Schwei: Chris Capuano Matches Rare Mets' History
By John Schweibacher
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Chris Capuano pitched the best game by a Met this season this past Friday night, a two-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts in a 6-0 win over the Atlanta Braves.
Only six other times in Mets history has a pitcher allowed two hits or fewer while fanning at least 13 batters. Hall-of-Famer Tom Seaver accomplished this rare combination three times in a Mets uniform after another Met hurler who was destined for Cooperstown, Nolan Ryan, was the first Met to do so. John Maine, the most recent Met to do it prior to Capuano, did so without even going eight innings, while Sid Fernandez was the only Mets lefty to pull it off before Capuano.
Here is the list of the seven low-hit, baker's dozen or more strikeout performances by a Mets starting pitcher:
Date Mets Pitcher Opponent/Result IP H K
•8/26/11 Chris Capuano vs. Atlanta 6-0 W 9 2 13
•9/29/07 John Maine vs. Florida 13-0 W 7.2 1 14
•9/21/89 Sid Fernandez at St. Louis 6-1 W 9 2 13
•9/29/72 Tom Seaver at Pittsburgh 1-0 W 9 1 13
•5/15/70 Tom Seaver at Philadelphia 4-0 W 9 1 15
•4/22/70 Tom Seaver vs. San Diego 2-1 W 9 2 19
•4/18/70 Nolan Ryan vs. Philadelphia 7-0 W 9 1 15
Capuano's two-hit shutout was the first by any Met pitcher since Alay Soler two-hit the Diamondbacks in Arizona back on June 10, 2006. Capuano also became the 5th Mets pitcher in club history to throw a complete game, two-hitter against the Atlanta Braves:
•7/18/76 Mickey Lolich 2-0 W vs Atlanta
•6/15/79 Craig Swan 2-1 W vs Atlanta
•7/11/86 Sid Fernandez 11-0 W vs Atlanta
•4/10/05 Pedro Martinez 6-1 W at Atlanta
Mike Pelfrey picked up career win number 50 last week against the Phillies. Pelfrey is the 15th pitcher to win at least 50 games for the New York Mets but just the 7th who was originally drafted and/or signed by the Mets. Here is the list of the most wins for the Mets by "home-grown" pitchers:
•Tom Seaver 198
•Dwight Gooden 157
•Jerry Koosman 140
•Jon Matlack 82
•Bobby Jones 74
•Craig Swan 59
•Mike Pelfrey 50
•Tug McGraw 47
•Gary Gentry 41
•Rick Aguilera 37
David Wright hit his 180th career home run last week in Philadelphia. Only six players who were originally drafted and/or signed by the Mets hit more career homers. Here is the list of most home runs hit by "home-grown" New York Mets:
•Darryl Strawberry 335
•Jeromy Burnitz 315
•Ken Singleton 246
•Kevin Mitchell 234
•Todd Hundley 202
•Preston Wilson 189
•David Wright 180
•Ty Wigginton 157
•Hubie Brooks 149
•Edgardo Alfonzo 146
The spacious dimensions of Citi Field have been a major topic of conversation ever since the ballpark opened in 2009, specifically its impact on home runs. After being badly out-homered by their opponents in that first season at Citi Field, the Mets turned that around last year. So far this season however, the opposition holds a slight edge in the
longball department in Flushing:
Season Mets HR Opp. HR
•2009 49 81
•2010 63 47
•2011 43 48
Total 155 186
The home run numbers away from Citi Field these past three seasons are far worse as the Mets have been badly out-homered on the road:
Season Mets HR Opp. HR
•2009 46 77
•2010 65 88
•2011 47 79
Total 158 244
In all, the Mets have hit almost exactly the same (albeit small) amount of home runs at Citi Field as they have away from it, while being out-slugged by 31 homers at home and 58 on the road since the start of the 2009 season.
This week the Mets host the Florida Marlins in their final Citi Field visit of 2011 before heading down to Washhington this weekend to face the Nationals.
The Marlins have won all four road games against the Mets so far this season and six straight at Citi Field dating back to August 25th, 2010. The Mets and Nats have split the six games they have played in Washington in 2011.
Schwei's Runs, Hits and Errors:
Runs: Chris Capuano. Throws Mets first complete game shutout of season.
Hits: Nick Evans. Five hits over two games vs. Phillies; a 'broken' cycle of a single, two doubles, a triple and a home run.
Errors: Angel Pagan. Nine errors this season are most by any MLB centerfielder.
How do you think Mets history would be different if the wild card were around back then? Let us hear your comments below…
