The Game

“A great catch is like watching girls go by; the last one you see is always the prettiest” — Bob Gibson

The Mets annihilated the Astros last night, dropping a daisy cutter or two onto their dugout and winning 11-3. New York swung the wrecking ball through anyone unfortunate enough to be standing on top of the pitcher’s mound while wearing the enemy colors. Nothing survived but rubble, some scrap metal, and the remnants of a white flag hastily sewn by the Houston manager. Should make the next two games pretty easy, really.

Last night’s game didn’t look easy at first. Mike Pelfrey was pitching well, going after hitters with his hard fastball and mixing in his shiny new slider at surprising intervals. But the Astros got an endless series of bloops and bleeders for singles, putting men on base in every inning he pitched. He could have been knocked out of the box at any time, so give him credit for bearing down when he needed to. Give credit to that sinking fastball and its bases-loaded double-play magic while you’re at it.

And credit Lady Luck, the woman who was no friend of Pelfrey for virtually the entire season. Last night marked the first time he got solid run support and top-flight defense in the same game. With the bases loaded and one out in the second, Pelfrey got the double-play ball he wanted, hit right at Jose Reyes — bounced right off him, actually, and a month ago the ball would have trickled into center field for a two-run single. Last night the deflection went right into the waiting arms of Luis Castillo, who turned the 6-4-3 inning-ender. You’d rather be lucky than good, but there’s nothing wrong with being both at the same time.

Still, the Astros had an early 2-0 lead on a first-inning solo homer from Lance Berkman and a third-inning RBI bloop single from Mark Loretta. But in the bottom of the third, New York got to Wild Wandy Rodriguez, who finally remembered he was pitching on the road. In the interests of irresponsible speculation, don’t you wonder if there’s something shady behind Rodriguez’s incredible record at Minute Maid Park, where his ERA is 2.54? Some kind of Kenny Rogers smudged hand business, maybe?

We’ll worry about it next year. Last night, the story was simple; he couldn’t find the strike zone, so after walking half the lineup, he had to come in and groove some. He walked Pelfrey leading off the third and walked Castillo on four pitches one out later. David Wright got one pitch to hit and ripped the evil out of it, sending it to the opposite-field gap to tie the game. Insert M-V-P chant here. Wright scored on a Carlos Beltran laser to left; two innings later, Beltran hit a first-pitch homer over the Dunkin’ Donuts cup. That’s far, in case you haven’t visited Shea lately. Mets up 5-2 after five.

In the sixth, the atom bomb; New York sent nine to the plate, scored six, and hit for the cycle. The big blow was struck by that cocky overhyped rapper Lastings Milledge, who lined an inside fastball almost to the Dunkin’ Donuts cup for a three-run bomb. Milo also came racing into short right for a diving catch with the bases loaded in the top half of the inning, saving at least a run. Shawn Green would have had no chance at the ball; Endy Chavez would have made the play, probably; and Carlos Gomez would have caught it standing up after breaking the wrong way to begin with. The crazy speed of the young Met outfielders makes it hard to be nostalgic for the days of the Strawberry Patch.

The Haiku

Beltran keeps bashing
Pelfrey’s now unbeatable
Milledge dives, then slams

The Boxscore

The Credits

Recap by David Simons
Haiku by Howard Megdal