NewsMets denied a comeback victory
Slide now at six after ninth-inning rally vs. Nats falls shy
By Tim Britton / MLB.com
09/18/09 11:44 PM ET
NEW YORK -- The Mets have done one thing right in September and one thing wrong all season. In their 6-5 loss to the Nationals at Citi Field on Friday night, the two intersected at the pitcher's mound.Although the Mets' offense has slumbered throughout most of the month, it has proven adept at the late-inning comeback, most notably in the team's last win on Saturday in Philadelphia. All year, however, the Mets have developed a nasty habit of bad luck at the worst time.
While the Mets were in the midst of potentially compiling another four-run comeback against Nationals closer Mike MacDougal, their inclination toward poorly timed misfortune struck again. With two outs and the tying and winning runs in scoring position, MacDougal reached across his body and got his glove on Jeff Francoeur's crisply struck ground ball up the middle. The ball was hit so hard it knocked the glove clean off MacDougal's left hand, but the ball stayed right at his feet, and the reliever calmly threw out Francoeur at first to end the game.
The comebacker ended the comeback.
It was the Mets' sixth consecutive loss and 10th defeat in their past 11 games. Their magic number to clinch a fourth-place National League East finish -- the only thing they can still clinch in 2009 -- remains at three.
"It's been that kind of year for us. It's been that kind of year," manager Jerry Manuel said not wistfully but knowingly.
After all, that's been the refrain of the Mets' season.
After sleeping through the first eight innings at the plate, the Mets' bats awakened in the ninth against MacDougal. Pinch-hitter Cory Sullivan led off with a walk. After Angel Pagan also drew a one-out free pass, singles by Luis Castillo and David Wright scored one run and loaded the bases for Carlos Beltran, who then beat out a potential double-play grounder to prolong the game. Daniel Murphy's infield single -- combined with a throwing error by shortstop Ian Desmond -- then put runners at second and third for Francoeur.
"I told [Manuel] I was going to win this thing. I was sure," Francoeur said.
MacDougal's snare all but certainly prevented Beltran and Murphy from scoring, the Mets from winning the game and Francoeur from becoming the hero.
"Every time I hit the ball up the middle, something bad happens," said Francoeur, who infamously lined into a game-ending unassisted triple play up the middle against the Phillies on Aug. 23. "Right away, right when you hit it, you think you win. ... It was so frustrating, because we did such a good job trying to come back."
The Mets had fallen behind due to a trio of Nationals home runs and a pair of nice plays in left field by Josh Willingham. Ryan Zimmerman and Josh Bard each hit two-run homers off Mets starter Mike Pelfrey (10-11), while Willingham added a solo shot in the ninth off reliever Brian Stokes. It proved to be a crucial sixth run.
Willingham is not known for his defense, but he robbed Wright of a potential extra-base hit at the wall in left-center with two men on in the third. In the sixth, with the bases loaded and one out, Willingham caught Wilson Valdez's shallow fly ball and one-hopped a throw to Bard to nail Beltran at the plate. That preserved Washington's lead at 4-2 and helped make a winner out of rookie J.D. Martin (5-4).
"We have made some mistakes, and the mistakes with the group we have assembled become large and difficult to overcome," Manuel said. "We have to do everything in a manner that's close to being pure."
Martin, who was hammered for five runs in four innings by the Mets in his Major League debut two months ago, limited the home team to two runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Meanwhile, in a season that has seen him oscillate between masterful and forgettable, Pelfrey was largely unremarkable on Friday: seven innings, five runs and those two key home runs. He did not walk a batter and spent much of the night ahead in the count, tossing first-pitch strikes to 11 consecutive hitters at one point and to 20 of the 27 batters he faced.
Pelfrey paid dearly, though, for the two pitches that caught a bit too much of the plate: a four-seamer to Zimmerman and a thigh-high sinker to Bard.
"I had good stuff, but you look at the box score, I made some bad pitches," Pelfrey said. "When I made mistakes, they hit it. I don't view this as a good outing."
Pelfrey has now surrendered five homers in his past two starts and eight in his past five. The sinkerballer had given up nine home runs in his first 24 starts of the season.
After the game, Manuel was able to see both sides of the coin.
"They're fighting," he said. "You can't say that about many clubs in our position. At the same time, we're still falling short."
Tim Britton is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
