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Trachsel back on track for Mets
By Daniel Dullum August 26, 2005 |
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SAN FRANCISCO - After going nearly 11 months without facing major league hitting, New York Mets' starting pitcher Steve Trachsel couldn't help but feel some satisfaction with his triumphant return to the mound on Aug. 25. "But I tried not to think about that portion of it," Trachsel said. "I just wanted to go out there and trust my stuff and execute. I figured if I did that, the results should be good." The results were good indeed. Trachsel flirted with a no-hitter, pitched eight innings of shutout ball and defeated the San Francisco Giants 1-0 at SBC Park in his 2005 debut. Trachsel (1-0), who had surgery on March 19 to repair a herniated disc, earned his first win since Sept. 28, 2004. He scattered two hits, struck out six and walked two while throwing 108 pitches. "I felt great," Trachsel said. "It was just a regular Steve Traschel start as far as preperation went. I just try to keep things the same as much as I could. "It was just my normal stuff," the veteran righthander continued. "I've been feeling good for a long time and just took my normal game out there. Same execution, and I executed a lot of good pitches." Trachsel retired 17 of his first 18 batters he faced until Randy Winn singled to center with two out in the bottom of the sixth, breaking up the no-hitter. The Mets have yet to register a no-hitter in their 44-year history. "I thought about it a little bit, yeah," Trachsel said. "That's probably why I gave up the hit. I shouldn't have thought about it." Trachsel explained that control wasn't a problem coming off his long layoff. "My location was real good. I could spot the changeup pretty well, a lot of back-door curveballs to lefties and I could mix in splits late in the count, and I even mixed in a few sliders." "Steve knows how to pitch," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "No one rushed him to get back. He worked his butt off and he knows exactly what he's doing. So I'm not really surprised. "I almost expected him to do that, because I know he wanted the ball. He was ready for this ... it was vintage Trachsel." Giants manager Felipe Alou concurred, "[Trachsel] made tons of big pitches. His fastball was at 87 to 88 [mph], but it was well located . It's hard to believe that a guy making his first start would be so sharp." New York took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning when David Wright smacked his 21st home run of the season, a solo shot on a 2-2 pitch off Kevin Correia (2-5) deep into the left field pavilion with one out. "That kid hit the ball a long ways," Manager Alou said. "The fan that threw the ball back probably has a sore arm. It was so far up in the stands that there probably was a relay." The Giants put together their best scoring threat in the eighth inning. Edgardo Alfonzo led off with an infield hit, and pinch-runner Todd Linden moved to second on a sacrifice by J.T. Snow. Linden advanced to third on Matheny's ground out before pinch-hitter Michael Tucker walked. With runners on first and third, Randy Winn popped out to center. ending the threat. In the San Francisco ninth, Omar Vizquel doubled to right-center off Mets closer Branden Looper, but Pedro Feliz, Moises Alou, and Ray Durham grounded out in succession to end the game. It was Looper's 27th save of the season. In a tough-luck defeat, Correia struck out seven with no walks in eight innings while giving up seven hits. Scott Eyre finished up with a scoreless ninth. The paid attendance of 39,591 pushed the Giants' season attendance to 2,420,764 with 20 home games remaining. GIANTS-METS NOTES: The Giants purchased the contract of P Matt Cain and recalled P Jack Taschner, both from Triple-A Fresno. To clear room on the roster, San Francisco designated P Jason Christiansen for assignment and P Brian Cooper was outrighted to Fresno ... Giants 1B Lance Niekro's 42 RBI is most by a SF rookie since Robby Thompson had 47 in 1986 ... Eight current and former Giants are listed on the Major League Baseball Latino Legends Team ballot: C Benito Santiago; 1B Orlando Cepeda and Andres Gallaraga; 3B Edgardo Alfonzo; OF Felipe Alou, Moises Alou; P Juan Marichal, Livan Hernandez, Jose Mesa and Armando Benitez. Balloting runs from Aug. 29 through Oct. 10 via English and Spanish ballots from Chevrolet dealers or online at MLB.com ... Elias Sports Bureau reports that Mets 1B Mike Jacobs is the first player in MLB history to hit four home runs within four days of his major league debut. Jacobs is the 90th player overall and the fourth Met to homer in his first major league AB ... New York's Marlon Anderson has 17 pinch-hits this season, the most by a Mets player since Lenny Harris collected 21 in 2001 ... Mets OF Mike Cameron was scheduled to leave the disabled list this weekend, and C Mike Piazza (broken hand) is eligible to return on Aug. 31. |
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