Pérez, Wright llevan a Mets al triunfo

Game 127: Dodgers 2, Mets 5
72-55 for the season
1st place in the NL East, 6 Games ahead of Atlanta and Philadelphia

tonight was the Fiesta Latino at Shea stadium, and in honor of the mother tongue of 6 of tonight's starters and that of a lot of their fans, the dress whites showed that the home team at Shea was Los Mets. Gary Cohen wondered aloud in the early innings whether this was the first game ever between two teams with "Los" on their uniforms.



Ollie has been struggling recently, but after loading the bases in the first inning and getting out of the jam, he threw seven scoreless innings. It was nice to see the fierce Oliver Perez back on the mound, and the high-jumping Ollie going over the foul line. It was also nice to see the top of the order hit so well (though why the Carloses seem unable to hit in New York is beyond me), and to see Mike DiFelice have three hits, and to see Lastings dive for a gorgeous catch in center right field, and then hit at and opportune time.

After the disappointing loss last night, it was good to see the team bounce back so well, and play very good small-ball.



the likelihood of a Mets victory seemed so sure by the sixth inning that JRG felt comfortable dozing off, feeling well assured of the outcome.

a game of contrasts, this is

Game 96: Mets 4, Dodgers 1
54-42 for the season
1st place in the NL East, 3.5 games ahead of Atlanta

The way one game played between two teams can be the practical opposite of the game those same teams played the night before is one of the best things about baseball-- it's what makes it fun to watch, every time it's played. These last two games between the Dodgers and the Mets have been a shining example of this Fact of Baseball.

Last night: 22 total runs.

Tonight: 5 total runs.

Last night: at the end of the 7th, 20 runs had scored.

Tonight: 2 runs scored at the end of the 7th.

Last Night: Glavine saw 4 batters in the bottom of the 3rd before being taken out of the game, having given up 6 runs on 10 hits.

Tonight: Oliver Perez struck out 8, and went 7 and 1/3 innings, and allowed only 1 run on 6 hits.

Tonight's game was a beautiful display of National League baseball, in contrast to last night's slug-fest. While I enjoyed watching as the hits kept on rolling last night, I enjoyed watching tonight's very good starting pitching and good relief (for the Mets, anyway) much more. This isn't at all surprising, of course. I'm a National League fan, and so it's a chicken-or-egg situation: do I prefer the defensive, pitching-centered game to the offensive, hitting-centered game because I've been a Mets fan all my life, or have I been a National League fan all my life because I prefer the defensive game? I suspect it's the former, but there's no way to prove it.

welcome back, Marlon Anderson

Game 95: Mets 13, Dodgers 9
53-42 for the season
1st place in the NL East, 2.5 games ahead of Atlanta

Anderson played for the Mets in 2005, and loved playing for Willie Randolph. but the Nationals were offering a two-year contract and the Mets were not, so off he went to Washington. He was with the Dodgers in the first half, but played in only 20-some-odd games, and was at home for two weeks before the Mets picked him up. He had a great combination of enthusiasm for his new club and something to prove to his old club tonight, with two hits and two RBIs and a fantastic catch for the first out in the 9th, as well as the last out on a more routine fly to left. Sad though everyone in my family is about the loss of Julio Franco and his coming out music at Shea, I have to say that it was really nice to see such great play from the guy in left field.

"I loved it when I was here, and I still love it now," Anderson told Kevin Burkhart after the game. We love having you, Marlon.

It was for the most part a sloppy game, with the exception of Aaron Sele's great three innings to stem the tide of unending runs for both sides. In the end, it was fun to watch the Mets hit and hit, since once Sele came in, the Dodgers never again got too close. It also felt a bit like a Bull Durham moment-- after being swept the last time they were in LA, the Mets wanted to announce their presence with authority. The message was perhaps obscured in the 9 runs the team gave away, but the 13 runs were certainly authoritative-- every Mets starter not only touched base but also scored a run.