One of the many fun story lines from Saturday was the 20 inning game the Mets and Cardinals played in St. Louis. The Mets took it 2-1, satisfying Omar Minaya’s quota for desired wins in the three game series with St. Louis. When you have a game of that incredible length it’s always fun to note some of the interesting aspects of the game. Without further ado …
- – The game lasted six hours and 53 minutes
– It was scoreless through 18 innings
– Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia had a no-hitter through five and allowed only one hit over seven
– 35 men were left on base by both teams combined
– The Mets used nine pitchers, the Cardinals used 10
– The Cardinals pitched two position players — infielder Felipe Lopez threw a scoreless 18th, utility man Joe Mather gave up runs in both the 19th and 20th taking the loss
– Starting pitcher Kyle Lohse ended the game playing left field for the Cards
– Mets starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey pitched a scoreless 20th for his first career save, he was pitching two days after throwing 106 pitches against the Rockies
It really came down to the Mets needing the game more than the Cards and making the corresponding moves to win it. After running out of pitchers, the Cardinals decided it wasn’t worth disrupting their rotation and jeopardizing their starting pitchers to win the game so they pitched Lopez and Mather. The Mets saved closer Francisco Rodriguez for the 19th when they had the 1-0 lead (he allowed St. Louis to tie it) and they brought in starter Mike Pelfrey to close it out in the 20th. I’m actually glad the Mets won; had they lost, all the Mets collapse stories would have already been written, and it’s way too early for that. (We can save those for August instead).
Sources:
Cardinals fall to Mets 2-1 in 20 innings [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
In game for ages, Cards fall to Mets in 20th [Cardinals.mlb.com]
Photo Credit: AP
