Pedro Out-Pedro'd By Esteban, Mets Rally Falls Short

It isn't often you can say that Pedro was out-pitched by his opponent. Then again, the way these Mets hit, any opposing pitcher is a potential no-hitter spinner and any opposing pitcher is a potential Pedro.

Last night, over the course of seven innings, Pedro allowed eight hits, walked one, hit one batter and struck out six which was hardly a Pedroesque performance in itself but for most teams, most nights, should have been sufficient to earn a victory.

Last night for 8 long and excruciating innings, Esteban Loaiza held the Mets scoreless and allowed them a mere 5 hits. Granted, you could note that these days, the Mets batting order is hardly formidable, as yet another night of more strikeouts than hits would attest to, but even after waking up in the 9th inning to produce a two run rally, the Mets still fell short and dropped a crucial game against the Nats 3-2.

It was Pedro's third loss of the season and the 7th time the Mets have lost a game in which Pedro started. In five of those seven losses, the Mets lost by a mere run.

So the Mets are yet again back under .500 in this cat and mouse game of mediocrity, back to a double digit margin in the basement and back to bemoaning the wretched state of the batting order.

In the 9th inning last night the Mets had a chance, with two outs and David Wright on third, to tie the game against the National League's best closer. With the .311-hitting replacement first baseman Chris Woodward sporting a swollen knee due to fouling a ball off it on Monday and having struck out three times already in the game, Manager Willie decided to go the bench for a bat. The .087 bat of Brian Daubach.

Let's read that line again sportsfans. An .087 hitter was brought in to pinch hit with two outs, a man on third and the game on the line.

Why not bring in Kris Benson to pinch hit? He's hitting .316 this season. Even Kaz Ishii, who pitched the night before, was available and he's hitting a comparatively robust .263.

Predictably, Daubach's pop up to the shortstop ended the game and added another notch to the Mets loss total.



In their last three games, the Mets haven't been able to score before the seventh inning. Last night, the first four hitters in the order went 2 for 16 and the cleanup hitter, "All-Star" Mike Piazza is 2-for-22 without an RBI in his last six games, 0-for-his-last-13. The problem of whom to hit where is almost moot in that no matter where manager Willie seems to put them, with little variance, the Mets have virtually no penchant for any kind of consistent hitting.

Thus, another positive pitching performance is wasted. Another loss is generated, another game added to the deficit the Mets will have to make up in the second half if they are to have any hope of competing for the wild card.

So far this Mets season has looked like a long learning curve with an even longer horizon of plate mediocrity in between. Without bringing on at least one hitter who can get on base consistently and without another hitter to knock men in consistently, the season is bordering now on the lost, a magnificent menagerie of flubs, miscues, strikeouts and blown opportunities.

The time is neigh upon Omar to get busy and inject some life into the lifeless batting order of the Mets lest the season be lost before the second half of it even begins.

*****

Don't expect any further miracles of capitulation from the Nats tonight. Their ace, Livan Hernandez (12-2, 3.32) is not only looking for his 12th consecutive win, but is 2-0 with a 2.40 against the Mets in three starts against them this season.

By contrast, the Mets will offer up Tom Glavine (5-7 4.95) and pray for rain perhaps.