There haven’t been many times that I have been speechless with the Mets in a good way (I have been speechless over bad Mets baseball roughly 36,769 times). But after Wednesday night’s 16-9 win over Detroit it took me several minutes to even begin to think about what to write.

The Mets 16-run performance gives them a franchise record 52 in the past 4 games.

A quick recap of the game: The Mets jumped out to an 8-2 lead, picking up right where they left off last night, as their bats remained hotter than we have ever seen the franchise have. Unlike the series opener though, the Tigers fought back on Wednesday with a barrage of 5 homeruns, and pulled within 8-6 in the 6th. Miguel Cabrera had 2 of those bombs, including a 450 foot shot to left center.

But there’s simply no team that can keep up with the Mets offense right now, and Detroit never got closer than 8-6. Daniel Murphy had huge 2-out, 2-run singles in both the 7th and 8th innings to break the game open for good, and the Mets eventually went on to win by a touchdown 16-9.

The stats the Metropolitans have accrued since Saturday are now officially mind-boggling. They have set a club record with 52 runs in the past 4 games. 52 runs! This is the same team that looked like a Single-A lineup for most of April and May. They scored at least 14 runs for the 3rd time in the last 4 games. In the past 2 games in Detroit now they have scored 30 runs. And the most amazing stat of all? 23 of those 30 runs have been scored with 2 outs! I am stunned. I am speechless. I can’t believe what I am seeing. I have no idea how long it can possibly last, but I am certainly enjoying it while it does. This run reminds me of the trip to Arizona in 2005, except they are doing it with less power and more hits. Other than that trip, I can’t ever remember anything remotely close to this since I became a die-hard in 1992.

Chris Capuano was not at his best, tossing 5+ innings and allowing 5 runs. But with the way the offense is clicking Cappy pitched more than well enough for his 7th win. He certainly fared better than the Tigers pitchers. Phil Coke got crushed for 7 runs and 10 hits in 4 innings and took the loss. But the pen was just as bad, allowing 8 runs in 5 innings. The only pitcher who didn’t get lit up was the final guy to take the mound- 3rd baseman Don Kelly. The infielder got the final out of the 9th, officially posting a career ERA of 0.00.

Every Mets starter had at least one hit, and 7 of the 9 guys had at least 2 hits. Murphy and Pagan each had 4 RBI. Pagan and Paulino each had 4 hits. Jason Bay reached base 5 times and scored 3 runs. Jose Reyes had his 41st multi-hit game of the season. What more can I say? This is the best offensive outburst the Mets have ever had, plain and simple. It’s truly been  amazin’.

Three Up:

1) Daniel Murphy- Murph drove in all 4 of his runs with 2 outs, and broke the game open late. Despite having 8 runs by the 7th, the Mets led by just 2 until Murphy got going. His hits were huge.

2) Angel Pagan- The best part of Pagan’s 4-6, 4 RBI night? All of the hits came from the right side! Angel has been great as a lefty since returning from injury, but this is his first real good night as a righty. Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.

3) Ronny Paulino- Ronny and Josh Thole are both swinging a good bat, and seem to be in a healthy competition for the number one catcher spot. But Paulino took another step up as the guy, going 4-6 with 4 runs scored, raising his average to a whopping .346.

Three Down:

1) Terry Collins/Dan Warthen- There was an odd moment in the bottom of the 7th. Terry Collins pulled Pedro Beato and wanted Tim Byrdak to come in, but the only guy warming up was Parnell. Bobby assumed he was coming in so he ran out towards the mound before heading back. Byrdak came in ice cold, and promptly gave up a 2-run bomb to Andy Dirks. Byrdak fired a baseball into the ground, and was STEAMING in the dugout for the remainder of the inning. It was a bad miscommunication, and I have to blame the skipper and pitching coach. Luckily it didn’t come back to bite them. Kudos though to TC for calling himself out in the post-game presser and taking all the blame. He continues to do a great job this year as a manager.

2) Pedro Beato- The kid was a little off again tonight, and allowed 2 runs in 1 1/3 innings. I still love his stuff and think he could be the closer of the future, but he needs to work on his stuff.

3) Tigers Pitching- I was going to just call out Phil Coke here, but then Al Alburquerque came in and was just as bad. The only Tigers hurler who didn’t stink tonight was Kelly, who has never pitched before.

Rizzi’s Rants:

- I have not seen the Mets go on an offensive run like this since 2006. They now have 4 straight games with at least 14 hits, and I must say I am enjoying it thoroughly. Even the outs tonight were hit very hard. Where did this offense come from???

- I have not seen a Met consistently hit like Jose is doing right now since…. ever. It’s getting scary.

- Good hitting is certainly contagious on a cohesive ball club, and virtually every position player on the Mets has been hot the past week. The only one who hadn’t really contributed was Scott Hairston, and he quickly changed that with a 2-out bases clearing triple in the 1st inning.

- Speaking of which, this is the best 2-out run producing team I have ever seen the Mets have in my 20 years as a die-hard fan. Big credit to Dave Hudgens, Terry Collins, and the whole team for the consistent production with 2 outs. I mean, 23 of their 30 runs in Detroit so far scored with 2 men out? That’s freakin insane.

- Chris Capuano has now gone 16 straight starts without allowing a 1st inning run.

- Cappy did give up his fair share after the 1st though, giving up 3 of the Tigers (4?) homeruns. The ball has been carrying A LOT out of Comerica Park this series.  I thought this stadium was a pitcher’s park?

- Jason Bay ended the 1st AND 2nd innings with great catches at the wall. His bat has run the gamut from frustrating to embarrassing, but his glove has been better than advertised since day one.

- Phil Coke stinks. I don’t think he will be in the Tigers rotation for much longer.

- Bobby Parnell hit 100+ mph on the radar gun with straight pitches to Miguel Cabrera in the 7th, including one at 103 mph.

- It will be VERRRY interesting to see how the Mets do against Justin Verlander Thursday afternoon. The guy is the heavy front-runner for the AL Cy Young award halfway through the season, but the Mets offense is on another planet right now. Something has to give, but the way we are playing why can’t we sweep the series????

- It’s a great night to be a Mets fan, and there haven’t been many of those in the past 4 years. Enjoy it, guys. We deserve it.

Most Mets fans went into this road trip before the All-Star break worrying about a major losing skid. Heading off to play two American League divisional leaders on the road, followed by a Yankees team with the 2nd best record in the AL, the “feel good story” that has been the overachieving Mets in 2011 looked like it could be headed to an end, especially after the first game of the trip ended with a convincing 8-1 Rangers win.

But the Mets fought back to win the last 2 games, scoring 22 runs in the process and getting back to .500 yet again. They now have another shot at getting over the hump for the first time since early April, but they are playing one of the better teams in baseball- the Detroit Tigers.

Jim Leyland’s squad had been chasing the Indians all season, and this past week finally caught them and jumped into first place in the AL Central. Led by Victor Martinez (.336) and Miguel Cabrera (.332), the Tigers sport the 3rd highest team batting average in baseball (.268). They are also one of just 5 teams to be at least 10 games over .500 at home, so winning at Comerica Park will not be an easy task. The first two games seem winnable on paper, and if the Mets want the series they better take both of them. That is because the finale will be started by Justin Verlander, who is running away with the AL Cy Young before July.

Hopefully the Mets take the first two games of their series in Detroit, because Justin Verlander and his red hot right arm toe the rubber in the finale.

Pitching Matchups:

6/28/11- R.A. Dickey (3-7, 3.76 ERA) vs. Rick Porcello (6-5, 4.50 ERA)

6/29/11- Chris Capuano (6-7, 3.99 ERA) vs. Phil Coke (1-7, 4.32 ERA)

6/30/11- Mike Pelfrey (4-6, 4.78 ERA) vs. Justin Verlander (10-3, 2.38 ERA)

Mets Player to Watch: Daniel Murphy

We all know how hot Jose Reyes has been the past week, and all season. But Daniel Murphy is quietly heating up again. After getting his average up over .300 Murph went into a mini slump, but since interleague play started back up he has hit in 7 of 9 games. Daniel is hitting .500 (9-18) over his last 5 games, and is a big part of this Mets lineup that has zero power whatsoever but IS great at getting on base. Murphy needs to continue to hit well going into the All-Star break if the Mets want to remain relevant.

Tigers Player to Watch: Justin Verlander

It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while the Mets face a dominant ace that I am actually excited to face. Normally, I dread seeing the stud pitchers, knowing it will be a tough draw for my team. But this series brings one of those few times that I am pumped to see one of the top pitcher’s in baseball face the Mets. Justin Verlander is pitching out of his mind. He has always been very good, but this is the best stretch of his career. He already has one no-hitter this year, nearly had another one a month later, and has won 6 consecutive starts, pitching into the 8th inning in all 6. The superlatives almost never run out for Verlander’s performance this year. he leads the AL in strikeouts, innings pitched, WHIP, and wins, and sits 4th in ERA.

Sure, the Mets might get shutout by Verlander. Hell, they could even get no-hit by the guy. But I am excited for the challenge. You don’t get to see your team face a pitcher this dominant very often. I am going to enjoy watching the finale of this series, even though I know there is a good chance the Mets will lose. Of course, my tune may change if the Tigers win the first two games. Ideally, the Mets will face Verlander going for a sweep. Then I can sit back, watch whatever unfolds, and enjoy.

Bottom Line:

The brutal stretch heading into the break continues, and the Mets need to just keep chugging along. One out of three is necessary, but two sure would be nice. This will be a tougher series than the Texas one in my opinion, but the Mets are playing well. Let’s get the opener, and then play with house money going for one of the final two. LETS GO METS!