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Recap: Mets Magical Run Ends at Ten

All good things must come to an end, and tonight the Mets longest winning streak in 17 years is over as the Reds won 5-2. Bronson Arroyo continued his mastery over the Amazins with an 8 inning, 2 run gem for his 8th win. And on the other side, John Maine had another troubling start. He only allowed 5 hits, but walked 5 and threw 102 pitches before getting out of the 5th inning. In the end Maine went just 4 2/3, giving up 5 runs and falling to 8-7.

For a while it felt like the Mets would continue what has been an amazing run. After falling down 1-0 in the 3rd on a Jay Bruce homerun, the Amazins did what they have been doing all month, and came right back to take the lead. In the top of the 4th Carlos Beltran ripped an RBI double, and Damion Easley drove in a run with a ground out to give the Metsies a 2-1 lead. Unfortunately, Maine could not hold the lead he was given.

After escaping trouble for the most part over the first 4 innings, Maine was sent to the showers in the 5th by a barrage of walks and base hits. John got 2 of the first 3 batters he faced in the frame, but then he walked Bruce and gave up an infield single to Met-killer Jeff Keppinger to load the bases. Maine was one pitch away from escaping damage, as he had Ken Griffey Jr. at 3-2 with 2 outs, but his final payoff pitch was a little outside, and it forced in the tying run.

After that the wheels fell off. Brandon Phillips blooped a 2-run single over Carlos Delgado’s head, and the Reds had the lead for good at 4-2. They added one more when Maine plunked Edwin Encarnacion with the bases loaded, and the slumping starter’s night was over early once again.

The Mets bullpen did a fine job again tonight, tossing 3 1/3 scoreless innings to keep to Reds at bay. But the offense just could not find a way to solve Bronson Arroyo. Their best chance to make a run was in the 7th, when Beltran led off by smoking his 4th triple of the year down the right field line. But Easley struck out, and after Carlos Delgado walked Fernando Tatis killed any potential rally by grounding into an inning-ending double play. The Mets went down quietly in the 8th and 9th, and they lost for the first time since Independence Day.

Rizzi’s Rant:

There is no need to rant tonight. Every winning streak eventually ends, and tonight the Mets fell one win short of tying their franchise record. The Phillies won, and we are once again in 2nd place. But the important thing is we are back in it. As long as we can rebound from this loss, and at the very least split the last 2 games in Cincinnati we’ll be just fine.

John Maine obviously has some kinks he has to work out, and he can’t seem to pitch deep into games at all. He has now gone 7 innings or longer only once all year, and that just isn’t going to get it done. However, I still have confidence in Mainey to turn it around at some point and be reliable down the stretch.

Let’s just accept this loss on a gorgeous Friday night in New York, and reflect on what was arguably the best run the Mets have had in 2 decades. The big question now of course, is “Where do we go from here???”

This entry was posted on Friday, July 18th, 2008 at 6:25 pm and is filed under Damion Easley, Ken Griffey, Rizzi's Rant, Fernando Tatis, Jeff Keppinger, John Maine, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, 7 Train, Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds, Bronson Arroyo, The Usual. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.