That ladies and gentleman is what a hero looks like.
Long flowing hair. Boyish good looks. The thoughtful stare of a man with a plan.
Do you feel safe? I know I do.
Tonight, Nick Evans’ plan was to get the Mets a win by any means necessary and gosh darnit he did. No amount of bullpen suckitude would get in his way.
Evans smacked run-scoring singles in the sixth, eighth and 12th innings, each giving the Mets the lead. The third finally put New York in front for good and Josh Stinson shut it down in the bottom half for his first career save as the Mets escaped the longest game in the history of my life with a 7-4 win.
It started out as a snoozer, aided by an hour and ten minute rain delay, and it kind of ended that way too, but the Mets and Marlins did stage an entertaining battle for the 44 people in attendance at Sun Life Stadium on Tuesday night.
Thanks to some timely hitting from Evans and Angel Pagan and clutch pitching from Miguel Batista and Jason Isringhausen, the Mets took a 4-2 lead into the ninth.The New York pitching staff walked a tightrope all night, stranding the bases loaded three times in the first eight innings. They handed Bobby Parnell a two-run lead in the ninth with three outs to be had. But Parnell fell off that rope, crashed and burned.
The Mets’ young closer blew his fourth save of the year when he surrendered a two-out, two-run double to former Met Mike Cameron. The double scored both Greg Dobbs, who singled off Parnell and Logan Morrison, who Parnell has inexplicably walked.
Cameron’s hit pushed the game to extras where Evans went into hero mode in the 12th. Pagan led off the inning with his third hit of the night and Jason Bay followed with a double. The Marlins had twice earlier in the game used an open first base to walk Willie Harris in front of Evans. But with the base open for Evans, the Fish went after Nick and he made them pay when he smacked a single to center, scoring Pagan to put the Mets ahead 5-4.
New York tacked on two more in the 12th on a Reyes single and a bases loaded walk to Lucas Duda. Those three runs were the difference on a night, in which the Mets sent spot starter Miguel Batista to the mound and got another effective, if not efficient outing from the journeyman righthander.
Batista opened the game with a flurry, retiring the first six Marlins batters in order. He struck out the first two hitters to face him and added another strikeout in the second, routinely hitting 94 MPH on the radar gun. But the veteran found trouble in the third when he loaded the bases with one out. However, he maneuvered along the tight rope adeptly, aided by a dreadful Marlins lineup as both Omar Infante and Greg Dobbs popped out to end the inning.
Batista found himself in an identical situation in the fourth after issuing three walks. But again the Marlins bailed him out as Brett Hayes grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the fifth on a Justin Turner single, which scored Ronny Paulino. But Batista gave up the only run he would allow in the bottom half on a two-out single by Infante and a double down the right-field line by Dobbs to tie the game at one.
Evans brought in the go-ahead run in the sixth when he knocked in Harris, who had doubled. Batista was able to secure the 2-1 lead this time around, working around a two out hit in the sixth to complete his outing ahead by a run. Batista’s line wasn’t pristine, but it was enough. The righty worked six innings, allowing just one run on five hits. He walked four and struck out three
Batista’s lead would not, however, remain on the board long, as Manny Acosta gave up an unearned run in the seventh when Dobbs crushed a double to left-center to score Emilio Bonafacio with the tying run. Pagan opened the top of the eighth by smacking a one-out double off the wall in left. After an intentional walk to Harris, Evans gave the Mets the lead again with an RBI single to center, scoring Pagan.
The Marlins threatened in the eighth, loading the bases for a third time in the game with just one out. This time it was Jason Isringhausen who walked the tightrope, walking the bases loaded, leaving no room for error. But Izzy did not err, as he struck out Jose Lopez and Emilio Bonafacio to leave the sacks packed. Florida left 11 men on base through the first eight innings.
The Mets tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth when Pagan sent home Jose Reyes from third with a double down the right field line off the first base bag. But it wasn’t enough for Parnell, who blew the save, leaving Nick Evans one more chance to be a hero, a role he played to perfection in the 12th.
Random Fact: Despite having nearly a million opportunities to extend his hitting streak this evening, David Wright showed he clearly can’t handle the pressure that comes along with being National League Player of the Week by going 0-for-6 with 8 men left on base. He did walk one time though, so I guess they don’t have to release him just yet.
Turning Point: Nick Evans was born on January 30, 1986 and 9,351 days later he delivered a Mets win.
Game Ball: Who Else? Nick Evans went 3-for-6 and knocked in the go-ahead run in the sixth, eighth and 12th innings. Evans now has 23 hits in 65 at-bats (.354 average) since his early August call-up. He’s knocked in 14 runs in 21 games over that span and has a .986 OPS. Evans became just the third Met in history to have three go-ahead hits in a single game. The others? Jason Phillips and Mike Piazza. Select company indeed.
Up Next: The Mets play their last game ever (!) at Sun Life tomorrow evening. R.A. Dickey will oppose Brad Hand in the rubber game of the three-game set as the Mets seek another series win on the road. The game, originally scheduled for 7:10 was pushed up two hours to accommodate the Mets, who will depart Miami immediately after the game to get home for a Thursday doubleheader with the Atlanta Braves.
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