The Mets may have sat on their collective thumbs at the trade deadline, but that didn't distract them from priority #1: squeaking by the second-worst team in the league. The Diamondbacks are now 4-11 since the All-Star break: 4-1 against the Mets and 0-10 against everyone else.
Hisanori Takahashi was fantastic over six innings (after tossing an inning of relief on Wednesday), striking out 10 and allowing just one run on seven hits and two walks. Bobby Parnell was shooting blanks tonight, and was ultimately charged with three runs on three hits and a walk without retiring a batter. Pedro Feliciano and Manny Acosta finished off the seventh with the latter staying on to pitch a 1-2-3 eighth. Francisco Rodriguez kept the Diamondbacks at bay in the ninth, setting up...
...a pinch-hit, leadoff triple by Jesus Feliciano to start the bottom of the ninth. Jose Reyes flied out to shallow right, and after intentional walks to Angel Pagan and David Wright, Carlos Beltran sent a fly ball deep enough to right to get Feliciano home with the winning run.
Wright went 2-for-4 with three runs batted in and pushed his OPS over .900 for the season. Pagan went 3-for-4 and has his OPS up to .860.
Getting back to Takahashi for a moment, who seems to have regained some of the dominance he showed in his first few starts this season. He coaxed 21 swinging strikes tonight, or 19% of his pitches thrown. The average rate for starting pitchers is 7.8%, so Tak was well over that mark. It's worth noting, though, that the Diamondbacks have struck out more than any other team in baseball. Way more. Like 122 times more than the second-place Marlins.
The Braves lost tonight, so the Mets' win moves them back to within 6.5 games of first in the NL East. This series wraps up at 1:10pm on Sunday when Jon Niese takes on rookie Daniel Hudson.
Poem by Howard Megdal
Tak brings his changeup, D'Backs can't compete
While "Trade David Wright" talk is even more obsolete
In ninth, Jesus saves his best hit for last
And Beltran soon follows with warning-track blast