Mets' four-run eighth backs Capuano
New York Mets pitcher Chris Capuano throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, (June 12, 2011) Credit: AP
PITTSBURGH -- Jason Bay had done his job. He had hit a sacrifice fly to center to score the first run in the seventh inning of what became a 7-0 Mets win over the Pirates Sunday at PNC Park.
Or so he thought.
Matters became confused when Pirates first baseman Lyle Overbay noticed Angel Pagan running past second base and not touching it on his return to first. So the Pirates threw the ball to first base, the umpires called Pagan out, the Pirates came off the field and an overeager scoreboard operator took down the Mets' run.
Mets 0, Pirates 0? No. The run counted. But in the confusion -- and with the way things have been going for him -- Bay said he expected the worst.
"If I had to pick one, I thought it was coming off the board," Bay said. "There's not much you can do. I'm like, 'I'm not believing it until someone comes and says the run's going to count.' "
Fortunately for the Mets, the score was indeed 1-0. Then it was 5-0 after a four-run eighth inning and 7-0 after Scott Hairston and Jose Reyes hit back-to-back homers in the ninth.
What had been a tight contest turned into a satisfying victory for the Mets. They got seven shutout innings from Chris Capuano (5-6) and a 3-for-5 performance from the seemingly unstoppable Reyes, who is batting .346 and said he feels as good as he has at any point in his career.
"I think so," he said. "By this point, I've never been hitting over .340. Right now, I've got a routine and I've been consistent with that routine. So hopefully, I can continue the same routine."
If he continues the routine, Reyes might prove owner Fred Wilpon very, very wrong in his blurted-out contention that Reyes is not going to get Carl Crawford money (seven years, $142 million) in the free-agent market.
"I tell you guys over and over, I don't have that decision," Reyes said. "I'm going to continue to play, to do my job, and to help this team the most that I can."
Bay wants to help the team, too, but his last RBI before the seventh inning came May 31. He snapped an 0-for-24 slide with a bloop single Saturday and went 1-for-3 Sunday. He's batting .211.
"It's not 3-for-4 with two bombs, but I feel better," said Bay, who was the first Met to reach base against Kevin Correia (8-5) when he singled with two outs in the fifth. "I feel like I'm building instead of fighting."
Bay made the final out of the Mets' four-run eighth, ending a string of six straight two-out hits started by pinch hitter Willie Harris. Justin Turner had an RBI double, Carlos Beltran a two-run single and Pagan a run-scoring single.
Pagan, who said he missed second base coming and going on Bay's sacrifice fly, was involved in another odd play in the bottom of the seventh.
Pagan caught a long drive by Overbay up against the centerfield wall. Someone thought the ball was a home run, though, and fireworks started shooting up from behind the centerfield wall. Pagan turned around and made a shushing motion with his hands.
"I thought, 'For me?' " Pagan said. " 'Thank you. That's not a home run. That's a catch.' "
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was ejected while arguing Pagan had trapped the ball against the fence. By two umpires at the same time. It was that kind of day.
But the Mets will take it.
