Blum: Tying trot
(c) Associated Press
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At this point in their seasons, the Mets and Astros seem to be rather equal. Proof comes in this series where the two weak-hitting clubs are struggling to get runs across in youth-laden lineups. It took until the seventh inning on Wednesday for the Mets to break through against Brett Myers for a pair of runs. It took even longer for the Astros to score against R.A. Dickey, but they tallied one in the eighth then tied it with one out in the ninth on Geoff Blum's homer which sent the game to extra innings.
From there, it was a battle of bullpen attrition. Gustavo Chacin, Houston's seventh hurler, walked Jose Reyes in the 14th inning and eventually saw him score on a sacrifice fly by Ike Davis for a 3-2 New York verdict. Elmer Dessens struggled through the 13th yet came away with the win while Manny Acosta got his first save.
Dickey, himself, struck the key blow in New York's two-run seventh when he doubled in Ruben Tejada then came home on a grounder by Angel Pagan. Angel Sanchez drove home Jason Castro in the eighth for Houston's first run after Humberto Quintero started the rally with a single to right.
All Houston could do against Dickey to that point was hit bloops and bleeders against those knuckleballs until Blum unloaded his first homer of the season into the upper deck in right field. That gave Houston five more innings to get the game-winner but the Mets bullpen, minus injured closer Francisco Rodriguez, was up to the challenge.
After the game, the Astros put their injured closer Matt Lindstrom on the 15-day disabled list and recalled lefthander Fernando Abad from Round Rock.
The finale of this four-game series and 10-game homestand happens Thursday night at 7:05 Central when Bud Norris (5-7), fresh off a 14-strikeout performance, faces Pat "Hit or" Misch (0-1) who makes his second start of the season.
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