Reyes leads Mets to win over Braves
Jose Reyes #7 of the New York Mets reacts after scoring in the third inning against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. (June 14, 2011) Credit: Getty Images
ATLANTA -- Jason Bay deferred to the powers that be when asked about the possible motivation behind his latest benching, this time for Tuesday night's game at Turner Field.
"I just work here," Bay said.
Fortunately for the Mets, he's not the only one, and again they relied on Employee No. 7 to spur a tense 4-3 victory over the Braves. How much longer Jose Reyes will punch the clock for the Wilpons is anyone's guess. But for now, he's carrying the club, and that continued with a 3-for-5 night that included two stolen bases, two runs scored and an RBI.
"It's unreal man," said Willie Harris, who started in place of Bay in leftfield and reached base three times and scored a run. "I told [Reyes] the other day, 'If I wasn't playing baseball, I'd buy a ticket to watch you play.' He doesn't have any flaws."
Reyes, who upped his average to .346, has 34 multihit games with 22 stolen bases and 97 hits overall. He also has scored in 14 of the last 17 games.
Despite the Braves' apparent attempts at slowing him -- the infield was suspiciously soggy around first and shortstop -- Reyes still had his sixth game with multiple stolen bases. When asked how long Reyes could keep up this MVP pace, Terry Collins smiled.
"How many games we got left?" the manager said. "I hope that's how long. I don't think I've seen anybody sustain it over the length of time he has. He's just been on fire."
Francisco Rodriguez struck out two in a perfect ninth and converted his 19th straight save opportunity. The Mets picked up their eighth win in 12 games and closed to within one win (33-34) of that elusive .500 mark.
Jonathon Niese fell short of completing seven innings for the first time in three starts, but he still handed the bullpen a 4-2 lead with one out in the sixth. Alex Gonzalez reached on an infield single when Reyes, who had trouble with his footing all night, slipped and spiked a throw to first. David Ross followed with a run-scoring double.
That was all for Niese (6-5), and the two earned runs in 61/3 innings pushed his ERA to 3.46. After his departure, Pedro Beato walked Joe Mather on four pitches, but Tim Byrdak struck out the next two pinch hitters, Brian McCann and Diory Hernandez.
Only three days after returning Bay to the lineup, Collins benched him again in his effort to use seven lefthanders against Braves starter Jair Jurrjens. The strategy produced immediate dividends. The first three Mets reached, and when Carlos Beltran's single scored Reyes, it marked the first time in 19 consecutive starts that Jurrjens had allowed a first-inning run.
The Mets tacked on two runs in the third on Angel Pagan's RBI single and Lucas Duda's sacrifice fly. In the sixth, Ruben Tejada, the only righthanded bat for the Mets, walked and scored on Reyes' one-out single.
Jurrjens lasted 51/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season. He has allowed more than two runs in only two of his 12 starts this season -- both against the Mets.
Collins cited Harris' success (7-for-14) against Jurrjens when asked about benching Bay for the fourth time in nine games and fifth time since May 30.
"That's the story right there," Collins said. "I've got to get his bat in the lineup against [Jurrjens] because this guy is not easy to hit. We've got somebody to hit him."
"I'm a realist," Bay said. "Had I been up there hitting .500, I think I'd have a little more reason to have a little more say. But it's just the way it is."
Bay snapped an 0-for-24 skid Saturday with a single. But since returning to the lineup that night, he has only two singles and a sacrifice fly.
"Yeah, it's progress," Bay said. "But I'm not out there trying to reward myself for hitting singles. I'm a much better player than that."
