Game 155: Mets vs. Marlins @ Dolphin Stadium

With two straight wins under their belts, the Mets seek another win to add to their total as they fight off the Phillies in the standings. The first-half ace, John Maine, takes the mound for the Mets.

The Good: John Maine battled, struck out nine, and kept the Mets in the game while the offense struggled to come to life. After falling behind in the third by two runs, the Mets answered back in the top of the fourth with a two-run homer by Paul LoDuca. The Mets would fall behind again in the sixth inning but would show some life a few innings later. Right when the Phillies/Nationals score went final, as the Nats held on for a win, the Mets put together some fireworks of their own. David Wright would walk to lead off the eighth and Marlon Anderson would come up in another big spot. After failing to bunt and finding himself in an 0-2 hole, Anderson would single through the hole on the right side and the Mets would have runners on the corners. After falling into a two-strike hole as well, Moises Alou would extend his hit streak to twenty-seven games with a single to center field to tie the game. Following Alou, Delgado would step to the plate and would hit his 24th homer of the year to deep right field to give the Mets a 6-3 lead. However, Heilman and Wagner would give those runs back and the Mets would play extra innings. In the eleventh inning, Jose Reyes would draw a leadoff walk and would move to second on a Luis Castillo two-out hit. David Wright would then fall behind with two strikes but would poke a single through the middle as the runners were on the move. Reyes would come around to score and the Mets were poised for a hard-fought win. Aaron Sele would come on to save the game in the eleventh and would promptly record the first two outs. Randolph would bring in Scott Schoeneweis for the final out and he would induce a ground ball to first base to end the game.

The Bad: Another Met error, Beltran injured again (although it was on a great catch to end the sixth inning), Aaron Heilman was terrible, Wagner blew a save, the Mets had many missed opprtunities, particularly their 10th inning choke job with runners on first and third with no outs.

Overall: Keep chippin' away and finish strong. This was definitely a team-win. I liked the emotion on the bench.

Notes: Prior to the game, Lastings Milledge dropped the appeal of his three-game suspension. It was also announced that Phil Humber would get the start against the Nationals when the Mets return home to Shea Stadium. David Wright stole his 34th base of the season and Moises Alou extended his single-season club record hit streak to 27 games. He is the oldest player to record a streak as long as twenty games and continues to prove a valuable asset to the Met offense (he also gunned out Todd Linden at home plate to momentarily preserve a Met lead in the eighth inning). The Mets have now scored 7 runs in six consecutive games, extending their record of doing so (the previous record was 5.) After singling in the winning run in the eleventh inning, David Wright was greeted with a massive chant of "MVP!, MVP!, MVP!."

Final Score: Mets 7, Marlins 6. Record: 87-68. Magic Number: 5.

Game: Mets vs. Nationals @ RFK Stadium

The Met lead in the N.L. East is now down to 1.5 and Mike Pelfrey heads to the mound tonight in hopes of turning things around.

The Good: Jorge Sosa single-handedly bailed Pelfrey and the Mets out of trouble tonight. Pelfrey comes up big and wins for the third time since being called up. Sosa, Heilman, and Wagner did a good job of closing out the game.

The Bad: Injuries still linger and Reyes, Wright, and Beltran keep making errors, but a win is a win.

Overall: After the recent skid, no complains.

2 Cents: Don't look now, but Shawn Green is putting together a nice little hot streak.

Notes: Paul LoDuca's sac fly earned him his 50th rbi of the season while David Wright drove in his 100th rbi of the year. The Phillies lost to the Cardinals in extra-innings to push the Met lead to 2.5 games.

Final Score: Mets 8, Nationals 4. Record: 84-67. Magic Number: 10

Game 147: Mets vs. Braves @ Shea Stadium

Game 146: Mets vs. Braves @ Shea Stadium

Game 145: Mets vs. Braves @ Shea Stadium

Coming off of the good vibes of Pedro Martinez's latest win, Oliver Perez looks to step up in the first game of a three game series against the arch rival Braves.

The Good: Oliver Perez was stellar through seven innings, allowing only a Brian McCann two-run bomb to earn his fourteenth win. Reyes racked up a few hits and stole his 75th base of the year. David Wright also continues to mash as he hit his 28th homer of the season while swiping yet another bag. Moises Alou also tripled to extened his hitting streak to fifteen games. Billy Wagner came on in the ninth inning for a 1-2-3 outing and earned his 33rd save.

The Bad: Not much offense aside from Reyes and Wright, but it was a good ol' pitchers duel.

Overall: Put another one in the books.

Notes: Carlos Delgado is expected to miss more time with his hip injury.

2 Cents: Way to go get 'em boys. Finish strong. Cross your fingers that Delgado's injury isn't season-ending.

Final Score: Mets 3, Braves 2. Record: 82-61. Magic Number: 14.

Game 137: Mets vs. Braves @ Turner Field

Tom Glavine heads back to Atlanta as the Mets look for a sweep in Atlanta for the first time since last July.

The Good: Tom Glavine won 302 and pitched into the seventh inning to finally beat John Smoltz. The Mets showed fundamental baseball in the second when Moises Alou singled to left, moved up on Green and LoDuca singles, and scored on a Tom Glavine sacrifice to center to tie the game. It was silent until the fifth when Jose Reyes "singled" on a ball hit into the sun that deceived Yunel Escobar. After that, Luis Castillo was out on a bunt by a quarter of a step, but David Wright crushed a first-pitch fastball from Smoltz to center field to give the Mets the lead. Jorge Sosa did a great job after Glavine allowed a leadoff runner in the seventh inning by striking out the first two batters he faced and getting Matt Diaz to ground out to third base. Heilman also held the lead in the eighth, although Chipper Jones did lead off the inning with a hit, boosting his average to .500 off of the right-hander. Wagner came on in the ninth inning and gave up a run and a hit before battling through his own problems to close out the game.

The Bad: I'm not complaining after their recent play.

Overall: Good win, solid series. Way to show grit after being swept by Philadelphia and heading to Turner Field for a September series.

Notes: The Mets announced that Pedro Martinez will start tomorrow's game in Cincinnati and will be limited to 75 pitches. Carlos Beltran stole his nineteenth base of the season. On that play, Alou was ruled as striking out swinging and was ejected from the game by both the home plate umpire and first base umpire. Alou shouted, tossed his helmet and bat on the field, and took his time leaving the dugout. The replay showed that it was a close call. In the ninth, a key defensive play occurred when Delgado charged in on a hard bunt and fired to second base for the first out of the inning. The Phillies were also defeated by the Marlins today.

2 Cents: On my 21st birthday weekend, I get through syllabus week, throw a successful party, attend a 59-0 PSU romping of FIU, witness the Beaver Stadium faithful go crazy over an Appalachian State victory, see another Boston no-hitter, and watch the Phils drop a few games while the Mets sweep the Braves. Not bad, not bad at all.

Final Score: Mets 3, Braves 2. Record: 76-60. GB: 1st Place, 4 games.

Game 136: Mets vs. Braves @ Turner Field

After receiving some good news that Pedro Martinez will indeed pitch on Labor Day, the Mets and Mike Pelfrey search for a long-overdue win against Chuck James.

The Good: Pelfrey was lights out through six innings allowing just one hit while striking out seven to receive his first win since July 18, 2006. Beltran good again in Atlanta after collecting three hits, a homer and a triple, to seal the deal. Carlos Delgado and Lastings Milledge also went yard. Guillermo Mota pitched a hitless inning of relief and Pedro Feliciano closed it out in tremendous fashion. After coming into the game in the eighth inning, he would not allow a hit, threw a strike on what seemed like every pitch, and struck out the last five hitters of the game. In the ninth, he sprinted towards the dugout before remembering that he had finished the ballgame.

The Bad: Reyes & Gotay getting picked off at second base.

Overall: Mets showing some life again.

Notes: Luis Castillo hasn't looked good since his injury. Jose Reyes stole his 74th base of the season. In the fifth inning, Pelfrey hit Jeff Francoeur with a first-pitch fastball, promting Francoeur to take some angry steps and shout "That's twice!" Francoeur has never gotten hit by Pelfrey and later admitted he was trying to motivate his team.

Other News: Clay Buccholz no-hit the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park in only his second career start. In college football, Appalachian State pulled off one of the biggest upsets ever by beating the Michigan Wolverines 34-32 in their first game. A late field and blocked field goal did the trick; they become the first ever 1-AA team to beat an AP ranked football team. Penn State beat FIU 59-0. Virginia Tech also won their game 17-7.

Final Score: Mets 5, Braves 1. Record: 75-60. GB: 1st Place, 3 Games.