Aces: The night was supposed to be all about ex-Met Jose Reyes' return to
New York in his splashy new Miami Marlins uniform. The more significant
story, though, turned out to be a pair of gems thrown by aces injured in
2011, as Johan Santana and Josh Johnsonlocked up in an old-fashioned pitchers' duel in the first game of their three-game series at Citi Field on Tuesday.
As it turned out, the bullpens decided the game as the Mets scratched out a run against Miami relieverEdward Mujica in the bottom of the eighth to edge the Marlins 2-1.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis singled to open the inning, and after Ruben Tejada popped out trying to bunt him to second, Daniel Murphy singled Nieuwenhuis to third. David Wright struck out looking, but Lucas Duda smashed one off of Mujica's right hand for an infield hit as Nieuwenhuis raced home with the go-ahead run.
"I was just looking to stay up the middle, not to try to pull it, and it worked out," said Duda. "I saw it ricochet off his hand, and I thought it'd be an out, but it went far enough away that I was able to beat it out."
Frank Francisco, who'd given up runs in each of his previous three outings, pitched a scoreless ninth for his fourth save, making a winner out of reliever Jon Rauch, who pitched a perfect eighth and improved to 3-0 for the young season.
The Mets gave Reyes, their ex-shortstop and career stolen base leader, a pre-game video tribute showing highlights of his nine-year career with the team.
When Reyes came up to lead off the game, he was greeted with a mixed reception. Some fans stood and clapped, but a good number could be heard booing.
"I'm not surprised (about the boos)," said Reyes. "I play for another team now, and I have no hard feelings. Most of the fans, before the game, were showing me a lot of love. I respect all of them, because they gave me support all the time I was here."
Mets manager Terry Collins has seen enough of Reyes to know his value.
"I don't need to watch the video to know how good he is," Collins said. "I'm sure he'll want to show everybody everything he brought to the table and do it in one game. And we'll try to shut him down."
The Mets did just that, as Reyes and the Fish could do little against Santana, who was seeking to rebound from a disastrous April 14 start against Atlanta, when he gave up 6 runs (4 earned) in just 1 1/3 innings.
Displaying his signature changeup and a lively fastball, the Mets lefty allowed only a first-inning Emilio Banafacio single and two walks while striking out 11 through six innings. It marked the 50th time in his career that the two-time Cy Young Award winner had reached double digits in strikeouts.
As it turned out, the bullpens decided the game as the Mets scratched out a run against Miami relieverEdward Mujica in the bottom of the eighth to edge the Marlins 2-1.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis singled to open the inning, and after Ruben Tejada popped out trying to bunt him to second, Daniel Murphy singled Nieuwenhuis to third. David Wright struck out looking, but Lucas Duda smashed one off of Mujica's right hand for an infield hit as Nieuwenhuis raced home with the go-ahead run.
"I was just looking to stay up the middle, not to try to pull it, and it worked out," said Duda. "I saw it ricochet off his hand, and I thought it'd be an out, but it went far enough away that I was able to beat it out."
Frank Francisco, who'd given up runs in each of his previous three outings, pitched a scoreless ninth for his fourth save, making a winner out of reliever Jon Rauch, who pitched a perfect eighth and improved to 3-0 for the young season.
The Mets gave Reyes, their ex-shortstop and career stolen base leader, a pre-game video tribute showing highlights of his nine-year career with the team.
When Reyes came up to lead off the game, he was greeted with a mixed reception. Some fans stood and clapped, but a good number could be heard booing.
"I'm not surprised (about the boos)," said Reyes. "I play for another team now, and I have no hard feelings. Most of the fans, before the game, were showing me a lot of love. I respect all of them, because they gave me support all the time I was here."
Mets manager Terry Collins has seen enough of Reyes to know his value.
"I don't need to watch the video to know how good he is," Collins said. "I'm sure he'll want to show everybody everything he brought to the table and do it in one game. And we'll try to shut him down."
The Mets did just that, as Reyes and the Fish could do little against Santana, who was seeking to rebound from a disastrous April 14 start against Atlanta, when he gave up 6 runs (4 earned) in just 1 1/3 innings.
Displaying his signature changeup and a lively fastball, the Mets lefty allowed only a first-inning Emilio Banafacio single and two walks while striking out 11 through six innings. It marked the 50th time in his career that the two-time Cy Young Award winner had reached double digits in strikeouts.
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