The ingredients to their latest defeat, their sixth in eight games, included a ninth-inning breakdown by their generally indestructible closer, Francisco Rodriguez; a practically unprecedented comeback by the Orioles, who had lost each of their previous 34 games when trailing after eight innings; and the second winning hit in as many nights from their newest nemesis — and perhaps future teammate — Aubrey Huff. All this occurred after the Mets overcame a two-run deficit through five innings to lead, 4-2, after seven.
“You know at some point that he’s not going to be perfect,” Manager Jerry Manuel said of Rodriguez, who blew his first save chance of the season Friday night at Yankee Stadium when Luis Castillo dropped a pop-up that enabled the tying and winning runs to score.
“You hope that when he’s not, we got a little bit more room for him to work with,” Manuel added.
By now, Manuel knows that is too much to ask of a Mets team (33-31) that must play nearly flawlessly to win. As it was, when Daniel Murphy drove in the go-ahead run with a seventh-inning double — his first extra-base hit since May 9 — and when Sean Green guided the Mets through a shaky eighth, they were already pushing their boundaries.
Nothing, though, was flawless about Rodriguez’s ninth inning. Almost immediately, he recognized that he had poor command of his fastball. But what surprised him and catcher Omir Santos was how selective the Orioles had suddenly become. “They swing at almost everything” is how Santos described their approach.
Facing the bottom of the Orioles’ lineup, Rodriguez allowed a leadoff double to Matt Wieters before walking pinch-hitter Nolan Reimold on five pitches. Then came a pivotal play: Santos fielded Brian Roberts’s bunt up the third-base line and, with no other options, fired to third. It was a close play, and the third-base umpire, Tim Timmons, called the pinch runner Felix Pie safe in a ruling that sent the Mets dugout into a fit of rage. David Wright recoiled in shock. Manuel ran out to argue, but Timmons could not be swayed.
With the bases loaded, Rodriguez walked the free-swinging Adam Jones, forcing in Pie with the tying run. He recovered to strike out Nick Markakis looking, but miscalculated when the next hitter, Huff, came to the plate. Expecting him to take the first pitch, Rodriguez tried to get ahead with a curveball. Huff drove it to right field, giving Mets General Manager Omar Minaya one more reason to seriously consider acquiring him and his potent left-handed bat before the July 31 trade deadline.
“It was an awful, awful outing,” Rodriguez said. “I’m a human being. Unfortunately, days like this are going to happen.”
They just seem to happen more often to the Mets, and Manuel, after another trying loss, was asked to rank this one. He said he did not know if he could: every one counts the same.
INSIDE PITCH
John Maine will not come off the disabled list Monday, when he can be activated, and the Mets are uncertain when he will rejoin the rotation. Guy Conti, the organization’s rehabilitation coordinator, told The Associated Press that Maine still felt a “pinch” toward the back of his shoulder while throwing a 60-pitch simulated game Thursday in Port St. Lucie, Fla. But the pitching coach Dan Warthen, who spoke with Conti, said he was not told about any physical setbacks. ... Oliver Perez threw three scoreless innings (48 pitches) in an extended spring training game and is on track to pitch again Tuesday.
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