Manager Jerry Manuel said before yesterday’s game that the Mets “need a win bad,” and in the eighth inning, when they nearly botched their lead over the Nationals, the same thought creeped into Jeff Francoeur’s head.
“After things started to fall apart in the eighth,” Francoeur said, “I was thinking to myself, ‘Oh God, we need this one really bad.’ ”
This time, the Mets held on, as Francoeur delivered a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh inning to give the Amazin’s a 3-2 win, snapping their six-game losing streak.
The game was tied 1-1 when Francoeur’s double to left drove David Wright home. The Mets added an insurance run later in the inning, then almost blew it in the eighth when the Nationals got a run on a double and Sean Green’s throwing error and put two on with two outs for Adam Dunn. But Pedro Feliciano got Dunn to ground out to preserve the lead.
Tim Redding pitched well for the Mets, allowing two runs (one earned) in seven innings, and Wright reached base three times with a double and two walks, and had a stolen base. As for Francoeur, who’s batting .475 in his last 10 games, he drew praise from Manuel.
“I think if you were to talk intangibles, I think he would rate way off the chart as far as character traits go,” Manuel said.
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This afternoon John Maine will make his second start since returning from the disabled list. Maine, who was on the disabled list for three months with shoulder weakness, pitched last Sunday in Philadelphia, giving up one run in three innings.
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Manuel rested Carlos Beltran yesterday.
“He’s OK,” Manuel said. “But we felt at this point in the season there’s no need to take a chance of playing him day game after night game, regardless of how he felt.”
Manuel also said earlier this year when Beltran did not slide on occasion, it was because “the knee was barking a little bit.”