Results tagged ‘ Brandon Lyon ’
Nationals 3, Mets 2: Three Up, Three Down
Jeremy Hefner just may be the unluckiest man in baseball.
Three Up:
1. RHP Jeremy Hefner: With Zack Wheeler waiting in the wings, Hefner just keeps on thriving. He holds a 3.60 ERA over his last eight starts, the first uninterrupted stretch of his career spent as a starting pitcher.
2. SS Omar Quintanilla: Have the Mets found their new leadoff man? Quintanilla’s history suggests that his hot streak is a fluke, but the Mets will certainly ride it for as long as it lasts.
3. RHP Brandon Lyon: On a night when the closer did not do his job, the setup man certainly did. These guys get even less love than closers when they do their job, but the same amount of blame when they don’t.
Three Down:
1. 2B Daniel Murphy: Is the league’s streakiest hitter (or one of them, at least) heading into a cold snap? Just like that, he’s 0-for-13, dragging his average down 20 points or so.
2. OF Rick Ankiel: Terry Collins bumped Ankiel down to eighth in the lineup, but he might soon consider leaving him off the card altogether. If not for Adam LaRoche’s error, Ankiel would have finished 0-for-3 with a popup, a strikeout and a double play.
3. RHP Bobby Parnell: Parnell can’t be perfect every time. But his propensity for allowing leadoff doubles, even when he does convert the save, is somewhat troubling.
Three Up, Three Down Season Standings:
+6
RHP Matt Harvey
+5
C John Buck, OF Marlon Byrd, 2B Daniel Murphy
+4
INF Justin Turner, RHP Jeremy Hefner, SS Omar Quintanilla
+2
RHP Greg Burke, LHP Jon Niese, OF Mike Baxter, OF Lucas Duda
+1
LHP Robert Carson, RHP LaTroy Hawkins, OF Juan Lagares, 3B David Wright, LHP Scott Rice
-1
RHP Brandon Lyon, RHP Bobby Parnell
-2
LHP Aaron Laffey, RHP Scott Atchison, OF Jordany Valdespin, C Anthony Recker, RHP Shaun Marcum, RHP Collin McHugh
-3
OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis
-4
LHP Josh Edgin, SS Ruben Tejada, RHP Dillon Gee, OF Rick Ankiel
-13
1B Ike Davis
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Mets lose two of three to Braves: Three Up, Three Down
A delayed reaction to this weekend’s series against the Braves:
Friday/Saturday: Braves 7, Mets 5
Three Up: RHP Jeremy Hefner, C John Buck, 2B Daniel Murphy
Three Down: RHP Brandon Lyon, LHP Scott Rice, 1B Ike Davis
Saturday: Braves 6, Mets 0
Three Up: RHP Greg Burke, SS Ruben Tejada, OF Mike Baxter
Three Down: RHP Dillon Gee, 3B David Wright, OF Marlon Byrd
Sunday: Mets 4, Braves 2
Three Up: 1B Ike Davis, RHP Shaun Marcum, OF Lucas Duda
Three Down: OF Rick Ankiel, SS Ruben Tejada, 3B David Wright
Three Up, Three Down Season Standings:
+6
RHP Matt Harvey, C John Buck
+5
2B Daniel Murphy
+4
OF Marlon Byrd
+3
INF Justin Turner, OF Mike Baxter
+2
RHP LaTroy Hawkins, OF Juan Lagares, RHP Jeremy Hefner, RHP Greg Burke, 3B David Wright
+1
LHP Jon Niese, LHP Robert Carson, LHP Scott Rice, OF Lucas Duda
-1
RHP Collin McHugh, RHP Bobby Parnell, RHP Shaun Marcum
-2
LHP Aaron Laffey, RHP Scott Atchison, OF Jordany Valdespin, C Anthony Recker, SS Ruben Tejada, RHP Brandon Lyon
-3
OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis
-4
LHP Josh Edgin
-5
RHP Dillon Gee
-14
1B Ike Davis
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Reds 7, Mets 4: Three Up, Three Down
Today, on “As the Ike Turns”…
Three Up:
1. 2B Daniel Murphy: Three hits, two runs, two RBI…a nice little game for the new leadoff man.
2. OF Rick Ankiel: Three extra-base hits, including the game-tying RBI triple.
3. RHP Brandon Lyon: A fine relief effort for Lyon, who struck out a pair in his 1-2-3 inning.
Three Down:
1. 1B Ike Davis: Is Ike’s offense spilling into his defense? More and more, that seems to be the case.
2. RHP Bobby Parnell: The game-winning rally was not necessarily his fault, but Shin-Soo Choo’s leadoff double certainly did not help.
3. 3B David Wright: A fat 0-for-4 in the middle of the lineup was not what this struggling offense needed.
Three Up, Three Down Season Standings:
+6
RHP Matt Harvey
+5
OF Marlon Byrd, C John Buck
+4
2B Daniel Murphy, 3B David Wright
+3
INF Justin Turner
+2
RHP LaTroy Hawkins, OF Mike Baxter, OF Juan Lagares, LHP Scott Rice
+1
LHP Jon Niese, LHP Robert Carson, RHP Jeremy Hefner, RHP Greg Burke, OF Rick Ankiel
-1
RHP Collin McHugh, RHP Brandon Lyon, RHP Bobby Parnell
-2
LHP Aaron Laffey, RHP Scott Atchison, RHP Shaun Marcum, OF Jordany Valdespin, C Anthony Recker, SS Ruben Tejada
-3
OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis
-4
LHP Josh Edgin, RHP Dillon Gee
-14
1B Ike Davis
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Pirates 3, Mets 2: Three Up, Three Down
Meet the new lineup, same as the old lineup.
Three Up:
1. RHP Matt Harvey: Clearly pitching without his best stuff, Harvey still managed to hold the Pirates to two runs in seven innings. He is without question the ace of this staff.
2. OF Lucas Duda: Duda was the only one who could touch Pirates starter Jeanmar Gomez, homering in the second. And he nearly tied the game with a rocket ground ball off the first base bag in the eighth. Instead, an unlucky bounce led to the out.
3. OF Mike Baxter: Despite starting only two games over the past week, Baxter has come through with two game-winning and one game-tying RBI. Calls for increased playing time are not off-base.
Three Down:
1. 1B Ike Davis: Terry Collins put the onus on Davis when he moved him back to the cleanup spot. The first baseman responded with an 0-for-4 day, including a huge strikeout with a man on third base and one out in the ninth.
2. RHP Bobby Parnell: Collins put Parnell in a tough spot, bringing him in with the go-ahead run in scoring position in the eighth. All it took was a hard-hit single, which the closer allowed to Pedro Alvarez.
3. RHP Brandon Lyon: He and Scott Rice each faced two batters, walking one of them. But while Rice’s walk came against perennial All-Star Andrew McCutchen, Lyon’s came against Gaby Sanchez, a .167 hitter against right-handed pitching.
Three Up, Three Down Season Standings:
+6
C John Buck
+5
3B David Wright, RHP Matt Harvey
+4
IF Justin Turner
+3
OF Mike Baxter
+2
RHP LaTroy Hawkins, LHP Scott Rice, OF Marlon Byrd
+1
RHP Jeremy Hefner, OF Juan Lagares, LHP Robert Carson
-1
RHP Scott Atchison, C Anthony Recker, OF Jordany Valdespin, OF Lucas Duda
-2
RHP Greg Burke, LHP Aaron Laffey, RHP Dillon Gee, 2B Daniel Murphy, RHP Brandon Lyon
-3
OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis, RHP Shaun Marcum
-4
LHP Josh Edgin
-8
1B Ike Davis
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Mets 3, Pirates 2: Three Up, Three Down
Meet Mike Baxter. He’s the walk-off singles guy.
Three Up:
1. OF Mike Baxter: If the Mets need a home run in the later innings, they call on Jordany Valdespin. If they need a single, they call on Baxter, who continues to be one of the more valuable left-handed pinch-hitters in baseball.
2. OF Juan Lagares: That catch in center field saved the game. Lagares is receiving regular playing time almost exclusively because of his defensive reputation, and he justified it in the ninth inning Thursday.
3. RHP Brandon Lyon: He may have given up the tying run, but he entered with the bases loaded and no outs and allowed nothing more than that. That makes him one of the most valuable players of this game.
Three Down:
1. 2B Daniel Murphy: Four at-bats, four ground balls to first base This is one streaky hitter, who is having miserable start to the month of May.
2. SS Ruben Tejada: An 0-for-4 from Tejada meant the Mets absorbed an 0-for-8 from the first two batters in their lineup. That’s typically a recipe for a loss, though the Mets managed to recover.
3. RHP Bobby Parnell: Sure he earned the win with a scoreless inning. He also gave up a leadoff hit and a rocket fly ball to center, which probably should have cost the Mets the game. It was actually one of his worst-pitched innings of the season, which says more about Parnell’s year than anything else. He’s been terrific.
Three Up, Three Down Season Standings:
+7
C John Buck
+4
3B David Wright, RHP Matt Harvey, IF Justin Turner
+2
RHP LaTroy Hawkins, LHP Scott Rice, OF Mike Baxter
+1
RHP Jeremy Hefner, LHP Jon Niese, OF Marlon Byrd, RHP Bobby Parnell, OF Juan Lagares
-1
RHP Scott Atchison, RHP Brandon Lyon
-2
RHP Greg Burke, LHP Aaron Laffey, C Anthony Recker, RHP Dillon Gee, RHP Shaun Marcum, OF Lucas Duda, 2B Daniel Murphy
-3
OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis
-4
LHP Josh Edgin
-7
1B Ike Davis
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Mets 7, Braves 5: Three Up, Three Down
Terry Collins called this one the win of the year. It certainly felt that way for the Mets.
Three Up:
1. OF Jordany Valdespin: He makes so many mistakes throughout the course of a week, and yet it’s impossible to ignore this guy’s energy. Valdespin’s steal of second base was a critical play in the 10th inning, directly leading to the winning run.
2. 3B David Wright: A game-tying, ninth-inning home run against a guy who does not give up home runs? That was Captain America’s contribution to the win.
3. RHP Bobby Parnell: With all due respect to Jeurys Familia’s first career save, it was Parnell who entered with one out and the winning run on third base in the 10th. A popup and a groundout later, and the Mets were out of the jam.
Three Down:
1. RHP Shaun Marcum: A noted control expert, Marcum has now walked six batters in 10 innings this season. He is averaging five innings per start, which is taxing the bullpen and simply not getting it done.
2. 1B Justin Turner: Once again starting over Ike Davis, Turner finished with a rare 0-for-3 before giving way to a pinch-hitter. He entered the game with a .419 average in games that he started, versus a .143 mark coming off the bench.
3. RHP Brandon Lyon: Not a good day for the setup man, who coughed up the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, then needed Parnell’s help to avoid doing so again in the ninth. Lyon’s ERA is slowly creeping up near five.
Three Up, Three Down Season Standings:
+8
C John Buck
+4
3B David Wright
+3
RHP Matt Harvey
+2
RHP LaTroy Hawkins, OF Marlon Byrd, LHP Scott Rice, LHP Jon Niese, SS Ruben Tejada, INF Justin Turner
+1
RHP Jeremy Hefner, RHP Bobby Parnell
-1
RHP Scott Atchison, OF Lucas Duda
-2
RHP Greg Burke, LHP Aaron Laffey, OF Mike Baxter, C Anthony Recker, RHP Dillon Gee, RHP Shaun Marcum, RHP Brandon Lyon
-3
OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis
-4
LHP Josh Edgin
-6
1B Ike Davis
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Dodgers 7, Mets 2: Three Up, Three Down
Mark Ellis = nemesis.
Three Up:
1. 2B Daniel Murphy: Hit machine Murphy did it again with the bat, coming through with a big RBI single off Clayton Kershaw in the third inning. He also did it with the glove, making a nice backhand stab and jump-throw to rob Andre Ethier of a hit in the fourth.
2. SS Ruben Tejada: Maybe Terry Collins was right when he chalked up Tejada’s defensive struggles to the cold weather earlier this season. Tejada has impressed defensively so far this homestand, making two more outstanding plays Tuesday.
3. LHP Robert Carson: Jokes aside, the seven-pitch walk he drew off Kershaw in the third inning put New York’s offense in motion. He also did just fine on the mound, stretching out to 2 1/3 innings before allowing a homer to the final man he faced.
Three Down:
1. RHP Brandon Lyon: He’s been great this season, so consider this a blip. But Lyon could not escape a jam of his own making in the seventh inning, serving up the game-winning three-run homer to Ellis.
2. LHP Josh Edgin: This has been some forgettable run for Edgin, and there’s a decent chance it could earn him a ticket back to the minors. Dating back to April 16, Edgin has recorded eight outs, given up nine hits and allowed nine runs.
3. OF Marlon Byrd: Over his last six games, Byrd is 4-for-20 with nine strikeouts and no walks. Four of those outs and two of the strikeouts came Tuesday against the Dodgers.
Three Up, Three Down Season Standings:
+8
C John Buck
+4
RHP Matt Harvey, 2B Daniel Murphy
+2
INF Justin Turner, LHP Scott Rice, RHP LaTroy Hawkins, OF Marlon Byrd
+1
LHP Jon Niese, 3B David Wright, OF Collin Cowgill, LHP Robert Carson
-1
RHP Jeurys Familia, RHP Dillon Gee, OF Mike Baxter, RHP Jeremy Hefner, RHP Brandon Lyon, SS Ruben Tejada
-2
RHP Greg Burke, LHP Aaron Laffey, OF Lucas Duda
-3
OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis, OF Jordany Valdespin
-5
1B Ike Davis, LHP Josh Edgin
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Projecting the Opening Day roster, 2/5
For the first time this offseason, let us present a roster projection that should actually closely resemble what the Mets deploy on Opening Day. The bullpen has undergone a major overhaul, and I’ve included Brandon Lyon below despite the fact that he has yet to sign an actual contract. That appears little more than a formality at this point.
Once a point of complete speculation, the bullpen, with Lyon and friends in tow, now seems relatively straightforward. Though 40-man roster limitations may prevent all of the veterans listed below from making the team, most of them should be there come April 1. And outside of the bullpen, there really are very few position battles in camp.
The only major change that could occur between now and Opening Day would be if the Mets sign free-agent outfielder Michael Bourn. But that remains a long-shot.
C : John Buck
1B: Ike Davis
2B: Daniel Murphy
SS: Ruben Tejada
3B: David Wright
OF: Lucas Duda
OF: Kirk Nieuwenhuis
OF: Mike Baxter
Bench: Collin Cowgill
Bench: Andrew Brown
Bench: Justin Turner
Bench: Brandon Hicks
Bench: Anthony Recker
SP: Johan Santana
SP: Jon Niese
SP: Matt Harvey
SP: Dillon Gee
SP: Shaun Marcum
RP: Frank Francisco
RP: Bobby Parnell
RP: Brandon Lyon
RP: Scott Atchison
RP: LaTroy Hawkins
RP: Pedro Feliciano
RP: Josh Edgin
In the running: C Landon Powell, 1B Josh Satin, INF Zach Lutz, INF Brian Bixler, INF/OF Jordany Valdespin, OF Matt den Dekker, RHP Greg Burke, RHP Jenrry Mejia, RHP Jeurys Familia, RHP Jeremy Hefner, RHP Collin McHugh, RHP Elvis Ramirez, RHP Carlos Torres, LHP Aaron Laffey, LHP Robert Carson, LHP Darin Gorski.
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Anthony DiComo
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