Putz Blows Mets' Chance at Rubber Game

So much for it bending our way.

New York pitcher Johan Santana didn't pitch a gem, but he did well enough for a win.  He gave up two runs in the first, including Jorge Cantu's third homer in two games, but pitched shutout ball the next six innings after that.

But the bullpen (a.k.a. J.J. Putz) had different plans. Putz allowed a two-run single to Cody Ross to be the deciding factor as the Mets lost 4-3 Wednesday afternoon and lost the series to the Florida Marlins.

The Mets grabbed a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth after Tatis hit his first home run of the year off the railing in left-center field. The play sent the umpires to the "war room" to figure out if it was really gone, but replays showed it clearly was.

Now, quick digression: Citi Field is going to be a breeding ground for instant replay.  There are so many quirks, railings, etc. that I bet this place leads the league in instant replay uses, if anyone will be keeping track of that.

But back to the matter at hand. In the top half of the eighth, Putz walked the first two batters, who were then bunted over. Then Cody Ross lined one back to Putz, who got a piece of the ball with his glove but not enough, as the ball eluded second baseman Cora and rolled into center field. 

The Mets threatened in the eighth with runners on the corners, but Cora grounded out to second. The grounder may have been a base hit if Reyes had not been running, as Bonifacio ran towards second in order to cover and "luckily" was running right where the ball would be hit. 

New York would also threaten in the ninth with two consecutive walks to Sheffield and Beltran. Wright struck out on three pitches, but Church ground out to first, moving the runners over to second and third with two out.

Tatis then got hit by a pitch to load the bases, and this is where my beef starts.

Castro has had two hits on the day. He's up after Tatis, but rather than keep Castro in, the skipper puts Omir Santos in to pinch-hit. He needs to run from the bullpen to the plat, to face a pitcher who's throwing 99 MPH?

I would've kept Castro in, as I didn't think Santos stood a chance, especially with how he had to sprint the 400 feet from the bullpen to the dugout in order to enter the game. Weird decision, in my opinion.

Anyway, a few more thoughts:

• The Mets left 14 men on base. 
• The Mets had two triples on the day and five in the series.
• This would have been a big win for the Amazins. Going into Philly, we're 9-12, and four back of the first-place Marlins. Philly will not be an easy place to play; at least Florida doesn't exactly have the easiest weekend series either, as they visit the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley. 
• Tatis had a really good day, his first big one since last season. I felt confident with him up at the plate in the ninth before he got hit by Lindstrom.
• The Mets are 2-4 against the Marlins this season and 4-5 against NL East opponents.