (HR's 21, 22, 23, 1st inning off Reynolds 0 on 1 out, 4th inning off Williams 1 on 1 out,6th inning off Bergman 0 on 0 out)
· Gary Carter (9/3/85) at San Diego (HR's 21, 22, 23, 1st inning off Dravecky 1 on 2 out,4th inning off Dravecky 0 on 0 out,5th inning off DeLeon 2 on 1 out)
· Darryl Strawberry (8/5/85) at Chicago (HR's 13, 14, 15, 1st inning off Botelho 2 on 2 out,3rd inning off Botelho 0 on 2 out,7th inning off Meridith 0 on 2 out)
· Claudell Washington (6/22/80) at Los Angeles (HR's 1, 2, 3, 1st inning off Goltz 1 on 1 out, 5th inning off Goltz 1 on 1 out, 7th inning off Hough 0 on 1 out).
· Dave Kingman (6/4/76) at Los Angeles (HR's 18, 19, 20,4th inning off Hooton 1 on 0 out,5th inning off Hooton 2 on 2 out,7th inning off Downing 2 on 1 out)
· Jim Hickman (9/3/65) at St. Louis (HR's 10, 11, 12, 2nd inning off Sadecki 0 on 2 out,4th inning off Sadecki 0 on 1 out,6th inning off Sadecki 1 on 1 out).
Beltran also matched Todd Hundley with his 5th career game with homers from both sides of the plate with the Mets. Here are the players who have homered from both sides of the plate in the same game more than once as Mets:
· Carlos Beltran 5
· Todd Hundley 5
· Bobby Bonilla 4
· Jose Reyes 2
It was Beltran's 8th career game with home runs from both sides of the plate, three shy of the all-time major league record held by Eddie Murray and Chili Davis. Beltran now has 29 career multi-homer games, tied with Mark Teixeira for the fourth most among switch-hitters:
Most multi-home run games by switch-hitters:
Player/Games
· Mickey Mantle 46
· Chipper Jones 39
· Eddie Murray 31
· Mark Teixeira 29
· Carlos Beltran 29
It has been well documented that Francisco Rodriguez will have his 2012 contract vested if he finishes 55 games this season and K-Rod comes into the week with 14 games finished so far in 2011. However, Mets relievers have finished 55 or more games only six times in club history (including Rodriguez two seasons ago).
Here is the list of the Mets pitchers who finished 50 or more games in a single season:
· Armando Benitez 68 2000
· Francisco Rodriguez 66 2009
· Armando Benitez 64 2001
· Braden Looper 60 2004
· Billy Wagner 59 2006
· Billy Wagner 57 2007
· Braden Looper 54 2005
· John Franco 54 1998
· John Franco 53 1997
· Armando Benitez 52 2002
· Roger McDowell 52 1986
· Jesse Orosco 52 1984
· Skip Lockwood 50 1977
The Mets will host the Marlins and Nationals this week on their brief four-game homestand. Florida will be making its first visit to Citi Field this season. The Mets took two of three from the Marlins in their lone series meeting so far in 2011 back in Florida to open the season.
The Mets won five of the nine games vs. the Marlins at Citi Field last season.
The Nationals won two out of three in the first series meeting against the Mets at Citi Field during the home season opening set in Flushing last month. The Mets evened the score by taking two of three in Washington in late April.
Nationals manager Jim Riggleman and Mets skipper Terry Collins were minor league teammates in the Dodgers organization. In 1974 and 75, Riggleman and Collins were both infielders with the Waterbury, Connecticut Dodgers in the AA Eastern League. Among their teammates on that 1974 club was future major leaguer and Atlanta Braves announcer Joe Simpson.
Schwei's Runs, Hits and Errors:
Runs: Mets Bullpen. Carlos Lee's homer off of Ryota Igarashi in 7th inning in Houston Saturday ended Met pen's 24 inning scoreless streak.
Hits: Not So Rough Road. Mets go 4 and 2 on road trip, improving record away from Citi Field to 11 and 10.
Errors: David Wright. Just 4-for-36 since three hit game May 1st, dropping his season batting average to .226.
How will the Mets fare this week? Make your prediction in the comments below...
