The Mets had been on a roll so far this homestand, sweeping the Nats and taking the first one in extras against the Fish.
So it makes sense to send out their B squad to face Marlins’ ace Josh Johnson, who has manhandled the Mets so far this season, right?
It seems like every player who has been on a hot streak got the day off. Sheffield was replaced in the lineup by Tatis, who hit clean-up and played third. David Wright sat because his last few games have been out of character for him.
They also sat Luis Castillo, who has a hot bat, and the savior of the night before, Omir Santos, was benched to give Brian Schneider his first start since coming off the DL. So against the best pitcher the Mets have seen all year, they certainly didn’t have a winning lineup out there.
Jerry said it was because of the history certain players had against Josh Johnson that he wanted to mix it up a little bit. It’s a valid point, but you had a feeling that with Ramon Martinez batting sixth, the Mets didn’t have much of a chance.
Tim Redding was certainly at fault for not giving this team a chance to win. Every single hit the Marlins got off him was a fastball straight down Broadway.
It seemed like every time he would pitch from behind the count, he’d throw that fastball straight down the wheelhouse to try to get ahead, but the Marlin hitters were too smart for him.
Especially Jeremy Hermida, who came a triple away from becoming the first Marlin to hit for the cycle. Hermida knocked Redding around for three straight hits, including four runs batted in of the seven earned runs Redding allowed.
It was Hermida’s three-run shot with none out in the fifth that ended the night for Redding.
It was a good day for the Met bullpen to see some action though. Sean Green allowed just one hit after mopping up Redding’s fifth inning mess. It was Green’s first outing since the last game of the Boston series.
Ken Takahashi pitched three innings and was very impressive in his mop-up role. Since the starters for the most part have been solid through six innings, the only relievers to see work are Parnell, Putz, K-Rod, and sometimes Pedro Feliciano.
Because that crew has been so potent, guys like Green, Takahashi, and Stokes pitch on average only once a week.
Fernando Martinez was given another chance to play today, hitting in the two-hole. He got his first major league career hit and extra base hit, going 2-for-5 with an RBI for his efforts. Still looked a little shaky playing that carom in right field.
If he expects to stay here, he and that wall have got to get familiar with each other. If he’s the prospect we think he is, he’ll be playing that right field carom for a long time in this park.
We should expect the A-Team back for tomorrow, as Chris Volstad will pitch for the Marlins. Carlos Beltran left this game early due to a stomach virus, there is no sign yet if he’s expected to be back in the lineup for the rubber matchup. John Maine will take the mound and try to help the mets win five of six on the homestand.
Randy Sobel is a contributor to HowBoutThemMet.com and can be reached at Randy.Sobel@gmail.com.
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