Headlines are hard to write when R.A. Dickey isn't pitching. Jon Niese cranked out seven efficient innings in his return from the disabled list, tossing just 90 pitches in a 6-1 victory over the Marlins. He struck out six and walked just one (he also hit cogz4Christ, perhaps in retaliation for Coghlan's douchey takeout slide of Jose Reyes on Friday night). Coghlan is following up his 2009 ROY campaign by hitting .259/.311/.351, so good for him.
Jeff Francoeur continues his drive back towards mediocrity, picking up another two hits on Saturday to bring his season line to .263/.324/.400. That may not look like much, but his OPS was .635 on May 23, so he has raised it 90 points in two weeks. He's not as good as he was during the first two weeks of the season, but he's certainly not as bad as he was over the subsequent month. He's neither great nor awful, but rather he's a mediocre ballplayer who smiles a lot and loves Delta Airlines. And he's all ours, baby.
Ike Davis saw just eight pitches but went 4-for-4 -- the first four-hit game of his career -- stroking two doubles and scoring three times. He has had a rough go of it at the plate for a couple of weeks so hopefully this is the beginning of an upswing for him.
David Wright hit a three-run home bomb onto the concourse in left field and went 2-for-3 with a walk overall. He also failed to strike out for the second straight game, which marks only the fourth time this season he has gone whiff free in consecutive games. That's bad news for the AA pledge drive but good news for Wright and the Mets.
Getting back to Niese for a moment, his return to the rotation gives the Mets what is likely their best starting five at any point this season.
- Johan Santana
- Mike Pelfrey
- Jon Niese
- Hisanori Takahashi
- R.A. Dickey
It's not the 1986 Mets but it's not the early 2010 Mets, either. It's still lefty heavy but it's a nice mix of pitching styles. Santana is fastball/changeup primarily. Pelfrey is sinker/splitter. Niese is fastball/curveball. Takagashi is kitchen sink. Dickey is knuckleball. What's more, I can honestly say that I look forward to every start from each of these guys. I couldn't say that about Oliver Perez or John Maine, and it probably won't last all season long, but for now I'm about as pleased with the starting rotation as I've been in a long time.
Speaking of Takahashi and his sink, he'll look to bounce back from his catastrophe in San Diego last week when he takes on Ricky Nolasco and the Marlins Sunday at 1:10pm.
Poem by Howard Megdal
Just happy to have a healthy Niese
But Mets get bonus masterpiece
While Jeff Francoeur plays out of sight
Wright keeps playing like... David Wright
Like Custer's Stand each time they roam
The Mets are Sitting Bull at home
SB Nation Coverage
* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* FishStripes Gamethread
Win Probability Added
Big winners: Jon Niese, +20.7% WPA, David Wright, +13.2% WPA
Big losers: Jose Reyes, -6.5% WPA, Jason Bay, -4.4% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: FANGRAPHS IZ BROKED
Teh sux0rest play: FANGRAPHS IZ BROKED
Total pitcher WPA: +22.3% WPA
Total batter WPA: +27.7% WPA
GWRBI!: Ruben Tejada
Game Thread Roll Call
Nice job by LOUtheMETandNATSfan; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.
| Num | Name | # of Posts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LOUtheMETandNATSfan | 129 |
| 2 | Evan_S | 113 |
| 3 | aparkermarshall | 78 |
| 4 | Gina | 75 |
| 5 | Syler | 63 |
| 6 | fxcarden | 55 |
| 7 | wobatus | 48 |
| 8 | Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan | 45 |
| 9 | Brian. | 43 |
| 10 | Michkin | 42 |