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06-17-2006, 10:16 AM
So, went to the game last night, had fantastic seats, about 10 rows behind the Mets dugout! Some guy walked up to us (Cyn and me) at the ticket line and offered us these tickets with some money knocked off!!! :eek: (Cyn was taking me for my birthday....:D ) Couldn't believe our luck!!!
So, anyhoo, thought the Mets would take this game, after they went ahead 3-2, but, with a combination of Aaron Heilman not being on his game lately, and the Orioles offense coming alive, the O's win it, 6-4.
It was fun finally seeing the guys I've been reading about all season - Brandon Fahey has got to be the skinniest ballplayer I've ever seen! :laff: But he's got enough meat on him to get key hits, as he did in the 7th.
Eric Bedard looked really good, carrying that no hitter into the 5th.
Fun to see Howie Clark, whose contract was purchased that very same day.
Mighty Melvin was making his first trip back to Shea since he was traded for Bordy in 2000.
Interesting, too, was the appearance of Javy Lopez, when Hernandez was ejected for arguing a call with the ump. I kept waiting for the derisive chants of "Ja-vy, Ja-vy", which he used to hear when coming to Shea as a Brave. Not a chant was heard.
Also, finally seeing Chris Ray in person was sort of thrilling.
And, I'm going again tonight!!! :clap: (Pedro vs. Kris Benson)
Orioles 6, Mets 3
O's rally in 7th to cool off Mets
By Jeff Zrebiec
Sun reporter
Originally published June 17, 2006
NEW YORK // It was starting to look like so many other games in this long and frustrating road trip for the Orioles, with a young pitcher making just enough mistakes to lose, and an offense that simply could not offer enough support when it was truly needed.
But in the top of the seventh inning last night at Shea Stadium, the home of baseball's hottest team, the Orioles' fortunes finally changed. It started with two walks and continued with a clutch sacrifice bunt from a player making his first appearance of the season. Then a soft, run-scoring single preceded a 400-foot blast by an All-Star who had finally rediscovered his power stroke.
Brandon Fahey's two-out bloop single was the tiebreaking hit and Melvin Mora 's two-run homer gave the Orioles breathing room en route to a 6-3 victory before 45,967, ending the New York Mets' eight-game winning streak and giving Erik Bedard his first win in nearly a month.
Fahey's single, his second run-scoring hit of the night, just eluded the outstretched glove of Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, barely finding the grass in shallow left field.
"When I first hit it, I didn't think there was any chance [he would catch it.]," said Fahey, who also had an RBI triple in the third inning. "Then I saw him going after it and I was like, 'Man, he's going [to] catch it.' ... He just kept closing in. I was like, 'Hurry up and get down.' It was like the ball was in slow motion."
Mora's homer, which came on a fat 2-2 changeup from Mets reliever Aaron Heilman, was his first since May 24, a span of 22 games. Mora, who was part of the package the Mets traded to the Orioles in 2000 for Mike Bordick, entered the game in a 3-for-22 slump, but was 2-for-4 last night.
"I don't care what people are thinking about homers. ... I always try to just hit the ball up the middle and he [hung] it right there," said Mora, who denied having any extra inspiration playing against his former team. "I just feel good to win the game - especially against the best team in baseball right now."
The Orioles (31-38) were down 3-2 entering the seventh and had seen 12 straight batters get set down by Mets starter Alay Soler when New York manager Willie Randolph went to his bullpen and summoned Heilman.
Heilman walked Kevin Millar and Nick Markakis , and Howie Clark, whose contract was purchased earlier in the day, was inserted as a pinch hitter and instructed to bunt. On his first try, he missed the ball entirely.
"When he missed the first pitch, I didn't feel real comfortable," Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo said. "I told [third base coach Tom Trebelhorn] to go out there and talk to him, and [he] got it down. For just getting here, that was a big thing for us."
Brian Roberts drove in Millar with an RBI groundout to tie the game before Fahey and Mora got the big hits. After a perfect seventh from Chris Britton, LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless eighth, shrugging off a leadoff double by Reyes. Chris Ray retired the Mets in order in the ninth for his 17th save.
"This club, it seems like when we get down and have a couple of tough losses, they've been able to rebound," Perlozzo said.
Bedard (6-6) was in line for the loss when he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh, before watching the Orioles' comeback over the Mets (42-24), who were coming off a 9-1 road trip. He went six innings, allowing three earned runs and three walks while striking out six. It was his first victory since May 17.
"When you see a guy like Bedard throw like he [threw] today and then when you support him with some runs, that makes you feel good," Mora said. "This guy deserved to win the game."
Bedard weathered the loss of his normal catcher, Ramon Hernandez , who was ejected in the third inning for arguing a called third strike by Dana DeMuth. Javy Lopez took over for Hernandez.
"I got upset a little bit," said Hernandez, who admitted that he was surprised by the quick ejection. "I should have never turned around and said something."
Saying he could throw his fastball "in and out and wherever I wanted it," Bedard took a no-hitter into the fifth, but Jose Valentin led off the inning with a sharp single up the middle. Reyes gave the Mets the lead in the fifth with a two-run double down the right-field line that shot by the glove of first baseman Millar.
Perlozzo acknowledged Reyes' opposite-field hit brought back memories from several other losses on this road trip, in which the Orioles are now 3-5 heading into tonight's matchup against Pedro Martinez. Those feeling were gone when Fahey's bloop fell in the seventh.
"I said, 'What else [can go wrong]?'" Perlozzo said. "I don't know if you feel you deserve anything, but it's nice when something goes your way once in a while."
Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun
So, anyhoo, thought the Mets would take this game, after they went ahead 3-2, but, with a combination of Aaron Heilman not being on his game lately, and the Orioles offense coming alive, the O's win it, 6-4.
It was fun finally seeing the guys I've been reading about all season - Brandon Fahey has got to be the skinniest ballplayer I've ever seen! :laff: But he's got enough meat on him to get key hits, as he did in the 7th.
Eric Bedard looked really good, carrying that no hitter into the 5th.
Fun to see Howie Clark, whose contract was purchased that very same day.
Mighty Melvin was making his first trip back to Shea since he was traded for Bordy in 2000.
Interesting, too, was the appearance of Javy Lopez, when Hernandez was ejected for arguing a call with the ump. I kept waiting for the derisive chants of "Ja-vy, Ja-vy", which he used to hear when coming to Shea as a Brave. Not a chant was heard.
Also, finally seeing Chris Ray in person was sort of thrilling.
And, I'm going again tonight!!! :clap: (Pedro vs. Kris Benson)
Orioles 6, Mets 3
O's rally in 7th to cool off Mets
By Jeff Zrebiec
Sun reporter
Originally published June 17, 2006
NEW YORK // It was starting to look like so many other games in this long and frustrating road trip for the Orioles, with a young pitcher making just enough mistakes to lose, and an offense that simply could not offer enough support when it was truly needed.
But in the top of the seventh inning last night at Shea Stadium, the home of baseball's hottest team, the Orioles' fortunes finally changed. It started with two walks and continued with a clutch sacrifice bunt from a player making his first appearance of the season. Then a soft, run-scoring single preceded a 400-foot blast by an All-Star who had finally rediscovered his power stroke.
Brandon Fahey's two-out bloop single was the tiebreaking hit and Melvin Mora 's two-run homer gave the Orioles breathing room en route to a 6-3 victory before 45,967, ending the New York Mets' eight-game winning streak and giving Erik Bedard his first win in nearly a month.
Fahey's single, his second run-scoring hit of the night, just eluded the outstretched glove of Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, barely finding the grass in shallow left field.
"When I first hit it, I didn't think there was any chance [he would catch it.]," said Fahey, who also had an RBI triple in the third inning. "Then I saw him going after it and I was like, 'Man, he's going [to] catch it.' ... He just kept closing in. I was like, 'Hurry up and get down.' It was like the ball was in slow motion."
Mora's homer, which came on a fat 2-2 changeup from Mets reliever Aaron Heilman, was his first since May 24, a span of 22 games. Mora, who was part of the package the Mets traded to the Orioles in 2000 for Mike Bordick, entered the game in a 3-for-22 slump, but was 2-for-4 last night.
"I don't care what people are thinking about homers. ... I always try to just hit the ball up the middle and he [hung] it right there," said Mora, who denied having any extra inspiration playing against his former team. "I just feel good to win the game - especially against the best team in baseball right now."
The Orioles (31-38) were down 3-2 entering the seventh and had seen 12 straight batters get set down by Mets starter Alay Soler when New York manager Willie Randolph went to his bullpen and summoned Heilman.
Heilman walked Kevin Millar and Nick Markakis , and Howie Clark, whose contract was purchased earlier in the day, was inserted as a pinch hitter and instructed to bunt. On his first try, he missed the ball entirely.
"When he missed the first pitch, I didn't feel real comfortable," Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo said. "I told [third base coach Tom Trebelhorn] to go out there and talk to him, and [he] got it down. For just getting here, that was a big thing for us."
Brian Roberts drove in Millar with an RBI groundout to tie the game before Fahey and Mora got the big hits. After a perfect seventh from Chris Britton, LaTroy Hawkins pitched a scoreless eighth, shrugging off a leadoff double by Reyes. Chris Ray retired the Mets in order in the ninth for his 17th save.
"This club, it seems like when we get down and have a couple of tough losses, they've been able to rebound," Perlozzo said.
Bedard (6-6) was in line for the loss when he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh, before watching the Orioles' comeback over the Mets (42-24), who were coming off a 9-1 road trip. He went six innings, allowing three earned runs and three walks while striking out six. It was his first victory since May 17.
"When you see a guy like Bedard throw like he [threw] today and then when you support him with some runs, that makes you feel good," Mora said. "This guy deserved to win the game."
Bedard weathered the loss of his normal catcher, Ramon Hernandez , who was ejected in the third inning for arguing a called third strike by Dana DeMuth. Javy Lopez took over for Hernandez.
"I got upset a little bit," said Hernandez, who admitted that he was surprised by the quick ejection. "I should have never turned around and said something."
Saying he could throw his fastball "in and out and wherever I wanted it," Bedard took a no-hitter into the fifth, but Jose Valentin led off the inning with a sharp single up the middle. Reyes gave the Mets the lead in the fifth with a two-run double down the right-field line that shot by the glove of first baseman Millar.
Perlozzo acknowledged Reyes' opposite-field hit brought back memories from several other losses on this road trip, in which the Orioles are now 3-5 heading into tonight's matchup against Pedro Martinez. Those feeling were gone when Fahey's bloop fell in the seventh.
"I said, 'What else [can go wrong]?'" Perlozzo said. "I don't know if you feel you deserve anything, but it's nice when something goes your way once in a while."
Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun