IGT 5/9, Pirates at Mets

[Guest Kong76]

PIT: P. Maholm (3-0, 2.97 ERA)
NYM: J. Maine (2-2, 5.20 ERA)

Pirates-Mets Preview

By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA,
STATS Senior Writer

(AP) -- New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel is set to rest a couple of his left-handed hitters. Carlos Delgado, though, is probably one lefty slugger he's not in any hurry to sit.

With Delgado heating up, the Mets look to extend a season-high five-game winning streak in the middle game of their series with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.

Pittsburgh (12-17) will send left-hander Paul Maholm (3-0, 2.97 ERA) to the mound as it tries to win for the first time in seven games, so the Mets (15-13) are expected to put right-handed batters Gary Sheffield and Fernando Tatis in the outfield in place of lefties Ryan Church and Daniel Murphy.

Though he's 0 for 9 against Maholm, Delgado's spot as the cleanup hitter is most likely safe. The veteran first baseman hit a three-run homer off left-handed reliever Sean Burnett and finished with five RBIs in New York's 7-3 win over Pittsburgh on Friday night.

"It's a team effort," Delgado said. "We get guys on, we put together good at-bats, put pressure on the opposition and good things happen."

Delgado's fourth homer gave him 1,512 RBIs, breaking a tie with Mickey Mantle for 48th place on the all-time list. He's 5 for 7 in his last two games and tends to be a streaky hitter, so this would be an odd time for Manuel to give him a day off.

With his homer, Delgado sparked a five-run eighth inning that saw the Mets send 11 batters to the plate. It was New York's second-biggest inning of the season, just behind a six-run first in a 7-1 victory over Florida on April 27.

The Mets will try to continue their momentum with Sheffield (.158) and Tatis (.324) in the lineup. Church is certainly due for a break, going 4 for 34 in his last 11 games.

All-Star third baseman David Wright struggled Friday, going 0 for 4 after a 3 for 3 effort in a 7-5 win over Philadelphia on Thursday night. Wright is hitting .214 (3 for 14) against Maholm, who is 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA in five starts versus New York.

The left-hander has given up two runs or fewer in four of his six outings. He allowed two runs and six hits while striking out a season-high seven in 7 1-3 innings as Pittsburgh lost 7-4 to Milwaukee on Monday night.

New York, 3-0 on its eight-game homestand, will counter with John Maine (2-2, 5.20), who turned 28 on Friday. He seems to be settling down after a poor start, posting a 2.25 ERA en route to winning his last two outings.

The right-hander overcame a career-high six walks in his last start, surrendering three runs and three hits while striking out seven in six innings as New York beat Atlanta 6-4 on Monday night.

Maine is 2-2 with a 2.93 ERA in five starts versus the Pirates, who have lost 10 of 11 and have been terrible at the plate. Pittsburgh is batting .205 in its last nine games, managing just three homers during that stretch.

The Pirates have lost six straight on the road, hitting .167 with one homer during the last four contests.

"We've got to stay focused and keep plugging away," said Pittsburgh center fielder Nyjer Morgan, batting a team-high .375 away from PNC Park. "It's part of our learning situation.

[Guest Kong76]

Nyjer Morgan LF
Freddy Sanchez 2B
Nate McLouth CF
Adam LaRoche 1B
Brandon Moss RF
Andy LaRoche 3B
Ramon Vazquez SS
Jason Jaramillo C
Paul Maholm P

Jose Reyes SS
Luis Castillo 2B
Carlos Beltran CF
Carlos Delgado 1B
David Wright 3B
Gary Sheffield RF
Fernando Tatis LF
Ramon Castro C
John Maine P

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Yar heroes in blue and orange:

Reyes...... SS
Castillo..... 2B
Beltran..... CF
Delgado.... 1B
Wright...... 3B
Sheffield... RF
Castro...... C

And on the mound, the untamable John Maine.

As for the livery bilge rats in ye other clubhouse:

Morgan.......................... LF
Sanchez........................ 2B
McLouth......................... CF
LaRoche the Slow-Starter 1B
Moss.............................. RF
LaRoche the Plain Crappy 3B
Vazquez......................... SS
Jaramillo........................ C

The increasingly pain-in-the-ass-y Paul Maholm starts.

How goes the streakin', mama?



If we're taking it to 6, we're doing so without the General, out with a one game suspension (while the Lyin' Hawaiian got... oh, wait, apparently breaking the rules isn't AGAINST the rules).

Let's do this.

[Guest Kong76]

avi wuz here

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Whoops.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Hey, first inning run!

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy DC wrote: Hey, first inning run!

Rarer/more pleasant still: no first inning 3-run spazzing from Maine!

[Guest Edgy DC]

Every time I hear Gary say "Maholm," I think "Is Terry Mulholland really stilll in the league?"

[metirish]

Edgy DC wrote: Every time I hear Gary say "Maholm," I think "Is Terry Mulholland really stilll in the league?"

Yeah it's very strange. I would have pronounced the name with a silent L

[Guest Edgy DC]

And... that's eight in a row for Maholm. Someday this team will find a way to sustain a first-inning breakthrough.

But it's time for me to shut up. We've got Ralph in the booth after this break.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Ralph sounds slurrier than usual.

It was collusion that ended Dave Kingman's career.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

="metirish"] ="Edgy DC"]Every time I hear Gary say "Maholm," I think "Is Terry Mulholland really stilll in the league?" Yeah it's very strange. I would have pronounced the name with a silent L

Radio here-- I swear that Hagin has actually said "Mulholland" twice.

Oh, and WOOT. Nice one, Sugar Pants.

[Frayed Knot]

It's a hit parade!!

And Castillo continues to silence his critics - and probably faster than most imagine it could have been done this early in the season.

[Guest Edgy DC]

And Ralph sounds sharper as the inning progresses.

[Frayed Knot]

How stupid is it that this is the only 1:00 game in the entire country?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

"Ladies and gentlemen, at today's matinee performance, Lots of Runs will be playing the role normally played by LOB."

[Guest Kong76]

Ralph sounds fine to me, the guy's freakin' close to 90.

6 - sniffle through four.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Frayed Knot wrote: It's a hit parade!! And Castillo continues to silence his critics - and probably faster than most imagine it could have been done this early in the season.

Isn't that nice? I hope Oliver Perez will be able to redeem himself the way Castillo seems to have.

Oh, and for the record: I approve of five-run innings.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

I wish the Pirates were in our division so we could play them more often.

[Guest Kong76]

Maholm says sniffle this.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Duly noted.

Things I'd like to see:
Murphy a third
Cora at short
Reed getting a few cuts.

Maholm isn't interested in that. Wow, over the Modells sign and all.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Except for when their pitchers bat.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Maine's at 90 pitches already. With the lead, do they try to stretch him a little?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Is Joe Morgan producing today's WFAN cast? Howie and Wayne just both agreed that it was better that Maholm hit one out than if he had walked. And they were "No one denies this"-brand adamant about it.

[metirish]

I always learn something form listening to Ralph

Pitcher With Most Career Home runs

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Maholl-em run!

[Guest Edgy DC]

Let's get this Beltran guy to sign an extension.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Beltran: Don't vote for Lastings for the All-Star Game, vote for me, dammit!

[Frayed Knot]

I thought it was weird enough that Maholm even hit.
I know the guy can swing the bat but how many pitchers [u:24d645a8e4]don't[/u:24d645a8e4] get pulled when they're due to lead off an inning after coughing up a 5-spot?

[Guest Edgy DC]

It seems Ralph has been sticking around longer than usual. I'm thinking that Keith being out means nobody has to stand up and give him a chair. Without them kicking him out to regain their chair, he isn't leaving.

Go, Ralph, go.