Mets 6
Indians 2
Meet your new Mets. A bunch of bases-loaded run-producers.
It was just a two-run game with two innings to go last night at Shea, plenty of time for things to get hairy. That’s when Kaz Matsui came up in the bottom of the seventh inning with the bases loaded and nobody out.
Facing Cleveland’s sidearming right-hander Matt Miller, Matsui stepped in from the left side. Then he calmly bounced a multi-hop single up the middle, clapping his hands as he rounded first. Why not? The hit drove in two runs, made it a four-run bulge and put the eventual 6-2 win away.
They’ve been coming lately for Matsui. With his 2-for-4 effort last night, he’s now hitting .476 (10-for-21) in his last six games, raising his average to .266. Matsui even had a bunt single as his other knock and stole his 10th base.
“I think I’m more comfortable standing in the box,” Matsui said. “Situationally, I think about what I’m going to do.”
And you can certainly call the bases-loaded scenario the most trying situation of the Mets’ season. Their struggles in that spot have been comical, but last night marked the second time this week they came through with three men on.
Tuesday, they got a two-run single from Mike Cameron, a stroke that snapped his 0-for-7 skid with the bases loaded.
Meanwhile, the Mets’ win brought them to 31-34 on the year and moved them into a third-place tie with the Braves in the NL East. They’ve won three of four, and with Richard Hidalgo due in tonight and Jose Reyes set to return this weekend, there’s some renewed electricity in Queens.
Last night’s win was hardly easy, thanks to some turbulent weather. The game was delayed 109 minutes in the fifth inning due to driving rain and finally ended nearly four and a half hours after it started.
“I’ve never played in a downpour like that. It’s almost ridiculous,” Mike Piazza said. “It would have been the first game in history where you would have needed scuba gear to play.”
In addition to Matsui, credit both Piazza and the Met pitching for this one, especially the bullpen. Catching his first game since May 22, Piazza said it “felt good to get back there.” He also earned praise from Jae Seo, who credited Piazza for his savvy game plan.
“Definitely I felt great out there,” said Seo, who tossed four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out six. “One of the things I sensed on the mound was they were looking for my changeup. Mike called a lot of fastballs, and I think I was able to capitalize on their anticipation of the changeup.”
Seo was rolling, but he was pulled due to the delay. From there, Ricky Bottalico, John Franco, Mike Stanton and Braden Looper wrapped it up.