IGT 05/17 - Mets at Cards

[Guest KC]

(Ticker) It took a little rain, but the New York Mets finally figured out how to solve Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Mets go for consecutive wins against the Cardinals when they play the middle game of their series at Busch Stadium on Wednesday.

St. Louis had won 17 of the last 21 games with New York and 16 of the last 19 games at home, but the Mets broke through with an 8-3 win in the series opener Tuesday night, a game delayed 1 hour, 41 minutes by rain.

The Mets (24-14) also held Pujols in check. The Cardinals slugger, who is the fastest player to 19 homers in major league history, was held hitless for the second straight game and only the third time in the last 10 games.

Pujols, who hasn't had a hit in his last nine at-bats, is 4-for-9, but has yet to homers in his career against Steve Trachsel (2-3, 4.91 ERA), the Mets' starter on Wednesday.

Pujols, the reigning NL MVP, slipped trying to make a catch in the on-deck circle following after rain delay and fell hard but stayed in the game. Pujols, who missed a game earlier this season with a sore back, needs one homer to move past Mark McGwire into sole possession of fourth place on the Cards' all-time list.

McGwire and Pujols each have 220 homers.

The Mets, who had lost five of their previous seven games, took a 4-3 lead in the seventh on Paul Lo Duca's tiebreaking RBI double before the rain came. After the delay, New York added four runs in the eighth inning to improve to 3-4 on this nine-game road trip.

''I want to be up in that situation,'' Lo Duca said. ''I take pride in getting the job done when I have to in big situations.''

Trachsel's history against the Cardinals suggests it might be tougher for the Mets to win this contest. The veteran right-hander, who is 9-8 with a 4.50 ERA in 26 career starts against the Cardinals (24-15), hasn't beaten St. Louis since Sept. 22, 1999.

Trachsel also will be looking for his first win in St. Louis since July 20, 1996. He has lost his last five decisions there and his team has lost all of nine of his starts since he got that victory while with the Chicago Cubs.

After winning seven of eight, the Cardinals have lost two two straight.

Mark Mulder (4-1, 4.27) looks for his third straight victory on Wednesday. He earned his second win in as many starts after giving up two runs and six hits while striking out a season-high six in a 5-3 win Friday over Arizona.

Mulder, though, has struggled with control, allowing eight homers in just 52 2-3 innings.

''I'll tell you what, I'm going to be a pretty good pitcher when I quit giving up homers,'' said Mulder, who is tied with Jason Marquis for the team lead in homers allowed. ''It's one or two mistakes a game and they're hitting every one of them.''

Mulder gave up six runs and 10 hits in five innings in his only career start against the Mets on May 14, 2005.

Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds went 1-for-3 Tuesday and is hitting .444 (16-for-36) during a season-high 11-game hitting streak.

Edmonds was batting .200 when the streak began on May 2 and has raised his average 76 points. He is 2-for-9 with a homer and two RBIs in his career against Trachsel.

[Gwreck]

Mets
Reyes SS
LoDuca C
Beltran CF
Delgado 1B
Wright 3B
Floyd LF
Nady RF
Matsui 2B
Trachsel P

St. Louis
David Eckstein SS
John Rodriguez LF
Albert Pujols 1B
Jim Edmonds CF
Scott Rolen 3B
Juan Encarnacion RF
Yadier Molina C
Aaron Miles 2B
Mark Mulder P

[Guest KC]

Thanks, I kept checking three sites and the lineup was tardy.

[TransMonk]

Ewww...Joe Buck...great.

I thought I had another couple days before I had to.....*snoooooooore*

[Willets Point]

Pujols 0 for his last 10. What are we to make of this?

OPTOMIST: Yay, we caught him during a slump.
PESSIMIST: He's due.

[Guest Edgy DC]

From the Cardinal Broadcast:

The Nextel Text Messaging Question: What is Albert Pujols' greatest asset?

a) Hitting for Power?

Hitting for Average?

c) Defense?

d) Leadership?

3) Citizenship?

Wow.

[TransMonk]

Joe Buck about the poll: I choose D, leadership.

Right. Like they would put this poll up if he wasn't leading the world in everything else.

I hate FOX! Bring back Bob Costas and NBC...please.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I choose F. He makes butter taste creamier.

They just replayed Reyes' game-opening AB. The Mets have been getting burned on high strikes of late, haven't they?

[Willets Point]

I hate Fox's excessive graphics and sound effects myself.

[Zvon]

Games on ESPN.

Great lead in KC.

Im not all here but I wont miss a kaboom---I hope.

Nice play by Wright.
He took his time but as i can see he had plenty of it.

[Guest cooby]

Anybody know why I would be getting a soccer game on ESPN instead on the Mets game?

[Willets Point]

Is it the European Cup Championship: Arsenal v. Barcelona? Not to spoil it for you but Barcelona won.

According to my schedule the Mets game is on SNY. I'm getting the freakin' Cardinals feed of course.

[Guest cooby]

At least you're getting the game! My TV Guide Channel says the game should be on and, yes it's friggin World Cup. Why would it be blacked out?

[Guest OlerudOwned]

I don't think they ever show SNY games on ESPN in the local area.

I could be mistaken.

[Guest cooby]

But I live 200 miles away...

[Willets Point]

Fuckin' A. I walk back in the room and they're saying there's a home run for the Cardinals. Then I find out it was just a replay of McGwire #62.

Had a near heaht attack!

[Zvon]

cooby wrote: But I live 200 miles away...

If your ESPN feed is out of the NY area, they will block you.
Mines out of Delaware.
They block Wash National games that they broadcast here, tho Im far from Washington.
They dont go by where I am- they go by where I get the signal from.

[Guest cooby]

That explains (perhaps!) why Yancy and my daughter can get the Mets on MLB Extra Innings and I can't!

Zvon, what a store of information you are

[Zvon]

cooby wrote: Zvon, what a store of information you are

Ha!
Ive been called alot of things- never that.

I found out early in the season when the Mets were in Washington.
I was pretty ticked off about not being able to see the game they broadcast, but I knew the upside would be better.
All Ill lose is Nats games and they wont be showing too many of them on ESPN.


Do I smell a rally here?
1st and 3rd, 1 out.

[TransMonk]

Top fifth: Wright on 3rd after a double and a Floyd GO, Nady hit by a pitch on first.

1 out

Kaz at the plate.

[TransMonk]

Kaz fails to score the runner. GRRRR...

I'm hulking out right now. Nothing gets me hotter than a leadoff double not scoring.

[Zvon]

Kaz poops up.

Maybe Trax can help himself....
full count....
drumroll please-
Poops up to center--hey-he got his bat on the ball. Nice.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

Wasted chances are no fun.

[Guest martin]

they always black out my espn in jersey city when a met game is on, which is terrible becaue the espn feed is in HD and the SNY one isnt. and i complain to comcast that they should put the SNY HD feed on over espn HD instead of a blank screen, but they are are not tryin to hear that.

it is frustrating because they refuse to give me SNY in HD, and when the espn game is HD they black it out. they are doing everythig they can to keep me from getting the HD version of the game.

[Willets Point]

Poop ups require a certain amount of skill, but they always end messy.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Yusmeiro Petit sighting in Atlanta. Two scoreless innings so far. I saw him get shelled in Albuquerque as an Isotope just a week or so ago.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

Did they really use Willis as their first PH off the bench or is GameCast messing with me.

[Zvon]

martin wrote: it is frustrating because they refuse to give me SNY in HD, and when the espn game is HD they black it out. they are doing everythig they can to keep me from getting the HD version of the game.

...those bastages.

pooping up isnt easy, cuz poop usually does not want to defy gravity.

Reyes grundges out to the pitcher. Thats weak.

OW-and then Mulder Ks LaDuke and Carlos Bee.

[A Boy Named Seo]

]Did they really use Willis as their first PH off the bench or is GameCast messing with me.

It sure looks like they did. And it worked, too.

[Zvon]

OlerudOwned wrote: Did they really use Willis as their first PH off the bench or is GameCast messing with me.

they have used him as a PH before, tho i dunno if it was 1st off the bench.
he singled-ha.