Niese strong for 7 2/3, Mets take 2 of 3
New York Mets starting pitcher Jonathon Niese throws against the Milwaukee Brewers in the fifth inning of a baseball game. (June 9, 2011) Credit: AP
MILWAUKEE -- The Mets, still unable to decipher what is actually wrong with Jason Bay, did the only thing they could do before last night's game at Miller Park. Put him back on the bench.
It wasn't an easy move for Terry Collins, but seemed like the right one after the chain of events that propelled the Mets to a 4-1 win over the Brewers.
Bay's replacement, Jason Pridie, scored the first run and drove in another with a sacrifice fly. Jonathan Niese allowed three hits and one run in 7 2/3 innings and Francisco Rodriguez earned his fourth four-out save (18th straight overall) as the Mets took two of three from Milwaukee, which dropped a home series for only the second time this season.
"We can't take the place of some of these guys," said Pridie, who also made a difficult over-the-shoulder catch of Ryan Braun's hooking liner to strand two in the eighth inning. "But we have guys that can step in and produce to make the team go."
Niese (5-5) retired 11 straight to open the game before a two-out walk to Braun in the fourth inning. Niese fell behind 3-and-0 to Braun before walking him and Prince Fielder smacked an RBI double for the Brewers' first hit.
Otherwise, Niese was nearly flawless, and matched a career high with eight strikeouts in winning his second straight decision and fourth in six starts. In his last five, Niese has a 1.37 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings.
"I think confidence is the big thing," Niese said. "Just knowing that I can get big-league hitters out."
Niese is proving to be very good at that. After Fielder's fourth-inning double, Niese retired six of seven before Braun's infield single to open the seventh. A walk to Fielder put the first two runners on. But Niese got Casey McGehee on a deep fly to rightfield, Yuniesky Betancourt to pop-up foul and then struck out Jonathan Lucroy.
"That was as good as I've seen him pitch," Collins said.
In the eighth inning, Niese got the first two outs. But a walk to Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart's single prompted Collins to call on K-Rod, who retired Braun on a deep drive that Pridie tracked down in left.
"I wanted to go all the way," Niese said, "But it's something I have to work on and improve on. Hopefully it will happen for me down the road."
The Brewers' Yovani Gallardo, who was riding a six-game winning streak, didn't survive the fifth inning, when the Mets chased him with four consecutive singles and increased their lead to 4-1. Daniel Murphy and Angel Pagan hit back-to-back RBI singles to knock out Gallardo, who had not allowed more than two runs in any of his previous six starts.
Collins said that the plan is for Bay to sit for two games in the hope that the break will help him solve his ongoing mechanical issues. But when asked if the benching could extend for a longer period, Collins suggested that was possible.
"It's not etched in stone," Collins said. "We're trying to do all the options we can give it."
Bay is in an 0-for-23 slump, the longest of his career, and he's batting .207 with 39 strikeouts in 39 games. "I'm just going to go in the cage, just keep grinding, working on the same things that we've been doing," Bay said.
The timing of the decision was curious after Collins insisted before Wednesday night's game that he would practice patience with Bay. What he saw later that night (0-for-3, 2 Ks) changed his mind.
Collins called Bay into his office after the 7-6 loss to the Brewers and talked to him about the two-day breather. It wasn't the first conversation they've had on the subject.
"It's not enjoyable," said Bay, rested for the third time in 10 days. "At the same time you're still part of a team and it does no good for me to sit around and pout about it."
