Rags - Tuesday's Reads

Andrew Keh –   

Seagulls circled overhead, the flock growing dense as the night wore on. The human crowd thinned, the leftover fans getting zanier, more delirious. Things got weird at AT&T Park on Monday as the clock ticked past midnight, the Mets and San Francisco Giants together crafting an interminable baseball game. The extra innings stacked to a comical length. At one point, some Giants staffers flashed some droll humor and slapped two huge cartoon seagull heads onto the video scoreboard, obscuring the teams’ lineups. LINK

 

Daniel Nelson –

In what looked on paper to be a pitcher’s duel between Matt Harvey and Tim Lincecum, turned out to be an extra-inning duel between both bullpens. Buster Posey struck first with a two-run home run in the first inning to give the Giants an early 2-0 lead. It took Harvey 50 pitches to get through the first two innings. Lincecum took a no hitter into the fifth, but Marlon Byrd broke it up with a leadoff single. The Mets got on the board with a double by John Buck that drove in Byrd later that inning to cut the lead in half 2-1. The Mets looked to get more, but Omar Quintanilla struck out on a questionable call that had Terry Collins chirping from the dugout and Harvey grounded out to end the inning. http://metsmerizedonline.com/2013/07/solid-bullpen-and-tired-giants-defense-lead-to-mets-4-3-win.html

 

Kristie  Ackert -

Matt Harvey has been pitching with a blister on his right index finger, affecting the command on some of his pitches, the Mets ace admitted Monday night. Harvey did not look sharp but battled through seven innings Monday night in the Mets 4-3, 16-inning win over the Giants at AT&T Park.  "It's no excuse for my poor pitching. And I feel fine with it. I just have to figure some things out and get back out there,” Harvey explained. “The feel of certain pitches is a little bit more difficult than others, but like I said, I can pitch with it. I'm just getting through it. I didn't throw a bullpen at all this week. I'm not going to make that an excuse for anything." http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/2013/07/matt-harvey-pitching-with-a-blister-not-sharp-in-mets-4-3-16-inning-win-over-the-gian-0

 

Andrew Owens –

When Matt Harvey stood in front of his locker following the Mets' 4-3 win in 16 innings Monday night, his tone and body language suggested the right-hander had been rocked by the Giants lineup. In reality, Harvey lasted seven innings, allowed three runs and handed the ball to a Mets bullpen that held the Giants scoreless in nine innings. While it wasn't the right-hander's finest performance of the season, his disappointment after the start -- he has pitched with a blister on his index finger the past three starts, manager Terry Collins revealed after the game -- shows just how stifling this 24-year-old can be. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2013_07_08_nynmlb_sfnmlb_1&mode=recap_away&c_id=nym

 

Mike Puma –

Matt Harvey is battling a blister on his right index finger that could cost him his final start before the All-Star break, Mets manager Terry Collins revealed Tuesday morning."We're probably going to back him off or not have him pitch, one or the other," Collins said after the Mets' 4-3 victory over the Giants in 16 innings. http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/blister_could_nix_harvey_last_start_7hz9qNrktHxKLIFqJoSHRP?utm_medium=twitter&utm_content=++++++++Mets&utm_source=dlvr

 

Richard Marcus –

The Mets played their umpteenth extra-inning game last night -- the third at least 13 innings in eight days -- and in a string of wild games, one inning has to be the weirdest. The top of the sixth inning of the Mets’ 4-3, 16-inning win last night at AT&T Park featured two runs to give the Mets a lead, two triples, two singles, two missed diving catches, an errant throw by the Giants — and one very confused security guard marooned in the outfield. http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/mets_wild_th_of_had_bit_of_everything_Xhu0pjmAjelKcTjK5oZvXK?utm_medium=twitter&utm_content=++++++++Mets&utm_source=dlvr.it