Mets Finish Up Road Trip; Beat Padres 7-3

• Dillon Gee was the first Mets starter to give up one run or less since early July. Thanks to an early three run home run by David Wright, Gee was able to pitch to contact, striking out five along the way. He became the first Mets rookie since Doc and Darling in 1984 to win 11 games.


• Gee earned this win, but Manny Acosta really saved it for him. In the seventh inning, it was a 4 – 1 game and the Padres had loaded the bases. Acosta came in and struck out Jason Bartlett and promptly ended the threat.


• In the fourth inning, Wright made a spectacular defensive play. Not only did he make a diving stop to save a double, but he faked a throw to first, and caught Cameron Maybin rounding third base trying to score and tagged him out. It really was an incredible, heads up play by the veteran Wright.


• Jason Bay has reverted back to form from earlier in the season. He finished up the trip on hit-less in his last 20 at bats, dropping his average to .239

The Mets have an off day tomorrow. Friday they return to Citi Field to face the Central Leading Milwaukee Brewers for a three game series.

Meet the Met: Mike Baxter

This will be a weekly segment where I delve into the Mets farm system for a new face. It could be a player that has recently been acquired by the organization, or a player who many people may not know about, but has outperformed his expectations this season.

To begin, let me introduce: Mike Baxter.

Baxter, 26, was a fourth round pick of the San Diego Padres in the 2005 draft. He is a corner outfielder by trade, but played centerfield this past Saturday for the first time since 2009. Mike had been on the 60 day DL with the Padres for most of the season, after having surgery on March 28 to repair a torn ligament in his thumb. However, after Orlando Hudson was injured making a sliding catch, he was placed on waivers, where the Mets picked him up on July 22.

Over the course of his minor league career, which now spans seven seasons, Baxter has consistently improved. Take a look at these numbers:

	BA	OBP	SLG
2005 – A	.219	.267	.311
2006 – A	.256	.304	.363
2007 – A+, AAA	.271	.339	.401
2008 – A+, AA	.264	.345	.406
2009 – AA, AAA	.317	.394	.469
2010 – AAA	.301	.382	.517
2011 – A+, AAA	.321	.404	.440

At 26, his best years are still in front of him. Looking at his history, he has the ability to make adjustments and improve his craft no matter what level he is at, so he has some major league potential.