Game Recap: Offense Backs Jonathon Niese in 7-3 Win

The Mets’ offensive struggles have been pretty bad; so bad, that they were getting compared to teams like the 1967 Mets and 1909 Senators. Once they left Citi Field, however, they found their swings and scored more runs in support of Jonathon Niese last night than they had in his last three starts combined. This win was a big one for the southpaw, as he tied his single-season career high for wins.

Mets Offensive Highlights:

I’m going to be honest, it felt weird to watch New York put up so many runs last night. Halfway through the game, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. It started right in the top of the first; Daniel Murphy walked in front of David Wright, who doubled, putting men on second and third. Ike Davis drove in the first run with a ground out and Lucas Duda hit a ground-rule double to plate the second run of the inning. In the second, Niese singled in front of Murphy, who launched his sixth homer of the year to give the Mets a four-run cushion. The sixth inning was where the Amazins put the cherry on top for the night; Duda hit his 14th home run of the season to start. Josh Thole doubled in Andres Torres,  then Thole scored on a fielder’s choice from Ruben Tejada. Murphy, Wright, Duda, and Niese all put together multi-hit games for the Mets.

September 7, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets pitcher Jonathon Niese (49) throws a pitch during the second inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-US PRESSWIRE

Brewers Offensive Highlights:

Once they were down 4-0, Milwaukee tried to start making their comeback, but they fell short, bringing their record back down to .500 at 72-72. In the second inning, Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gomez singled to start, then Travis Ishikawa hit a ground-rule double to plate the first run. Mike Fiers also helped himself with an RBI single of his own. Other than that, Mets pitching held the Brew Crew in check until the ninth, when Nyjer Morgan hit his 3rd home run of the year, but it wasn’t enough to get back in the ball game. Aramis Ramirez was the one player to enjoy a multi-hit game, as Milwaukee struggled with runners in scoring position, going 2-for-12 and leaving 8 men stranded.

Pitching Highlights:

Jonathon Niese was once again solid in his 6 innings of work, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 5. Josh Edgin and Jon Rauch combined to complete the 7th inning, as Bobby Parnell and Ramon Ramirez both threw an inning to end New York’s six-game losing streak. Niese won for the first time sinc August 18th, but last night’s start was his fourth straight quality start.

Mike Fiers wasn’t roughed up that badly, but thanks to Niese keeping Milwaukee’ bats silent, there was no chance for him to get his 10th win of the year. He went 5 innings, allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 4. Manny Parra struggled in his relief outing, giving up 3 runs in only 0.1 innings pitched. Livan Hernandez, who seems to have pitched for almost every team in the league, came in to throw 1.2 shutout innings of relief, followed by Josh Stinson and Tyler Thornburg each throwing an inning as well.

The loss snaps the Mets’ six-game losing streak, as they improve to 66-78, as they’re still 6.5 games behind the Phillies for third place in the NL East.

Probable Pitchers Saturday:

New York is looking to take the series tonight, as Jenrry Mejia (0-0, 4.50 ERA) makes his first start in exactly two years, as he’s going up against Shaun Marcum (5-4, 3.71 ERA). First pitch at Miller Park is slated for 7:10pm.