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Braves 3 VS. Mets 2 : RECAP
September 13, 2008
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NEW YORK -- Knowing how close the Mets are to their goals -- and knowing also how close they were at this time last year -- manager Jerry Manuel spent a good portion of Saturday afternoon discussing what his team still must accomplish.
"We've got to continue to play good baseball," Manuel said, reiterating his rallying cry of the past three months.
"And pitch," he continued. "Pitch a lot better than we did in the last series."
Johan Santana did; the bullpen did not. And the end result of Saturday's doubleheader matinee did not prove to be quite so even, with the Braves parlaying Omar Infante's tie-breaking sacrifice fly into a 3-2 win.
Santana's seven-plus innings were comparable to those of his recent outings, both in quality and in length. By striking out four Braves, walking two and allowing nine hits, he ensured that he would remain unbeaten since June 28. Yet after the bullpen lost his lead, Santana found himself stuck with a no-decision instead of his seventh straight win.
Santana pitched to two batters in the eighth inning, both of whom singled. He left to a standing ovation after throwing 113 pitches, but the good vibes were short-lived. Scott Schoeneweis allowed a single to the only batter he faced, and then Brian Stokes served up a game-tying single on the first pitch he offered to Jeff Francoeur.
What seemed to be the necessary offense came in the fourth inning, when two singles and a walk loaded the bases off Braves starter Mike Hampton -- all with no outs. Damion Easley then singled home one run and Brian Schneider plated another when he hit into a double play.
But the Mets could not tack on runs. They again loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth but were unable to score off Hampton.
Saturday's twinight doubleheader came about late Friday, when steady rains washed out the originally scheduled game at Shea. The doubleheader looked like a great opportunity to reduce the Mets' magic number.
"That's the whole key," Manuel said. "That's the simple mindset. If you keep winning, something has to give in some way. If we keep winning, we're in good shape."
But Saturday's Game 1 loss, coupled with the Phillies' win, ensured that the Mets' magic number would remain stuck at 14. The Phillies moved back within two games of first place in the National League East.
Source: [MLB]
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