Glavine, Mets Notch Win Over Cardinals in Opener; Phillies, Braves Open Monday
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41 year old veteran lefthander Tom Glavine notched his 291st win pitching 6 innings allowing 1 run on 6 hits, thanks to defensive support, and outdueling losing pitcher Chris Carpenter as the New York Mets exacted a measure of pay-back by beating the St. Louis Cardinals by a 6-1 score in St. Louis on Sunday.
R.B. Fallstrom, AP Sports Writer reports on the game for Yahoo sports;
Carlos Delgado put the Mets ahead with an early two-run double off Chris Carpenter.
Paul Lo Duca added three RBIs and made a nifty tag at the plate for the Mets, who lost to St. Louis in Game 7 of last year’s NL championship series.
Carpenter, who topped the major leagues with a 1.81 ERA at home last year, retired his first five batters, then allowed the Mets to go 9-for-15 with a sacrifice and a walk against him the next 2 1-3 innings.
“I felt strong, I just wasn’t happy with my location,” Carpenter said. “Balls were out over the plate, good, hittable pitches, especially to a lineup like that. You make a mistake, they’re going to hit it, and they did.”
Delgado’s opposite-field, two-run double high off the left-field wall put the Mets ahead in the third, and New York made it 5-0 in the fourth on Lo Duca’s two-out single and an RBI single by Beltran. Lo Duca added a run-scoring single in the ninth off Brad Thompson.
After David Eckstein hit an RBI double in the sixth, Beltran threw out Eckstein at the plate on Preston Wilson’s sharp single to center. Yadier Molina ended the inning by breaking his bat on an infield popup with the bases loaded. La Russa called it “kind of a foolish throw.”
“I don’t think you make that throw too often, and he pulled it off,” the manager added. “That’s the kind of night they had.”
The Mets thought otherwise.
“It’s the kind of thing you never expect, but when you get it it’s a huge momentum swing,” Glavine said. “As it turned out, the way the inning progressed, it was a huge play.”
Glavine also benefited from Moises Alou’s diving catch in shallow left field on Adam Kennedy’s flare to start the sixth. Glavine induced two of the Cardinals’ four double-play balls.
The Mets garnered 12 hits in the game, the Cardinals got 10. Rightfielder Shawn Green and Lo Duca were 2 for 4 and 2 for 5 respectively. Shortstop David Eckstein was 3 for 4 doubling in the Cards’ only run. Catcher Yadier Molina was 2 for 4. The Mets left 7 on base while the Cards left 8 on.
Fallstrom adds;
The Mets are 29-17 on opening day for a .603 winning percentage, best in major league history. … The Cardinals and Mets opened for the first time since 1996, La Russa’s first season in St. Louis. … Glavine has won three straight opening-day starts and is 5-3 with a 3.70 ERA in eight openers. … Carpenter is 2-1 in four opening-day starts.
The scores, boxscores and recaps on this game as well as yesterday’s final exhibition game between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s can be found here.
The Phillies open their 2007 season by hosting the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Stadium as Brett Myers duels John Smoltz. The scores, boxscores and recaps for for this and all Monday games can be found by clicking here.
Ken Mandel of MLB.com reports that the Phillies have added pitchers Zack Segovia and Clay Condrey as well as centerfielder Michael Bourn, and infielder Greg Dobbs to the opening Day roster. Pitchers Freddy Garcia (Right biceps tendinitis) and Jon Lieber (Strained right oblique) are on the 15 day disabled list along with catcher Chris Coste (Hamstring soreness).
Mandel reports;
The final roster spot will likely go to a pitcher. Right-hander Joe Bisenius fared well this spring, and he was told to stay in Philadelphia overnight. Despite not playing above Double-A, the righty might have made the team, if another move isn’t made.
“I didn’t know if I’d last this long,” said Bisenius, who allowed six hits and six walks in 12 innings, with 11 strikeouts. “I thought I might be out of here by the first or second cuts. But I feel like I became more comfortable. I’ve enjoyed every day here.”
With Freddy Garcia on the disabled list, Segovia will likely make his Major League debut next Sunday against the Marlins, three days before his 24th birthday.
The right-hander pitched Saturday against Tampa Bay, then flew to Philadelphia to receive the news of which every kid dreams. Called into manager Charlie Manuel’s office, he found general manager Pat Gillick, Manuel, pitching coach Rich Dubee and Amaro waiting.
“You walk in and you already have a bad feeling,” Segovia said. “There’s not a lot of good news that comes out of there. I guess there was today.”
Quiet at first, Dubee asked about Segovia walking Hee-Seop Choi twice. The rookie explained that he was working on his changeup and kept missing low. Knowing he needs the pitch against lefties, he stayed with it.
“I thought [the walks] were going to be a nail in my coffin,” said Segovia, who was then given the good news. “They said, ‘Are we going to be able to trust him with that brain?’ Then they told me I made the team.”
Tuesday is an open date for the Phils and they continue their series with Atlanta on Wednesday as young lefthander Cole Hamels is opposed by Tim Hudson.
The scores, boxscores and recaps for for this and all Wednesday’s games can be found by clicking here.
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