MET NOTES
MILWAUKEE – Two Met relievers were thrust into pretty critical spots in Friday night’s game against the Brewers. One responded well, and one didn’t.
In the sixth inning with two outs and J.J. Hardy on second, manager Willie Randolph brought in Heath Bell to face pinch hitter Jeff Cirillo. Bell got the job done, striking Cirillo out to end the inning.
“I like those situations,” Bell said afterwards. “I feel comfortable in those situations.”
The next Met reliever to be tested was Dae-Sung Koo, the lefty specialist who entered in the ninth with two on, two outs and the potential tying run up in lefty slugger Geoff Jenkins. Koo, though, walked Jenkins, setting up a bases-loaded situation for Braden Looper (he would escape it).
“From day one, we tried to find a spot for [Koo] to get a tough lefty out,” Randolph said in postgame. “That’s pretty much why I brought him in. That’s going to be his role for the most part.”
Although Koo didn’t come through in that situation on Friday, he’s actually been successful against lefties this season. They’re just 1-for-11 (.091) against him with two walks and a hit-by-pitch.
Randolph after Victor Zambrano’s performance on Friday night in which he gave up three runs in 5″ innings: “It kind of almost feels like the same, but the bottom line is, he got the win. So I’ll take that first and foremost.”
Randolph did say he’s seeing improvement with Zambrano. But the pitcher continues to put way too many baserunners on. He allowed six hits and four walks on Friday.
The situation Looper found himself in on Friday night – bases loaded, two outs, slugger Carlos Lee at the plate – was tough. But Looper has been in tougher spots before.
In the 2003 World Series with the Marlins, Looper entered into a tie game with the bases loaded with Yankees and one out. He struck out Aaron Boone and got John Flaherty to pop up. Said Looper Friday night, “That was probably the toughest spot I’ve ever been in. And that one worked out pretty good. And then [Friday night] it worked out pretty good too.”
It did, indeed. Lee lined out to left, and Looper got the save.
Though he’s never faced the Brewers, Pedro Martinez has six individual on the Brewer roster. Russell Branyan, Cirillo, Lee, Chris Magruder, Damian Miller and Junior Spivey had managed just seven hits in a combined 36 at-bats against Martinez, a .194 average. They’d also hit zero homers and struck out 17 times.
