There’s nothing Carlos Beltran’s teammates can do to make him remain a Met for much longer, but they are trying to make what are likely to be his final days in New York interesting.
Last night at Citi Field, they rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the Cardinals, 6-5, capped by Angel Pagan’s solo, walk-off homer in the 10th.
“That’s our job, to keep playing,” said Pagan, who sent Fernando Salas’ first-pitch fastball deep into the right-field seats for the game-winner. “The trades and rumors are out of our hands. We all hear about them, but Carlos is here now. If he’s gone, we’ll play until he’s gone.”
That time appears to be nearing, but the Mets (49-48) are following through on their vow to not let his potential departure affect them.
“What’s the alternative? To give up?” R.A. Dickey said. “You don’t give it a lot of thought. He’s a great player, and I surely don’t want to face him.”
Beltran tied the game at 4-4 with a homer in the fifth and after Bobby Parnell gave back the lead in the eighth, Josh Thole knotted it again in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single.
Jason Isringhausen then threw two scoreless innings to set up Pagan’s heroics, which came with one out in the 10th.
“I’ve been struggling, but I never lose my confidence,” said Pagan, who had been hitting just .172 in his previous 15 games. “I’ve been battling a lot of ups and downs.”
Beltran can relate, because he has gone through plenty of that in his Mets’ career. His last game at Citi Field as a Met could be today.
“I’m not really thinking that far ahead,” Beltran said. “If it is, then it is. It’s not there yet.”
And he still isn’t convinced it’s going to be.
“I cannot assume anything right now,” Beltran said. “I haven’t heard anything from anybody. . . . I’m not thinking about where I’m going to be tomorrow. I’m waiting like you guys are waiting. If I don’t hear from [agent] Scott [Boras] or the organization, then nothing’s going on.”
That likely won’t last, but in the meantime, the Mets are enjoying still having him around. Last night, they showed some mettle after Dickey struggled early. He gave up a run in the first and then three more in the third to make it 4-0 Cardinals. But Thole had an RBI double in the bottom of the third, and Dickey added a run-scoring single to cut the lead in half before Beltran tied it in the fifth.
Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa opted not to start Albert Pujols against Dickey and his knuckleball, but he did pinch-hit in the seventh and then the Cardinals took the lead again in the eighth.
Bobby Parnell gave up a leadoff single to Matt Holliday, who advanced to third with two out. After Parnell walked Colby Rasmus intentionally, Gerald Laird laid down a perfect safety squeeze to score Holliday.
“That caught us off guard,” Collins said.
So, likely, did Pagan’s blast — just his fourth of the season.
“It was a perfect pitch,” said Pagan, who flipped his bat when he hit it. “Right down Broadway.”
Pagan told Collins he prefers to hit in the middle of the lineup as opposed to leading off, something the manager attributes to Pagan being a “free-swinger.”
It paid off last night.
“He’s been searching at the plate lately,” Beltran said. “I’m happy for him.”
He just might not be playing with him much longer.