New York Mets lose to San Francisco Giants 3-4 in close tenth inning decider - MLB Update
Relief pitcher Frank Francisco allows two walks and one hit in the tenth as he cost the New York Mets a 3-4 defeat against San Francisco Giants at Citi Field in New York, NY on April 20, 2012.
Despite chasing down the lead in the ninth successfully, Mets squandered the chance to register one of the most amazing victories in the season.
As Mets tied and brought the Giants to the tenth, Hector Sanchez was the saviour who hit a precious single to centre for the Giants’ victory.
Regardless of the outcome, Mets’ terrific bounce back in the ninth was reflective of their strength. As they continue their surprise performances, with every game they are growing more in confidence.
A side consisting largely of young players, great performances of two remaining veterans Jason Bay and David Wright in the season is a healthy sign. In-fielder Bay went 2-for-5, adding one RBI and reaching home plate twice.
Third baseman Wright re-iterates his significance to the side. As he hit once in three at-bats, his current season batting average of .486 makes him a hitting leader in the side.
From his present performance it looks as if the Mets will find it hard to ignore him for awarding contract extension beyond 2013.
Two homers Mets saw in the game came from Bay and their centre-fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis. While former was hardly a surprise, latter did however send a wave of pleasure across the club.
Hitting a homer to left in his first Major League season means Mets can expect a few more such outings from Nieuwenhuis.
Other than the reliever Francisco, Mets drew relatively better performance from the rest of their pitchers. Their starter Jon Niese was far better than his counterpart Barry Zito in terms of pitching more innings.
Niese threw six, gave up three runs and struck-out five keeping his impressive 2012 season ERA intact.
Only thing Mets appeared little weak in is their late innings pitching strength. As the game enters into tenth, role of bullpen strength grows important.
The teams that pay little heed to this aspect of the game fares poorly in crucial games, considering a many of those produces results in innings beyond the ninth.
Mets will do well to improve themselves on this front if they really are to turn their better season performance into something substantial.
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