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Built from Within: A New York Mets dynasty


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Game 82: Mets @ Nationals

Steve Trachsel (11-2, 2.31) vs John Patterson (4-8, 4.96)

The Mets open the second half of the season against the 2nd place team in the NL East, albeit a distant 2nd. Steve Trachsel, the surprising ace from the first half, gets the start for the Mets, opposing John Patterson, who has been a disappointment in Washington.

The Mets got on the board first, in the 1st inning. With one out, Jeff Keppinger (playing left field for the resting Cliff Floyd), walked and stole 2 bases, and scored on Carlos Delgado's 2 out double, making it 1-0, Mets.

The Mets added a pair in the 3rd inning. Keppinger was hit by a pitch and stole 2 bases, and scored on Carlos Beltran's groundout.

"Patterson has a really bad move to first, and anyone who has even average speed, we told them to run first and ask questions later." Tejesh said. David Wright added the second run of the inning on a 1 out solo shot to extend the lead to 3-0.

The Mets added a pair in the 5th, once more taking advantage of Patterson's inability to hold runners on. Jose Reyes lead off with a walk and stole 2 bases, scoring on Keppinger's groundout. Carlos Beltran singled, stole 2 bases, and scored on Delgado's sac fly, making it 5-0.

In the 7th, the Mets put the game away, scoring 3. Jeff Keppinger doubled, and with one out, Carlos Delgado was intentionally walked. With two down, Victor Diaz clubbed a 3 run homer to make it 8-0.

Trachsel went 7 2/3 innings, scattering 5 hits, but walking 8 and striking out 7. Henry Owens went 2/3, and Luke Hudson went 2/3 to close it out, and the Mets won going away 9-4.

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Game 83: Mets @ Nationals

Scott Kazmir (7-6, 3.61) vs Brian Lawrence (7-4, 4.53)

Jose Guillen led off the 2nd with a grounder to second that Jose Valentin booted for an error, and that cost Kazmir, as with one down, Ryan Church hit a 2 run homer to give Washington a 2-0 lead.

Kazmir and Lawrence then matched 0's into the 8th inning, when pinch hitter Endy Chavez hit a solo shot with one out to pull the Mets to within one at 2-1. Henry Owens came on to replace Kazmir in the bottom of the inning. The Mets went down 1-2-3 in the 9th, and lost for only the 2nd time in the last 12 games, 2-1.

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Game 84: Mets @ Nationals

Aaron Heilman (8-3, 4.28) vs Ramon Ortiz (3-10, 6.78)

The Mets took a 1-0 in the 4th, on a Cliff Floyd RBI double. Beltran led off the inning with a double, and Floyd knocked him in. The Nationals jumped out to a 2-1 lead in their half of the inning. Matt Lecroy was HBP, and Brian Schneider hit a 2 run homer to make it 2-1.

The Mets tied it in the 5th. Jose Reyes singled and stole second with one down, and scored on Carlos Beltran's 2 out RBI single. In the 6th, the Mets took the lead on a Paul Lo Duca lead off homer.

However, in the 8th, Aaron Heilman yielded a solo shot to Damian Jackson to tie the game at 3-3. In the 9th, the Mets scored 3 to ice it. Reyes singled and stole 2 bases, Jeff Keppinger (playing 3rd for the resting David Wright), walked, and Beltran homered to make it 6-3. Billy Wagner came on to record his 14th save, and the Mets won 6-3.

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Game 85: Mets @ Nationals

Pedro Martinez (9-3, 3.34) vs Pedro Astacio (0-0, 3.21)

The Mets jumped out to a 1st inning 1-0 lead. With two down, Carlos Beltran singled and stole second. Carlos Delgado and David Wright walked to load the bases, and Cliff Floyd singled home one. Victor Diaz grounded out to end the inning.

In the 2nd inning, Jose Reyes singled with two down, stole 2nd, and scored on Paul Lo Duca's single, extending the lead to 2-0. Diaz homered with one down in the 3rd to extend the lead to 3-0.

With two down in the 5th, Reyes doubled and Lo Duca singled to put the Mets ahead 4-0.

The Nationals cut the lead in half in the bottom of the 7th. Royce Clayton walked and Damian Jackson tripled him in. With one down, Jose Guillen grounded out to plate a second run, making it 4-2. Octavio Dotel came on to pitch the 8th for the Mets.

The Mets busted the game wide open in the top of the 9th. Victor Diaz singled and Jeff Keppinger walked. At that point, Octavio Dotel was asked to bunt the runners to second and third.

"He is a very good bunter, and we wanted to get two into scoring position without burning a bench player." Tejesh said. Dotel, however, not accustomed to swinging the bat, missed the sign and instead, swung away, and hit a 3 run homer.

"I could've sworn I gave him the bunt sign, not the home run sign." Tejesh smirked. "We'll talk."

The Mets added a run, which the Nats got back in the bottom of the inning, and the Mets won, 8-3.

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Game 86: Mets @ Pirates

Tom Glavine (6-3, 3.54) vs Victor Santos (4-11, 5.70)

Jose Reyes singled to lead off the ballgame, stole 2 bases, and scored on Paul Lo Duca's groundout, to make it 1-0 Mets. The Pirates tied it in their half. Sean Casey led off with a single, advanced to 2nd on a Chris Duffy grounder, and scored on a Jason Bay single.

The Mets jumped right back on top in the 2nd inning. Cliff Floyd singled with one out to start the rally. Victor Diaz singled and Jose Valentin doubled one in. Tom Glavine squeezed home the 2nd run of the inning. Jose Reyes walked and stole 2nd, and Paul Lo Duca walked to load the bases, but Carlos Beltran couldn't deliever the dagger, and the Mets settled for a 3-1 lead.

Benitgo Santiago doubled to lead off the bottom of the 2nd, and two groundouts scored him to pull the Bucs within 1 at 3-2. Jose Valentin's one out homer got that run back for the Mets and made it 4-2, Mets.

The Bucs tied it in the bottom of the inning. Santiago singled and Jose Castillo homered, making it 4-4. Carlos Beltran, David Wright, and Cliff Floyd hit homers in the top of the 5th, all of the solo variety, putting the Mets ahead 7-4.

The Mets added a run on a bases loaded walk to Carlos Delgado, making it 8-4. Glavine, who pitched a shaky 5 innings, was removed for Henry Owens.

"Tonight was definetly not Glavine's night." Tejesh said. Owens pitched a scoreless 6th, and Octavio Dotel came right back out to pitch the 7th. Dotel went 2 scoreless, and Wagner came on to pitch a 1-2-3 9th and the Mets won, 8-4.

"I'm glad the bullpen was able to pick me up today. I didn't have my A game, and Henry, Octavio and Billy did a fanatastic job pitching 4 innings." Glavine said after the game.

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Game 87: Mets @ Pirates

Steve Trachsel (12-2, 2.31) vs Zack Duke (3-9, 4.36)

The Mets broke a scoreless tie in the top of the 5th, pushing a run across. Carlos Delgado led off with a single, David Wright walked, and with one out, Victor Diaz singled to load the bases. Eli Marrero lifted a sac fly to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

The Mets extended their lead in the 6th. Jeff Keppinger and Carlos Beltran singled with one out, and Carlos Delgado lifted a sac fly to score Keppinger and make it 2-0.

Trachsel ran into trouble in the 7th, but escaped unscathed, and Henry Owens came on to pitch the 8th. Owens allowed a run on back to back walks to Jason Bay and Jeromy Burnitz, a successful double steal, and a sac fly to Vinny Castilla.

Billy Wagner came on to try and save it, but couldn't nail it down. He allowed a leadoff triple to Jack Wilson, and got 2/3 of the way out of the jam, but a 2 out single by Chris Duffy scored the tying run. Julio Franco pinch hit for Wagner leading off the 10th.

Tanyon Sturtze came on to pitch the bottom of the 10th, after the Mets failed to score in the top half. Sturtze pitched around a 2 out double, and the Mets rewarded him with 2 runs in the 11th.

Delgado singled and Wright walked to start the rally, with one down. Victor Diaz walked to load the bases, and Eli Marrero, giving Paul Lo Duca a day off, singled to drive in a pair, making it 4-2. Aaron Heilman came on to try and nail it down.

"Octavio was unavailable, and Heilman is on his throw day, anyway." Tejesh said. Heilman pitched around an error and single, to earn his 2nd save of the season.

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Game 88: Mets @ Pirates

Scott Kazmir (7-7, 3.47) vs Kip Wells (5-5, 4.32)

The Mets put up a run in the first on a Paul Lo Duca triple and Carlos Beltran single, and another in the second on a Jeff Keppinger (filling in for Jose Reyes) walk, Jose Valentin single, and Scott Kazmir squeeze, to make it 2-0. Craig Wilson hit a 2 out solo shot in the 3rd to draw the Pirates within 1 at 2-1.

In the 4th, the Mets exploded for 5 runs. Keppinger singled with one down, and Kazmir walked with 2 out. Endy Chavez, filling in for Victor Diaz, singled to drive in a run. Lo Duca singled to load the bases. Beltran singled to drive in a run, making it 4-1. Walks to Delgado, Wright, and Floyd, the latter by Ryan Vogelsong, made it 7-1. Keppinger grounded out to end the walk filled barrage.

Armed with the 6 run lead, Kazmir went the distance on a 8 hitter, and the Mets won easily, 7-1.

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Game 89: Braves @ Mets

John Thompson (8-2, 2.63) vs Aaron Heilman (9-3, 4.15; 6-2, 4.00)

Kelly Johnson broke up Heilman's early no hit bid with a 1 out solo shot in the 5th, and the Braves added another run on Jonny Estrada's double, John Thompson's single and Andruw Jones' single to make it 2-0, Braves.

The Braves added a run in the 6th to make it 3-0. Heilman worked 7 pretty good innings, and was lifted for Jonathan Broxton in the 8th. Broxton worked a scoreless 8th, and Octavio Dotel came on to pitch a scoreless 9th. But Jorge Sosa got the final 2 outs of the 9th and the Braves won, 3-0.

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Game 90: Braves @ Mets

John Smoltz (5-6, 3.15) vs Pedro Martinez (10-3, 3.29)

In an old fashioned matchup between two future Hall of Fame Aces, John Smoltz and Pedro Martinez hook up at Shea in the middle game of 3 at Shea.

The Mets took an early 1-0 lead in the eagerly anticipated pitcher's duel. Jose Reyes led off with a single, stole second, and scored on two sac bunts by Paul Lo Duca and Carlos Beltran.

"I wanted to grab the early lead, before being aggresive. In the type of game this very well could be, you never want to take chances, until you're ahead." Tejesh said.

The Mets added to their lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Jose Valentin walked, and Pedro Martinez sacrificied him to 2nd. Jose Reyes grounded out, advancing Valentin to 3rd. Lo Duca doubled him in, and Beltran singled Lo Duca in to make it 3-0.

The Braves got a run back in the 4th. With two down, Kelly Johnson and Jonny Estrada walked, and John Smoltz doubled one in, to make it 3-1.

The Mets answered with 2 in their half of the 4th. With one down, Cliff Floyd doubled and Victor Diaz walked. After Jose Valentin struck out, Pedro helped his own cause, singling to drive in a run. Reyes followed with a single of his own, driving in Diaz and making it 5-1.

The Mets blew the game wide open in the bottom of the 5th, putting up a 5 spot. Carlos Beltran singled to lead off and stole 2 bases, his 3rd and 4th of the game. Delgado singled to drive him in. With one down, Floyd doubled and Diaz homered, making it 9-1, and ending Smoltz' night. Jose Valentin capped the inning off with a solo shot, to extend the lead to 10-1. Pedro went 6 strong innings, and Luke Hudson came on to finish off the game.

Hudson went 3 innings, allowing a solo homer to Johnson in the 9th, and nothing more, and the Mets won 11-2.

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Game 91: Braves @ Mets

Tim Hudson (7-8, 3.16) vs Tom Glavine (7-3, 3.69)

The Mets once again jumped on top early, with Jose Reyes leading off the game with a single, stealing two bases, and scoring on Paul Lo Duca's groundout, making it 1-0.

The Mets extended the lead in the 4th inning. With one down, Cliff Floyd singled, Victor Diaz walked, and Jose Valentin was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Tom Glavine singled up the middle to drive in a pair and make it 3-0.

The Mets blew the game open with a 7 run 5th inning. Lo Duca singled, Carlos Beltran walked, and Carlos Delgado homered, to make it 6-0. David Wright singled, and with two down, Jose Valentin walked and Glavine singled Wright in. Homer Bailey relieved Hudson at that point. Jose Reyes singled to drive Valentin in, and Lo Duca doubled in two more, capping the onslaught. The Mets sent 12 men to the play and scored 7 runs on 6 hits, making it 10-0. Glavine went 6 strong innings, and Jonathan Broxton came on to relieve him. The Mets also emptied their bench, giving the regulars 3 innings off.

Broxton pitched 3 terrific innings, facing the minimum, and the Mets ran away 10-1.

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Game 92: Braves @ Mets

Mike Hampton (3-7, 5.72) vs Steve Trachsel (12-2, 2.18)

Steve Trachsel has an uncharacteristically bad first inning, and the Braves took advantage, pushing two runs across. Marcus Giles singled and stole second, scoring on Edgar Renteria's single. Renteria then proceeded to steal second, move to third on Andruw Jones' grounder, and score on Chipper Jones' single, making it 2-0.

"We got our style of ball thrown back at us." Tejesh said.

The Mets got a run back in their half of the first. Jose Reyes reached on a Chipper Jones error, but was thrown out trying to steal 2nd. Paul Lo Duca doubled and Carlos Beltran singled to drive in one, pulling the Mets within 1 at 2-1.

Andruw Jones homered with 2 down in the 3rd to get that run back, making it 3-1.

The Mets tied it in the 6th, and got Trachsel off the hook. Jeff Keppinger walked with two down, and pinch hitter Eli Marrero hit a 2 run homer, making it 3-3. Henry Owens came on to pitch the 7th for the Mets, and delievered a scoreless inning.

The Mets rewarded Owens by giving him 2 runs. Carlos Beltran led off with a smash to 2nd that was booted by Giles for an error. Beltran then stole 2 bases and scored on Carlos Delgado's flyout. David Wright walked, and with one down, Victor Diaz singled, putting runners on 1st and 2nd. Jeff Keppinger followed with a single to score Wright, however, Wright was injured in a home plate collision.

"We don't know how serious it is right now. We'll reevaluteate tomorrow." Tejesh said. Chris Woodward replaced Wright at 3rd base, and Octavio Dotel came on to pitch the 8th inning. Dotel pitched a scoreless 8th, and Wagner pitched a scoreless 9th, giving the Mets a 5-3 win.

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Game 93: Padres @ Mets

Shawn Estes (5-7, 3.97) vs Scott Kazmir (8-7, 3.29)

The Padres got a run in the 2nd to go ahead 1-0. Ryan Klesko walked and Adrian Gonzalez singled to put 2 on with no out. Back to back grounders by Estes and Josh Barfield plated the run.

The Padres extended their lead in the 3rd with another run. Brian Giles doubled, and with one down and Giles on 3rd, Kahlil Greene singled to drive him in, making it 2-0.

In the bottom of the inning, Jose Reyes walked, stole 2 bases, and scored on consecutive flyouts by Paul Lo Duca and Carlos Beltran, cutting the Padres lead in half. The Mets tied it in the 4th. Jose Valentin led off with a double and scored on Cliff Floyd's single, tying the game at 2.

The Padres went right back ahead in the top of the 5th. Brian Giles singled and stole second, and scored on Benji Molina's 2 out double, making it 3-2. They blew it open with a 3 run 6th. Edgardo Alfonzo and Brian Giles walked leading off, and Mike Cameron singled to load the bases with no out. Henry Owens came on to relieve Kazmir, and allowed a sac fly to Greene, a single to Molina, and a fielder's choice grounder to Ryan Klesco, which aided in the 3 run inning. All the runs were charged to Kazmir, easily making it his worst start of the season.

Yhency Brazoban made his return and pitched the final 2 innings of the game, allowing a run as he shook off the rust, and the Mets lost for only the 4th time in the last 20 games, 7-2.

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Game 94: Padres @ Mets

Woddy Williams (7-6, 3.29) vs Aaron Heilman (9-4, 4.13)

Heilman allowed a first inning run on a 1 out Edgardo Alfonzo single, a Brian Giles walk, a Mike Cameron single and a Khalil Greene flyout, but buckled down and limited the damage to just the 1 run.

The Mets responded with a 6 run 2nd inning, chasing Williams. Jeff Keppinger, filling in for the injured David Wright, singled to lead off, and back to back walks to Cliff Floyd and Victor Diaz loaded the bases with no out. Jose Valentin lifted a sac fly to score Keppinger, and Heilman sacrificed Floyd and Diaz to 3rd and 2nd. Jose Reyes singled the pair in and then stole 2 bases, and Paul Lo Duca walked ahead of Carlos Beltran's 3 run bomb. Carlos Delgado singled to keep it going, but Keppinger struck out to end the inning. 10 men came to bat and 6 scored, on 4 hits and 2 walks. The Mets had a 6-1 lead.

The Padres got a run closer in the 5th. The Mets got 2 in the 7th to widen the lead to 8-2. The Mets scored 2 more in the 8th to make it 10-2, and Heilman gave those runs back in the 9th, but he went the distance and won by a 10-4 count.

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Game 96: Dodgers @ Mets

Derek Lowe (4-5, 3.38) vs Tom Glavine (8-3, 3.59)

The Dodgers got on the board first in the 1st inning. Rafael Furcal singled, stole second, went to third on JD Drew's fielder's choice grounder, and scored on Jeff Kent's single to make it 1-0.

The Mets answered back in their half of the 1st. Jose Reyes walked, stole 2 bases, and scored on Paul Lo Duca's single. Carlos Beltran grounded out to move Lo Duca to second and Carlos Delgado's single scored Lo Duca to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.

The Mets padded their lead in the 2nd, adding a run. Victor Diaz singled to lead off, moved to 2nd on Jose Valentin's grounder, and scored on Jose Reyes' 2 out single, making it 3-1.

The Mets put up 2 more in the 5th, on a Carlos Delgado double and Cliff Floyd 2 run homer, to make it 5-1, and Glavine did the rest, going 7 strong innings, before being relieved by Yhency Brazoban, who went 2 scoreless. The Mets won, 5-1.

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Game 97: Dodgers @ Mets

Chad Billingsley (4-2, 1.85) vs Steve Trachsel (12-2, 2.29)

A leadoff double by Bill Mueller and 2 flyouts by Toby Hall and Chad Billingsley put the Dodgers ahead 1-0 in the 3rd inning. A leadoff single by Rafael Furcal and a 2 out double by Jeff Kent extended the Dodger lead to 2-0 in the 4th.

The Mets got one of those runs back in their half of the 4th. Jeff Keppinger, moved up to the 2 hole with Paul Lo Duca getting the day off, singled with 1 out. Carlos Delgado reached on an error by 1st baseman Nomar Garciaparra, and Cliff Floyd singled to drive Keppinger in, cutting the Dodger lead in half, 2-1.

The Dodgers exploded for 6 runs in the 6th inning to ice the game. Jeff Kent and Jason Worth drove in runs against Trachsel, who left with the bases loaded and 2 out. Henry Owens came on and was extremely ineffective, allowing a single to Toby Hall, a double to Billingsley, and a single to Kenny Lofton, plating 4, before Yhency Brazoban came in to mercifully get the final out of the inning.

"Haven't had too many bullpen meltdowns of that variety." Tejesh said, shaking his head.

The Mets closed to within 3 at 8-5 with a 4 run 9th, but couldn't push across anymore, and lost by that count.

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Before Game 98, the Mets made a bold trade, sending 2b Jose Valentin, RP Yhency Brazoban and AAA SP Alay Soler to BOS for AAA SP Jon Lester and AAA RP Craig Hansen. To fill the roster spots on the MLB team, SP Brian Bannister and RP Matthew Lindstrom were called up from Norfolk.

"This allows us to play Keppinger everyday, which is something we've been wanting to do for a while now. We also deepen our minor league pitching, which is something we also wanted to do." Tejesh said.

Game 98: Dodgers @ Mets

Odalis Perez (8-8, 3.78) vs Scott Kazmir (8-8, 3.55)

The Mets broke a scoreless tie in the 3rd inning. Jose Reyes led off with a double and scored on Carlos Delgado's homer, making it 2-0.

An error by CF Carlos Beltran in the 4th, allowed Nomar Garciaparra to reach first, and that proved costly, as with one down, Jeff Kent doubled Garciaparra in to cut the Mets lead in half, 2-1. A one out triple by Nomar and a groundout by JD Drew knotted up the game, 2-2. in the 6th.

The Mets scored one in the 10th to win it. Beltran led off with a double, Delgado walked, and after a David Wright groundout moved them up a base, a Cliff Floyd groundout provided the Mets with the victory, 3-2. Scott Kazmir went the distance, 10 innings, for the win.

"He kept telling me he felt fine, felt fine, so I kept running him back out there. But he wasn't going to pitch the 11th." Tejesh said.

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Game 99: Mets @ Rockies

Aaron Heilman (10-4, 4.12) vs Miguel Ascenio (1-1, 6.14)

The Mets chased Ascenio with a 4 spot in the 2nd inning. Cliff Floyd walked with one down, and Chris Woodward, giving Jeff Keppinger a day off, doubled to put runners on 2nd and 3rd. Aaron Heilman singled them in, and Jose Reyes followed with a homer to put the Mets ahead 4-0.

The Mets put the game out of reach with a 5 run 5th inning. Carlos Beltran opened the scoring with a 1 out solo shot, Carlos Delgado singled, David Wright and Cliff Floyd walked to load the bases. Endy Chavez, filling in for Victor Diaz, lifted a sac fly to score the 2nd run of the inning, and then Chris Woodward followed with a 3 run homer, making it 9-0 Mets.

Heilman allowed a pair of runs in the bottom of the 5th, but pitched 7 terrific innings, and Matthew Lindstrom came on to pitch the final 2 innings. Lindstrom allowed a pair of runs in the 9th but nothing else, and the Mets won, 9-4.

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