Postseason wins for Andy Pettitte since 1988: 19
Postseason wins for the New York Mets franchise since 1988: 16
The Mets led 3-0 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th.
And then David Wright, the Mets' alleged best player, the face of their franchise, made a throwing error that allowed Andruw Jones to reach base. And then Russell Martin, he whose batting average only just got above .200, hit a home run to the opposite field. Mets 3, Yankees 2.
Derek Jeter led off the bottom of the 8th with a grounder to short. Of course, the Mets' shortstop is not Derek Jeter. Or even Jose Reyes (at least, not anymore). He's Omar Quintanilla. I suppose giving Jeter a hit on the play is reasonable, because he might have beaten it out anyway. But Quintanilla's throwing error allowed him to get to 2nd.
Which turned out not to matter much, because Curtis Granderson singled, and Jeter could only get to 3rd.
Then Mark Teixeira singled Jeter home.
Then Alex Rodriguez singled Granderson home. Yankees 4, Mets 3.
But, having choked away a 3-run lead with 7 outs to go, the Mets came back. Rafael Soriano, the man Joe Girardi says he's going to continue to trust as the 9th inning man once David Robertson gets off the Disabled List, couldn't hold the lead. Lucas Duda and Ike Davis hit back-to-back doubles.
Girardi took out Soriano, who once again got the hell booed out of him as he headed back to the dugout. Sure, this was the 1st save opportunity he'd blown in 9 tries -- but it was against The Other Team.
And Girardi trusted Boone Logan to get out of the jam. Logan? Oh no, I can't look...
Logan got out of the jam: He struck out Josh Thole, and got Kirk Nieuwenhuis to ground to 2nd.
Bottom of the 9th. Russell Martin leads off against Jon Rauch. Boom! Game-winning home run, his 2nd homer of the game, his 8th of the season.
Yankees 5, Mets 4. WP: Logan (1-0). LP: Rauch (3-6).
Meet the Mets, beat the Mets, step right up and sweep the Mets!
Once again, the Blue & Orange were undone by their defense and their bullpen.
Once again, the Pinstripes did what needed to be done.
*
The Yankees are now 34-25, half a game behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division, even in the loss column. The Baltimore Orioles are 1 back, the Toronto Blue Jays 4, and the Boston Red Sox, after getting swept at Fenway Park by the rising Washington Nationals, are 6 back.
Elimination numbers: Rays 102, O's 101, Jays 98, Scum 96.
The Mets? 32-29, still a lot better than their pathetic performances against the Yankees would suggest. They are 4 1/2 games behind the Nats, but 6 in the loss column. The Atlanta Braves are 2 back (3 in the loss column), the Miami Marlins 5 (6), and the injury-riddled Philadelphia Phillies 8 (10).
If the current standings held to the end of the season, the Yankees would host the Wild Card Playoff against the Orioles, with the winner facing the Texas Rangers in the ALDS, while the Rays would have home-field advantage over the Chicago White Sox. The Braves would host the San Francisco Giants in the National League's Wild Card Playoff. If the Braves win it, they would play the Los Angeles Dodgers, while the Nats would play the Cincinnati Reds. If the Giants win it, since they're in the same Division as the Dodgers, the Giants would play the Nats, and the Braves would play the Reds.
Derek Jeter now has 3,166 career hits. Alex Rodriguez has 2,835, of which 638 are home runs.
*
Devils vs. Kings, Game 6 tonight. Lose, and the season is over, and the Kings have won their 1st Stanley Cup after 45 years. Win, and Game 7 will be played, for the Cup, for all the marbles, for destiny, at the Prudential Center on Wednesday night.
I'm 50-50 thinking the Devils will win tonight. If they do, I'm convinced they will win Game 7. If they lose tonight, at least now they've shown up, and they've prevented humiliation. I can live with that.
Especially since they beat the Scum and the Philth to get this far.
No comments:
Post a Comment