Juice Shortage for Mets at Minute Maid Park

Once again the New York Mets fail to hit in the clutch. The Mets dropped their third game in a row with a 5-4 loss to the Houston Astros tonight. The offense pounded out 13 hits but couldn't get the big one when they needed to. The Mets left two runners on in four different innings, and Jeff Francoeur was thrown out at the plate in the 7th inning. New York had a great chance to tie the game in the 8th inning with two runners on, but Angel Pagan hit a sac fly and Luis Castillo lined out to left field. Every Mets starter had at least one hit except for Johan Santana. It was disappointing the Mets could not get to ex-Met Mike Hampton because they worked him hard and had a lot of base runners on.

Santana was whacked around in suffering the loss, and fell to 11-8 on the season. He gave up 12 hits, which is the most he has allowed this year. He was constantly leaving the ball up in the strike zone. While he was still able to pitch into the 7th despite not having his best stuff, he did not make the key pitches in big spots. He allowed a home run to Mike Hampton, and while you never want to let the pitcher homer off you, it is very easy to hit long balls in that band box. Hampton has smacked 16 home runs in his career, but never hit one when he was a Metropolitan. His blast in the 4th gave Houston a 3-1 lead. Then right after the Mets tied it up the next half inning, Chris Coste hit a two run double to give the Astros the lead for good.

Since the offense has struggled and four runs is actually a lot for the Mets these days , this was a game where Johan needed to come out and stop the bleeding. The Mets gave him a lead in the first, and even with his struggles, Santana gave the lead right back to the Astros in the 5th after the Mets tied the game at three. I know Johan has pitched very well this year despite a rough stretch in June. However, with the way the Mets have played, he needs to be near perfect for this team to win games and tread water. The losses mounting has to be tough for a club that has endured so much, but the Mets are just not making the plays that are necessary in the clutch.

Tidbits:

• The Mets have now lost 7 of their last 9 at Houston, including a three game sweep last year.
• This is the first time since July 5th at Philadelphia that Santana allowed a run in one of his starts.
• Omir Santos snapped out of a slump with a 3/4 performance, including a homerun.
  
• Luis Castillo was 3/3 from the right side, and 0/1 from the left side. He really looked good up at the plate, and he has a much better stroke batting righty since he does not slap the ball.
• John Maine's right shoulder was bothering him after pitching in a simulated game on Tuesday. He will seek a second opinion with Dr. James Andrews this week, which is never a good sign for a pitcher.

(AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)