METS 7
ROCKIES 3
This is the time of the year that makes a team or breaks a team.
For the past two months, the Mets have been riding the train to nowheresville ever since their lineup became depleted by costly injuries, and the team suffered the most crippling loss of the year when Luis Castillo dropped a sure pop out on one fateful Friday night in the Bronx.
Now ... after watching the Metropolitans stagger through the month of July playing error filled, listless and careless baseball the team may be marching to a different drummer.
Too little, too late? That remains to be seen; there are several scenes to witness in this drama that has become the 2009 season.
The Mets entered Monday's first of four games against the wild card leading Rockies trailing 7 1/2 games. The Mets needed a miracle to become even a part of the conversation for the rest of the season.
Fernando Tatis may have provided that stirring oratorical flourish.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Mets showed rare aggressiveness. Castillo drew a walk on a full count; David Wright walked on four pitches, and Dan Murphy laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to move Wright and Castillo to second and third. With Corey Sullivan on deck to hit after Jeff Franceour, the Rockies wisely walked Franceour to load the bases for the weak hitting Sullivan who was up next for the Mets.
Here is the moment where Rockies manager Jim Tracy over managed; he should have kept right handed pitcher Juan Rincon in to pitch to Sullivan; instead, he took Rincon out for the lefty Franklin Morales. Result: major mistake.
Jerry Manuel smartly removed Sullivan from the game for pinch hitter Fernando Tatis. Tatis, who has not had a lot playing time lately and has not had a big hit for the Mets since May 13 when he hit a grand slam to tie a game against the Atlanta Braves, hit another one, big time.
Tatis lifted the 1-2 pitch to deep left center, sending it over the sixteen foot wall for the grand slam, giving the Mets an emotional 7-3 lead. Citi Field exploded in jubilation and relief for the first time since the Mets last played in old Shea Stadium.
K-Rod closed down the Rockies in the ninth for the victory; this was the first time in a very long time that this team has shown true grit. They currently enjoy, tonight, a three game winning streak, their longest winning streak since May, and they are now 6 1/2 games out of the wild card.
This team has a chance, as long as they continue to play at a high level, something they have not done all summer long. If the Castillo drop was the nadir of the season in an earlier act of this drama, could this be its turning point? Stay tuned. Box Score.
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