Matt Harvey was roughed up- giving up 5 runs on 8 hits in 5 innings against the San Diego Padres. Harvey couldn’t throw a breaking ball for a strike and most of the hits he gave up were extra-base hits. He struggled to find a rhythm and the strike zone all game. Harvey is a fierce competitor and you could see from his post-game interview that he was upset with himself. 

Harvey during his post-game interview.

But Harvey knows he needs to erase this one, keep working hard, and get ready for his next start.  Hopefully he uses this loss to motivate him and takes it out on Atlanta on Friday, which will be his debut at Citi Field. I’m sure Mets fans can’t wait to see the future of the organization first hand on the mound at home. 

Mets offense was definitely limited today. They’ve been struggling to get clutch hits. But Ronny Cedeño showed a little spark with a pinch-hit 2-run home run. (Check it out here…) That makes 8 pinch-hit home runs for the Mets this season. Obviously Valdie leads the pack with 5, followed by Scott Hairston with 2, and Cedeno joins them. 

BROOKLYN GETS A TREAT!– Fans at MCU Park were given a great treat this afternoon! Johan Santana made a rehab start for the Brooklyn Cyclones. I’m so upset I didn’t go to the game! But I’m happy he had a good outing! Santana threw 38 pitches allowing one hit and one walk with three strikeouts over three scoreless innings in the BK. He followed his three innings with further pitching in the bullpen to make it a 90 pitch outing.

Santana on his rehab start: “I feel good. My body had a chance to recover. I really needed that. I threw all my pitches and commanded my fastball.”

Can’t wait to get our ace back! 

BAXTER IN METS HISTORY– Mike Baxter drew five walks in last night’s game, setting the Mets’ record and tying the National League record for walks in a nine-inning game. Congrats Mike!

EDGIN TAKING CONTROL– After Frank Francisco was reactivated, Tim Byrdak was placed on the DL with shoulder soreness. With Byrdak going down, Josh Edgin will be taking on a larger role in the bullpen. It’s a lot to take on in your rookie season, but judging by his performance so far, Edgin seems like the real deal. I think he can handle it! 

OFF DAY– The Mets have an off day tomorrow before Jose Reyes and the Marlins come into town for a three game series on Tuesday. Can’t wait to listen to all the comparisons between Reyes and Tejada…NOT. Ugh, please! Don’t forget to check out the game at 7:10PM! 

It took 10 innings, Scott Hairston saving us TWICE with two game-tying home runs, and every other twist and turn possible. It was a terribly played game and not a pretty win, but a win nonetheless. I guess at this point- we’ll take it! 

Let’s see all the things that went wrong for the Mets- Ike Davis had one of his worst games offensively (with his golden sombrero) and defensively (with some major fielding mistakes, including a misplay in the 9th that let the tying run score). Our reliable closer Bobby Parnell pretty much lost the game for us. David Wright is killing me this second half with his downward sliding offense. WHAT HAPPENED TO MY MVP! Cedeno bobbled that inning ending double play that would have gotten Jeremy Hefner out of the 5th inning after a really strong outing. And this game just reinforced my feelings about the Mets making the playoffs. Even if by some miracle we made it, how could we survive with our bullpen giving up leads and unable to make stops (aside from Josh Edgin who is pitching extremely well in his rookie season). 

YES, it was an incredibly long and drama-filled game, but I was extremely impressed by two things- (1) Scott Hairston has yet again proven how valuable he is, and (2) Terry Collins is a GREAT manager. Hairston (Mr. Clutch last night) used his bat to bail us out twice a midst rumors he could be traded. (Check out his home runs here!) He didn’t let what might happen off the field affect him on the field and that is deserving of respect. 

Terry Collins’ managing last night proved just how effective he is as a manager. His strategical moves, attitude, and passion stand out in every game and last night was no exemption. He made great moves including pinch hitting with Mike Baxter (who picked up right where he left off prior to his injury on that day in #HI57ory), bringing in Josh Edgin, and putting on the suicide squeeze in the 10th to get us an insurance run. Yep, Terry Collins has been making big strides with this team and I couldn’t be happier…well, unless we actually had a winning record and a spot in the playoffs. 

♥TURNNNN!!! I couldn’t end this post without mentioning Justin Turner‘s pinch hit RBI double to give the Mets the lead in the 8th inning. He came up big!! ‘Call Me, Maybe’ was playing in my head during his entire at-bat. For those of you who don’t know, Justin comes to bat to Carly Rae Jepsen’s extremely catchy (and my favorite) song! He is just a ball of energy and fun and I love it! Follow my favorite red-head on Twitter– @redturn2. You won’t regret it!

NO CHANGES FOR US– It’s pretty much set in stone that the Mets will remain the same as this trade deadline passes. 

FRANCISCO REHABBING– Frank Francisco is getting some playing time in Double-A Binghamton and looking to make his return this weekend. A little too late? 

GOING FOR HIS SECOND WIN!–The Mets look to make it three in a row in Game 2 of the series against the Giants tonight at 10:15PM (I’m not a fan of West Coast games =/) on SNY with our rookie sensation, Matt Harvey, on the mound following his outstanding MLB debut. #LGM #harveytime 

Right now, I’m reading Dickey’s memoir, “Wherever I Wind Up,” and it is incredible! (I’ll be writing a complete post about how great it is once I finish it) In one chapter, Dickey says something like no one will ever say, “Here comes R.A. Dickey, the stopper.” Well, I’m saying that now! When we needed a win and a morale boost yesterday, Dickey came out and gave us just that. He stopped the horrible downward slide the Mets are taking, even if it’s for just one day.

Dickey beat the Diamondbacks yesterday improving his record to 14-2. Even though this has been one of the worst pitching months for him, Dickey came up in a big spot. The bullpen has been overworked and was in desperate need of some rest. Dickey gave them just that- pitching seven innings, giving up four hits and striking out eight. Check out his dominant performance here. Rauch and Parnell shut it down in the 8th and 9th innings. This is exactly what we needed from our starting pitcher- Dickey got the stop. The Mets went on to win the game 5-1 and split the series at Chase Field. Click here for the full recap. 

Still a Met…but for how long? The trade deadline is approaching and Scott Hairston‘s name is flying around as the most likely Met to go. He’s killing lefties this season with a .315 batting average, nine home runs, and 12 doubles in 124 at-bats. So will he stay or will he go? He’s a stand up guy and says he will continue to do his job among trade rumors. Sandy Alderson‘s actions come the deadline will show exactly what the club’s hopes are for this season and next. Being 12.5 games back of first place and 8.5 back from the second Wild Card position, it’s hard to tell what will happen. The fan in me wants my team to win now, this year! But being realistic, maybe it is wiser to build a better team for next year. Let’s see where Alderson goes from here.

CRAIG HANSEN, the newest Met– They didn’t make much of a fuss, but the Mets signed pitcher Craig Hansen on July 24th to come in and help out our bullpen. Resident of Glen Cove, NY and former closer for St. John’s University (Go Red Storm!!!), Hansen has had a long journey and hit many bumps along the road, but he is still young and hopefully he can bring some much needed help to our deteriorating bullpen. Check out this personal article on the newest member of the team. 

**DON’T FORGET TO WATCH THE METS OPEN A SERIES AGAINST THE SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS TONIGHT AT 10:15 PM ON SNY AS JEREMY HEFNER LOOKS TO GET US ANOTHER WIN!**

P.S.– The Mets send Kirk Nieuwenhuis down to Buffalo to make space for the return of Mike Baxter. I’m glad we get Baxter back because he was doing well before he got hurt, but I’m going to miss Captain Kirk! 

YOU CAN QUOTE THAT!

“A dream for me growing up was being there and being that guy.” — Matt Harvey

“He’s a different cat. His make up is off the charts.” — Terry Collins

Finally there’s something positive to talk about! MATT HARVEY was THAT GUY last night! His line looked like this: 5.1 IP, 11 K, 3 BB, 0 ER. Are you kidding me? Is this real? Did I really see this happen? The Mets 2010 1st round draft pick, Matt Harvey, was exactly what the doctor ordered for the skidding Mets. Besides having great composure and professionalism, Harvey made franchise history for the most strikeouts in a Major League debut with a whopping 11 strikeouts! He also became the first player since 1900 to have 10+ strikeouts and 2 hits in their debut. A METS PROSPECT ACTUALLY LIVED UP TO ALL THE HYPE SURROUNDING HIM! This is just unbelievable. Now, I’m not saying Harvey is going to be our knight in shining armor, but we needed something to be positive about and he gave us that- a BRIGHT future! He is a straight power pitcher with a killer breaking ball and working out other pitches including a change-up. His raw power was enough to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks for his first win. Did I mention he also went 2-2? (We should put him in the every day line-up. He could replace Jason Bay…just kidding… kind of…) His attitude and work ethic make him a likeable player and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for him on the team!! Congrats Harvey on an amazing first start! Welcome to the Big Leagues and to the Mets! (Follow Matt Harvey on Twitter: @MattHarvey43- send him some well wishes!)

Harvey and Johnson during one of their many discussions throughout the game.

Coming out of the same draft as Harvey, Josh Edgin was another key player last night. He gave us a solid relief effort- getting outs, keeping the Dbacks off the board, and doing exactly what he’s supposed to do. What an awesome effort from him!

Hairston gave us another positive for the night! He went 3 for 3 off Wade Miley! Way to go, Scott!

Winning looks good on the Mets! Players seemed upbeat and looked like the team from the first half. Recently players have looked worn down and outright miserable. Thole and Byrdak even went at each other in the dugout a couple of days ago. That’s not what we want. Winning, getting a good start from our rookie, and scoring runs is what we want. Let’s see if the Mets can show their heart and keep up the positivity!

On to the negatives… I can’t help but point out some of the negatives plaguing the Mets. (1) David Wright is usually our only bright light, but lately he’s been struggling on a 0 for 14 skid. He’s swinging with an upper cut and striking out more frequently. I don’t like this at all! He needs to fix his swing and get back into his offensive dominance that marked the first half! (2) Ike Davis= all or nothing. Either he’s hitting into a double play or hitting a bomb out of the stadium. I don’t know what to make of him. It’s so frustrating! And random, but his crazy eye movements when batting freak me out. That has nothing to do with anything, but I thought I’d tell you. haha. (3) The bullpen makes me have chest pains. They have lost 21 games this season, which is 29th in the Majors. Case and point- last night’s game. Even though they won the game, it was not an easy outing for Rauch, Byrdak, and Parnell. Rauch gave up a run, Brydak hit a batter, and well Bobby was just a mess. I really thought they were going to ruin it for Harvey. Is it possible to trade the entire bullpen prior to the deadline, because we need a complete makeover!

ROSTER CHANGES– Lucas Duda was sent down to minors to focus on hitting. The Mets released RHP Miguel Batista. Mike Nikeas was sent down to bring up Rob Johnson, who caught for Harvey last night. Johnson caught Harvey in Buffalo and they share a very strong pitcher/catcher dynamic according to Harvey. Harvey campaigned hard to have Johnson catch him in last night’s game.

KEEPING IT GOING– Jon Niese tries to keep the winning going tonight at 9:40PM against the Dbacks. LET’S GO METS! LET’S GET IT NIESE!

Tonight’s lineup!