Unhappy Recap: Reds 5 Mets 2

Momentum is only as good as the next day's starting pitcher and John Maine was awful again. He continues to have bad control, he throws too many pitches, works too many deep counts and is unable to put guys away with 2 strikes. He's been awful 4 straight times now (14 ER in 19 innings) but was the beneficiary of some good luck and the Mets got two wins in his starts during the winning streak. The Mets need him to start pitching better right away.

All that said, sometimes things happen, which is why every team wins 50 and loses 50. 10-game winning streaks wouldn't be so rare if there wasn't a little luck involved. Though Maine made his own bed with 2 walks and a hit batsman (twice forcing in a run with the bases loaded) he also got unlucky as Wright got fancy on an infield chop (he had time to field it normally and step on third) and then a bloop hit to rightfield. But Maine made his own bad luck and those breaks had been going the Mets way for so long they were bound to turn around.



As I've said numerous times the big failing at the beginning of the season, and the biggest reason (bigger than the starting pitching) for the recent resurgence has been timely hitting, and the Mets didn't get any last night. There's no need to panic or point fingers, it's the nature of the game. But I really thought the Mets could make a comeback after Beltran's leadoff triple in the 7th, but Easley struck out and Tatis grounded into a double play. But both of those guys have been excellent so I have no complaints with them, it's just the way the game goes sometimes.