Jose Reyes didn't get on base a single time in his five at bats tonight against the Milwaukee Brewers. Typically, this is not a precursor for good things to come, but in this game the New York Mets had other contributors -- namely Jon Niese with a stellar start -- and the Mets bounced back nicely from their late-inning nightmare from yesterday, winning 4-1.
Niese baffled the Brewers' hitters all night long, going 7 2/3 innings, giving up only three hits, four walks and one earned run, while fanning eight. He threw 99 pitches and saw his ERA continue to drop to 3.51 on the season, the lowest ERA of any New York starter. Even though he gave up six runs against the Cubs on May 24, Niese only allowed two earned runs. Over his past five starts, he has allowed five earned runs, total. The left-hander has been on a roll and he used his plus 12-6 curveball effectively tonight.
Even better about tonight: the bullpen preserved the victory. Francisco Rodriguez came in for an 1 1/3 innings of relief and allowed only a hit and struckout two.
The Mets got on the board first in the second inning, on a Ruben Tejada single to center. The young middle infielder went 2-for-4 on the night and is now hitting an impressive .328 in 67 at bats this season. Jason Pridie, playing for Jason Bay, went 1-for-4, but drove in the RBI with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. Prince Fielder sliced the lead in half in the fourth inning with an RBI double, but consecutive RBI singles from Daniel Murphy and Angel Pagan gave Niese enough breathing room. The Mets had ten hits and scored all four of their runs against Milwaukee's ace, Yovani Gallardo
Even more indicative of how this team is playing, doing all it can to scratch across runs and be aggressive: three steals, none from Reyes.
The Mets will hope to use the momentum from this series when when they face the Pittsburgh Pirates, beginning tomorrow, in a four-game set.