K-Rod blows save, Mets return favor

The Mets, who are essentially closerless, thought they had beaten their former one when Angel Pagan hit a go-ahead home run off Francisco Rodriguez in the eighth inning at Citi Field yesterday.

But Jason Isringhausen and Manny Acosta couldn't hold a two-run lead in the ninth inning. In a game of late-inning rallies, the Brewers had the final one and beat the Mets, 11-9.

The Mets, who trailed 7-1 after 6½ innings, scored five times in the seventh and three times in the eighth against Rodriguez to take a 9-7 lead. But the NL Central-leading Brewers scored four in the ninth and won for the 21st time in 24 games.

The Mets have lost eight of 10. Isringhausen (3-3) was the main culprit Saturday night. He failed to retire any of the four batters he faced, walking three. He bequeathed a bases-loaded, no-out situation to Acosta, who got an out before giving up a game-tying single to Prince Fielder and a go-ahead two-run single to Casey McGehee.

Isringhausen called his performance "terrible" and "a debacle." It really was. And it came at absolutely the wrong time for a fading Mets team that needs a boost during a stretch of schedule when they faces the three top teams by record in the NL (Brewers, Phillies, Braves).

"I just lost it," said Isringhausen, who recorded his 300th save on Monday. "I couldn't find the strike zone. [Manager Terry Collins] did the right thing when he took me out. It's on me. When our team comes back like that and I go out there and do that, it's just a debacle. It's ranks up there with one of the worst ones of my career."

And it hurts even more because the Mets took the lead against Rodriguez, whom they traded to Milwaukee on July 12. K-Rod made his first appearance against his old team and entered to boos. The Brewers were holding a 7-6 lead forged by three home runs against Chris Capuano, including a screaming three-run shot to the second deck in right by Fielder in the third.

K-Rod got the first two outs and then walked Ruben Tejada. Pinch hitter Josh Thole banged a game-tying double off the glove of centerfielder Jerry Hairston Jr. as the crowd went bonkers.

It got even louder when Pagan blasted a two-run homer to rightfield to put the Mets ahead, 9-7. After the inning, Rodriguez departed to chants of "K-Rod . . . K-Rod" as the KC and the Sunshine Band song "That's the Way (I Like It)" blared from the public address system.

Little did the crowd know that by game's end Rodriguez (5-2) would be the winning pitcher.

Isringhausen walked the first two before allowing a single to load the bases. He walked pinch hitter Mark Kotsay to make the score 9-8 and was replaced by Acosta. Now it was Isringhausen hearing the boos.

"I have no excuses," Isringhausen said. "I can't explain it."

Acosta did his best to re-cork the bottle. Ryan Braun hit a too-short fly to right for the first out.

With lefthander Tim Byrdak ready, Collins stayed with Acosta. "Prince is going to hit anybody," Collins said. "It doesn't matter if you're right or lefthanded to him. I said, 'You know what? I think Manny can get a ground ball here.' He made a great pitch and a great hitter put it where nobody was standing. That's what they do."

Fielder lined an 0-and-2 offering past a diving Justin Turner into rightfield to tie it at 9. McGehee cued the next pitch into right for the final two runs. "It was a great comeback," Pagan said. "But we couldn't hold it."