The first three Mets jumped on Justin Verlander, then the skies opened up and the Mets poured it on the Tiger's bullpen. Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan, and David Wright went a combined 9 for 15, scoring nine runs and driving in seven. The Mets thrashed the Tigers 14-6 to rebound from back to back losses against The New York Yankees. Facing the fearsome, righty-heavy lineup that is the Tigers, and their powerful ace must have seemed like a daunting task for lefty Jonathan Niese, but the Mets got to Verlander early, scoring two runs in the first inning. They led off the third with three straight baserunners, highlighted by Jason Bay's rbi double over the head of centerfielder Austin Jackson. Thats when the rain started coming down heavy prompting the umpire to stop play.When the skies cleared and play resumed, The Mets had second and third with nobody out and Detroit had rookie Jay Sborz, making his MLB debut. Things turned ugly for Detroit as Sborz hit the first two batter he faced and the Mets put up an 8 spot in the bottom of the third. With a 10-0 lead, Niese who was lights out before the rains, struggled and allowed the Tigers to creep back into the game. He couldn't finish five, so it was up to the Mets bullpen to finish the game. Fernando Nieve, Bobby Parnell, and Ryota Igarashi pitched the final 4.1 innings of shutout relief, as the Mets improved to ten games over .500 at 40-30.
Note-Word is that Carlos Beltran will start his minor league rehab on Thursday, and could be back within three weeks. I, for one, can't wait to stick him in the middle of our lineup. I think anyone calling for him to stay away from the team are purely insane.
