Capuano Was Good, But Lincecum Was Better

The Mets lost to the Giants by a score of 3-1, and have allowed San Francisco to even up the series at one game a piece.

• Chris Capuano went six innings, giving up two runs on fours hits, while striking out five and walking four. Capuano's troubles were in the first inning when he got himself into a couple of bases loaded jams. The two runs allowed in the inning were the result of the Mets' defense botching two double play attempts. Capuano went on to pitch a very nice game, but he was let down by his defense in that first inning.

• Daniel Murphy drove in the Mets only run of the game in the first inning. Carlos Beltran scored on Murphy's double to right field. It was Murphy's 18th double of the season.

• The dynamic duo patrolling the middle infield for the Mets tonight, Ruben Tejada and Justin Turner, were unable to turn yet another double play in the seventh inning, allowing the Giants to score their third run of the game. The run was the first allowed by Bobby Parnell in his past 14.2 innings of relief.

Next up: The Mets play their final game before the All-Star break. Mike Pelfrey will get the start against Matt Cain and the Giants, tomorrow at 8:05 p.m.

Bring On Ace No. Two: Mets Ready To Go Against Lincecum

July 9, 2011

9:05 PM ET

AT&T Park, San Francisco

TV: SNY

RADIO: WFAN

NEW YORK METS

Starting Pitcher: Chris Capuano (8-7, 4.19 ERA)

Capuano hasn't fared well at AT&T park throughout his career. He is 0-3 with a 6.11 ERA in San Francisco. Overall against the Giants, he is 1-4 with a 5.31 ERA.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

Starting Pitcher: Tim Lincecum (6-7, 3.14 ERA)

Lincecum struggled in his last start, going just five innings and giving up three runs on seven hits. He is 2-1 with a 3.07 ERA against the Mets.

METS LINEUP:

Pagan-CF, Turner-2B, Beltran-RF, Murphy-3B, Bay-LF, Duda-1B, Thole-C, Tejada-SS, Capuano-LHP

Mets Morning News: Good News On Ike, Giants Interested In Beltran

The Mets finally received some good news about Ike Davis' bruised left ankle, after the first baseman ran on a treadmill Thursday and Friday.

"I got a very, very good report today that the ankle is responding very, very well," Terry Collins said. "No discomfort. Of course, the big challenge will be when it is 100%, when he gets on the ground and starts running."

David Waldstein of the New York Times, has a nice feature story on Bobby Parnell and his ability to light up the radar gun.

He doesn’t have an exceptionally long arm, or powerful thighs, or a high-stress windup and delivery.

But somehow Parnell, the Mets’ new eighth-inning setup man, can do what all those great pitchers could do, and perhaps even a little more of it. Somehow he can discharge lightning bolts out of his hand in the form of a baseball traveling over 102 miles per hour.

According to the NY Post, the Giants may be interested in Carlos Beltran, and Beltran may not object to heading to San Francisco if it means reaching the postseason.

"I want to play baseball, have a chance to make the playoffs and win a championship," said Beltran, who has appeared in two postseasons, one with the Astros, the other with the Mets. "That's why you work hard your whole career to try and be in a position so you can win a World Series. That's my goal."

Mets Don't Fear The Beard

The Mets beat the Giants by a score of 5-2.

• R.A. Dickey seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits, while striking out four. Even with a sore foot and pain in his left glute, Dickey had another well-pitched game.

• Angel Pagan got the Mets on the board in the fifth inning with a two run home run off Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong.

• Scott Hairston then put the Mets ahead for good in the ninth inning with a solo home run off All-Star closer Brian Wilson.

• Carlos Beltran and Nick Evans (yes, really, Nick Evans) had RBI singles in the ninth. It was Evans' first hit of the year, ending an 0-23 skid.

• If you weren't watching the game, after the third inning, Gary Cohen and Ron Darling swapped booths with Al Michaels and Bob Costas for a few innings. Michaels and Costas called the game for SNY, while Cohen and Darling went over to MLB Network. I hope this happens again soon. It was fun to listen to Michaels and Costas call a game.

Next up: The Mets send Chris Capuano to the mound to take on Tim Lincecum and the Giants. Game time is 9:05 p.m.

Mets Get Set to Face Giants All-Star Pitching

July 8, 2011

10:15 PM ET

AT&T Park, San Francisco

TV: SNY

RADIO: WFAN 660

NEW YORK METS

Starting Pitcher: R.A. Dickey (4-7, 3.68 ERA)

Dickey left after the fifth inning in his last start with tightness in his left glute. He did well in those five innings, however, allowing one run on five hits, while striking out three and walking two. He is 0-1 with a 4.85 ERA against the Giants.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

Starting Pitcher: Ryan Vogelsong (6-1, 2.13 ERA)

In seven home starts this season, Vogelsong is 3-1 with a 1.01 ERA. Vogelsong was selected to his first All-Star Game this season. Against the Mets, he is 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA.

METS LINEUP:

Pagan-CF, Turner-2B, Beltran-RF, Murphy-3B, Bay-LF, Duda-1B, Thole-C, Tejada-SS, Dickey-RHP

Mets Morning News: Secret Negotiations, K-Rod Believes Parnell Can Close

If you missed it, Jose Reyes was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday with a grade 1 hamstring strain.

Sandy Alderson told reporters on Thursday that it is likely that Jose Reyes will remain a met for the rest of the season. He also said the team was not in secret negotiations with Reyes' agents to try and re-sign the shortstop in-season. That's exactly what someone who was having secret negotiations would say.

Alderson had announced last month that he approached Reyes' agents to initiate extension talks and the shortstop's side preferred to have no in-season conversations.

"I'll give you a secret signal when the secret negotiations start," Alderson quipped.

More seriously, Alderson added about the June conversation: "We reached out. They respectfully declined, which I think was an appropriate response on their part. And so we honor that. There's nothing going on otherwise."

Even secretly?

"Even secretly," Alderson said. "Even super-secretly."

Francisco Rodriguez believes that Bobby Parnell has what it takes to be a successful closer one day.

"He can do it, and he knows it," said the man who own MLB's single-season saves record (62). "I love that kid. I talk to him a lot, and I love him. He's a guy who comes here every day trying to improve himself to get better and better. He definitely has the tools."

Mets End Their Four Game Winning Streak

The Mets lost their series finale with the Dodgers by a score of 6-0. Notice in the title of this post, it says the Mets ended their streak, not the Dodgers. It was their own doing. The Dodgers just happened to be on the right side of this mess.

• Dillon Gee was impressive through the first five innings, but then imploded in the sixth inning, allowing five runs. Gee's final line was 5.2 innings, giving up six runs on five hits, while striking out two and walking one. This is the second straight game in which Gee has been done in by one bad inning.

• The offense could do nothing against Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw.

• This was a sloppy game defensively. The Mets committed three errors in the game. Aside from the three errors, there was also the stumble by Carlos Beltran in the sixth inning which led to an RBI triple by Dioner Navarro. Then there was the mental mistake on the base paths from Ruben Tejada, who attempted to steal third base with two outs and down six runs, was almost thrown out to end the inning.

• Angel Pagan and Daniel Murphy each managed to get two hits off Kershaw.

• In his return to the Majors, Nick Evans went 0-3 with two strikeouts. That's not going to help you get playing time.

Next up: The Mets head to San Francisco to begin a three-game series against the Giants. R.A. Dickey will get the start. Game time is 10:15 p.m.