AMAZIN’ MELTDOWN
HOUSTON – The Mets said they wanted to strengthen their bullpen at Thursday’s trade deadline but balked at giving up top prospects in return.
It took all of one game for that decision to bite them in the behind.
Reliever Aaron Heilman fell apart in the eighth inning last night, serving up a pinch-hit grand slam to Mark Loretta that resulted in a disheartening 7-3 loss here to the going-nowhere Astros.
Pitching his second inning of the night, with usual set-up man Duaner Sanchez battling arm weakness, Heilman watched as Loretta belted a 94 mph fastball high into the left-field seats with one out to break a 3-3 tie.
Heilman’s meltdown came one inning after the Mets had loaded the bases themselves with nobody out – but, unlike the Astros, came away with nothing. That led to the second-place Mets blowing a golden chance to pull into a tie with the Phillies atop the NL East on a night when Philadelphia lost to the Cardinals.
“That’s where we lost the game,” interim manager Jerry Manuel said of the contrast in bases-loaded chances. “We had opportunities to win the game and did not take advantage of it situationally.”
The Heilman-made disaster also turned an encouraging return by Pedro Martinez into an afterthought.
Making his first appearance since July 12 after a groin problem and the death of his father, Martinez left after throwing 87 pitches – slightly over his projected 80-pitch limit. He surrendered leadoff homers in three of the first four innings, including one to ex-Met Kaz Matsui.
But aside from the homers, Martinez was in acceptable form, striking out five and walking just two in five innings. The only other hits he allowed were singles, and the Mets helped him out by turning a double play to end the fifth.
“Now that I’ve got my feet wet a little bit, maybe everything will come a little bit smoother than it did tonight,” Martinez said.
The Mets’ hitters also had reason to kick themselves, especially after the huge wasted opportunity in the seventh with the game tied, 3-3.
Carlos Delgado was the primary culprit, leaving the bases loaded with a weak fly ball to left after the Mets had opened with three straight singles. Delgado wasn’t the only guilty party, though, as Endy Chavez struck out swinging and David Wright hit into a force at the plate.
That display would prove costly one inning later, when Loretta became the hero with just the 10th pinch-hit slam in the Astros’ nearly 50-year history.
Heilman got into trouble right away in the eighth, giving up a leadoff single to Miguel Tejada followed by a ground-rule double to Lance Berkman. After walking Carlos Lee intentionally, Heilman retired Tejada on a force play at the plate before surrendering Loretta’s monster blast.
“It wasn’t a very good pitch,” Heilman said. “I tried to get it down and in there, but it just stayed over the plate.”
BOXSCORE:
Astros: 7
Mets: 3
bhubbuch@nypost.com
