New York Mets fall to St. Louis Cardinals 4-5 as Jon Rauch gives up home-run - MLB Update
Despite seven strong innings, starter Dillon Gee falls short of saving the New York Mets from a 4-5 defeat against the St. Louis Cardinals, at Citi Field, New York, NY on June 4, 2012, in fourth game of the four match series.
''Obviously, it wasn't a no-hitter or another shutout,'' Gee said. ''But I pitched well.''
A pride which was to come with a sweep of the club like the Cardinals has been missed. Though, the Mets did best to keep the Cardinals sinking, latter played out of their skin and repelled the humiliation successfully.
Mets went head-to-head until the seventh. The fact the Cardinals managed to draw a two- run homer in the eighth, tie was broken and passage for victory was set.
Easily the cause of the loss can be traced to the bullpen. Relief pitcher Jon Rauch assumed the mound in the eighth, taking over from Gee. Instead of keeping the pressure built up by Gee intact, his control stuttered. With two runs given up, effectively
the stage for defeat was laid down.
In little less than one inning, Rauch conceded two hits and struck-out one. He was yanked immediately. Tim Byrdak was called up to throw remaining part of the inning.
Apart from relievers, the Mets struggled to draw reasonable number of hits from the offence.
They managed just six hits in the game. Centre fielder Andres Torres and first baseman Ike Davis put up disappointing show and remained short of shredding their poor run of form in the season.
Similarly, third baseman David Wright was not what he has been throughout the season. With batting average declining to .361, he struck one hit in four at-bats.
Right fielder Lucas Duda was the rare bright spot amidst fall-out by others. As he slammed a home-run, he improved slugging percentage to .434.
The game can serve the purpose of safeguarding the Mets against complacency, which was likely to arise in their ranks. After dominating the Cardinals all through the series, they needed something that can remind them of their weaknesses.
Mets’ manager Terry Collins will like to see better performance from relievers in upcoming games.
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