9/17 Game Recap: Mets Lose To Giants 8-5

Tonight at Citi Field, the Mets lost to the Giants 8-5 in the opener of a three game set.

Sep 17, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher

(45) throws the ball against the San Francisco Giants during the second inning of a game at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Zack Wheeler got the start, and was ridiculously wild.  He walked four batters in the second inning – the fourth walk was to the pitcher, Yusmeiro Petit, and forced in a run to give the Giants a 1-0 lead.  The next hitter, Angel Pagan, lined a single to right field to put the Giants up 2-0.  A weak ground out by Gregor Blanco produced another run as San Francisco upped their lead to 3-0.

The Mets drew within 3-1 in the third, when Ruben Tejada doubled, Zack Wheeler sacrificed him to third, and Eric Young, Jr. drove Tejada in with an RBI ground out.

After Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda walked to open the fourth inning, Wilmer Flores hit a frozen rope of a double off the left field wall that drove in Murphy and cut San Francisco’s lead to 3-2.  Matt den Dekker followed by lining a single to center that tied the game.  On the play, den Dekker got caught in a rundown between first and second, but stayed in it long enough for Flores to score from third base and make it 4-3 Mets.

The Giants tied the game at 4 in the sixth, due to Zack Wheeler‘s wildness and his failure to cover first base.  After walking Angel Pagan to open the frame and a Gregor Blanco sacrifice bunt, Lucas Duda made a tremendous diving stop to rob Brandon Belt of a double.  On the play, Wheeler failed to break to cover first base in time, resulting in Belt being safe.  The next hitter, Buster Posey chopped an RBI ground out to second base that drove in the tying run.

In the seventh, the Giants took a 5-4 lead when Angel Pagan blasted a solo homer off Sean Henn, who had a career ERA of 7.43 and a career WHIP of 2.00 coming into tonight’s game.

Gonzalez Germen pitched the eighth, and gave up an RBI double to Tony Abreu and a ringing RBI triple to Angel Pagan as the Giants increased their lead to 7-4.

Jeurys Familia, who was appearing in his first major league game since May 8th, allowed a run on 2 hits and 2 walks in the ninth as the Giants went ahead 8-4.

The Mets loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, and Daniel Murphy got them within 8-5 when he lined a single to left.  That brought up Lucas Duda with the bases loaded, but he popped out in foul territory by third base.  Andrew Brown then flew out to center field to end the game, as the Mets fell to 67-83 on the season.

Highlights:

• Zack Wheeler got the start for the Mets and was extremely wild.  He walked 4 in the 2nd inning and a career high 6 overall.  In his 5 innings of work, he gave up 4 runs on 3 hits, walked 6 and struck out 3.  His season ERA rose to 3.42.  He threw 107 pitches (59 strikes).

• Travis d’Arnaud was removed from the game in the top of the fourth after taking a foul ball off his right shoulder while catching a few innings prior.  The Mets termed the injury a “sore right shoulder.”

• Wilmer Flores went 1 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored.

• Matt den Dekker got his first start in right field and went 1 for 4 with an RBI.

• Jeurys Familia, who was recently activated from the disabled list, made his first appearance since May 8th, and allowed a run in the 9th.  He gave up 2 hits, walked 2, and was lifted with the bases loaded and 1 out.

Next Up:

The Mets and Giants play the second game of their three game set tomorrow night at 7:10.  Aaron Harang gets the start for New York.  He’ll be opposed by Matt Cain.

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