Aaron Struggles but Satin Harangs One on Giants ‘Pen in 5-4 Win

Aaron Harang, in his second Mets start, started his day off in a very similar fashion as his first. He allowed a single and a walk over his first two innings, but struck out another four in the process. The Giants would break through in the third, with Angel Pagan singling to center field before – what else – a home run. The unexpected part of this one was that Gregor Blanco, he of 9 career home runs (in 1773 plate appearances), was the one to hit it. So at that point it was 2-0 Giants. Harang would the next two, but a double play got him out of it.

Sep 18, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets center fielder Matt den Dekker (6) is greeted in dugout by teammates after scoring on a sacrifice fly by Nfirst baseman Josh Satin (not pictured) in the inning eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets would get three baserunners in the bottom half of the third (Aaron Harang and Josh Satin singled around an Eric Young fielder’s choice), but no runs were scored. The Giants would add a double-unearned* run (*this isn’t actually a thing). Brandon Crawford, leading off, reached on an error by Josh Satin, and with two-outs he scored when Andrew Brown dropped a routine fly ball in right field. Brown, Lucas Duda, and Juan Lagares would follow up by being retired in order in the bottom half (Brown and Duda by strikeout).

The Giants would tack on another run in the top of the fifth. Buster Posey led off the inning by getting plunked, Hunter Pence and Pablo Sandoval both struck out (Posey narrowly stole second on Sandoval’s strikeout) and came around to score on a Brandon Crawford single (in which Crawford was tagged out in a rundown between first and second).

With one out in the bottom half of the fifth, catcher Juan Centeno, making his major league debut, grounded a ball beyond first baseman Brandon Belt for his first career hit. Mike Baxter pinch hit, signaling the end of Harang’s outing. He threw five innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks. He struck out eight, bringing his Mets total to 18K in 11 innings.

Carlos Torres pitched the sixth and seventh, retiring six of the seven batters he faced (4K, 1BB). David Aardsma pitched a scoreless eighth, after which the Mets finally broke through. Matt den Dekker led off the inning with a pinch hit single and advanced to third on a stolen base on Buster Posey’s errant throw to second. Josh Satin hit a sac fly to score him and end Matt Cain‘s night – six hits, six strikeouts and the one run over 7.2 innings. Javier Lopez would get Daniel Murphy to ground out on his first pitch to end the eighth.

Vic Black pitched a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout. Santiago Casilla, on to save the game for the Giants, walked Andrew Brown to lead off the inning. Lucas Duda struck out, and Juan Lagares walked to bring the tying run to the plate and Sergio Romo into the game.

Zach Lutz, pinch hitting for Tejada, worked a full count before ripping a double down the third base line to score Brown and put the tying run in scoring position. Juan Centeno, on the next pitch, bounced an infield hit to score another run, with Crawford making an excellent play to keep the ball in the infield and nearly gun down Lutz at third base. Matt den Dekker followed with a walk to load the bases with one out, bringing Omar Quintanilla to the plate. Quintanilla flied out to right, but not deep enough for Lutz to score from third. Josh Satin, who singled to left to win it for the Mets!

Notes:

> Eric Young Jr. got an outfield assist, throwing out Brandon Crawford at second.

> Matt den Dekker has reached base 15 times this season; on five of them he’s attempted to steal a base (4 successful).

> Tejada looked shaken up after a play in shallow left in the ninth, and was pinch hit for by Zach Lutz. It’s currently unknown whether or not Tejada is actually injured, we’ll likely find out tomorrow.

Thoughts:

The Mets win the thing! After looking dead most of the game, the Mets got their act together offensively in the eighth with a sac fly. They put together several good at bats in the ninth against Casilla and Romo, putting up four runs on three hits and three walks. At this point, it seems like every home win for the Mets is a walkoff.

They’re now 3-2 against San Francisco this year, and have the opportunity to take the season series tomorrow as Jon Niese opposes Madison Bumgarner.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow@RisingAppleBlog on Twitter and Instagram, and Like Rising Apple’s Facebook page to keep up with the latest news, rumors, and opinion.