Schwei's Mets Notes: Bartolo's Streak, Cespedes' Power And More
By John Schweibacher
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The New York Mets have seen their lead in the NL East trimmed after taking two of three from the Phillies and losing two of three to the Marlins this past week.
The Mets lost to the Marlins, 6-5, in 11 innings Friday night in the opener of their three-game series and fell, 4-3, in the rubber game Sunday afternoon.
The losses were the eighth and ninth the Mets have lost to Miami in the bottom of the ninth or in extra innings at Marlins Park since it opened in 2012:
· 5/11/12: Mets 5 Marlins 6, Dobbs single in 9th
· 5/13/12: Mets 4 Marlins 8, Stanton grand slam in 9th
· 10/2/12: Mets 3 Marlins 4, Solano single in 11th
· 4/29/13: Mets 3 Marlins 4, Green sac fly in 15th
· 4/30/13: Mets 1 Marlins 2, Lyon wild pitch in 9th
· 5/5/14: Mets 3 Marlins 4, McGehee single in 9th
· 5/7/14: Mets 0 Marlins 1, Ozuna sac fly in 15th
· 9/4/15: Mets 5 Marlins 6, Prado double in 11th
· 9/6/15: Mets 3 Marlins 4, Prado sac fly in 9th
Martin Prado had both game-winning RBIs for the Marlins this weekend. The last player to have two walk-off runs batted in during the same series against the Mets was Jim Edmonds for the Cardinals, back on September 1 and 3 of 2000.
Edmonds hit a game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against Pat Mahomes in the series opener to give St. Louis a 6-5 win, and homered in the bottom of the 11th inning two days later off of Rick White to beat the Mets, 4-3.
Prado had five hits, including the game-winning double with two outs in the 11th inning, in the Marlins' win Friday night. It was the third time in club history a Mets opponent had a five-hit game and also drove in the walk-off run.
Brett Butler capped a five-hit game with an RBI single against Doug Linton in the bottom of the 11th inning in a 6-5 Dodgers win on April 20, 1994. Bill Doran beat Tom Gorman with his fifth hit of the game in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the Astros a 4-3 win over the Mets at the Astrodome on July 11, 1985. That game is better remembered for Nolan Ryan's 4,000th career strikeout.
Bartolo Colon extended his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 25, going the distance in a 7-0 win against the Marlins on Saturday night. At age 42, he became the oldest pitcher in Mets history to throw a shutout:
Oldest Mets Pitchers To Throw A Shutout:
· 9/5/15: Bartolo Colon 7-0 at Mia (42 yrs, 3 months, 13 days)
· 6/27/07: Tom Glavine 2-0 vs. Stl* (41 yrs, 3 months, 3 days)
· 9/28/12: Miguel Batista 3-0 vs. Cin (40 yrs, 7 months, 10 days)
· 5/11/83: Tom Seaver 3-0 at Hou (38 yrs, 5 months, 25 days)
· 8/31/12: R.A. Dickey 3-0 at Mia (37 yrs, 10 months, 3 days)
(* -- six-inning game)
Colon has now won 28 games for the Mets since signing with New York in December of 2013. Only five free-agent additions have won more games for the Mets in club history:
· Steve Trachsel: 66 (2001-06)
· Tom Glavine: 61 (2003-07)
· Rick Reed: 59 (1997-01)
· R.A. Dickey: 39 (2010-12)
· Pedro Martinez: 32 (2005-08)
· Bartolo Colon: 28 (2014-15)
Yoenis Cespedes homered four times this past week, giving him 12 since being acquired by the Mets at the July 31 trading deadline. Cespedes -- who can become a free agent at the end of the season -- could wind up on the list of the most home runs hit by a Mets player in his only season with the club:
· 21: Marlon Byrd, 2013
· 21: Richard Hidalgo, 2004
· 18: Derek Bell, 2000
· 16: Tony Clark, 2003
· 16: Tommy Davis, 1967
· 15: John Buck, 2013
· 14: Duke Snider, 1963
· 14: Xavier Nady, 2006
· 12: Rod Barajas, 2010
· 12: Yoenis Cespedes, 2015
Ruben Tejada had two hits and drove in four runs while batting in the eighth slot in the batting order in the Mets' 9-4 win over the Phillies on Wednesday night.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last Mets player to drive in at least four runs while starting in the eighth spot in the batting order prior to Tejada was Mike Nickeas on May 26, 2012.
There have been five instances where the Mets' starting No. 8 hitter drove in five or more runs in a game, including one by Tejada (thanks to the Player Game Finder at baseball-reference.com):
· 9/5/10: Ruben Tejada at Chi (5 rbi in 18-5 NYM win)
· 9/4/07: Paul Lo Duca at Cin (7 rbi in 11-7 NYM win)
· 8/23/05: Ramon Castro at Ari (5 rbi in 14-1 NYM win)
· 6/12/03: Vance Wilson at Tex (5 rbi in 11-0 NYM win)
· 7/19/92: Dick Schofield vs. SF (6 rbi in 8-4 NYM win)
The Phillies beat the Mets, 14-8, Tuesday night. For the second straight start, Jon Niese allowed five runs to Philadelphia in the third inning.
The Elias Sports Bureau notes that Niese became the third pitcher in team history to allow a five-run inning in consecutive starts against the same opponent. Bret Saberhagen allowed a pair of five-run innings in consecutive starts against the Expos in April 1992. Mike Torrez allowed a five-run inning and a seven-run inning against the Cardinals in his first two starts of the 1983 season.
Happy Recap: Three for the Road -- The Mets have scored at least three runs in each of their last 20 road games, dating to July 21. That matches the longest such streak in Mets history, from June 18 through August 13 of 1987.
Nine Miles of Rough Road: No Relief -- The Mets' bullpen has taken the loss in seven of the club's last nine defeats dating back to August 14.
