I didn't realize until Sunday night that I would, when visiting Shea Stadium on Monday night, be seeing one of the best pitching matchups of the season. I certainly didn't realize that one of the pitchers would allow perhaps the most unlikely home run of the year and that the other would be forced from the game (perhaps) just one pitch away from winning it.
But those things did happen, which is why we keep coming back for more.
The two pitchers were
Felix Hernandez and
Johan Santana. Santana was the best pitcher in the game two years ago; Hernandez might be the best in two years.
In the bottom of the second inning, the M's got a couple of runners on base. But there were two outs, and
Willie Bloomquist was coming up. No problem. Except Bloomquist hit an easy grounder to
David Wright, who booted the ball and then sort of lollygagged a throw to first base, a step behind Bloomquist. Bases loaded? No problem. Hernandez was coming up. Hernandez had batted only nine times in his professional career, with just a lone single to show for his efforts.
No problem?
Someone's head was in my way, so I didn't see the swing as well as I'd have liked. I got the impression of a high fastball, followed by a line drive that would -- it quickly became apparent -- clear the right-field fence. With plenty of room to spare. Grand slam.
We all knew we'd just seen something unlikely. We had no idea
how unlikely:
The opposite-field shot to right-center was the first home run by a pitcher in Mariners history, and the first slam by an AL hurler since Cleveland's Steve Dunning went deep against Oakland's Diego Segui on May 11, 1971, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"He had a pretty good swing," Santana said. "The pitch was out of the strike zone, it was up like it was supposed to be, and all of a sudden the ball leaves the park. There's nothing you can do about it."
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That's pretty unlikely. I certainly would not have guessed that it'd been more than 37 years since an AL pitcher hit a grand slam (granted, they weren't hitting much of anything from 1972 through 1996).*
* When Hernandez rounded first base after hitting the homer, he clapped his hands together with obvious glee. When Hernandez came up again in the fifth, we wondered whether Santana might send a message. He didn't, perhaps because when Hernandez stepped to the plate, he touched the bill of his helmet in a small salute as if to say, "Hey there, I wasn't trying to show you up back there. Honestly."
You certainly don't want to attach any great
significance to Hernandez's home run. He closed his eyes and swung as hard as he could, and he's a big, strong guy. These things happen. Still, over the past season and a half, Santana has been giving up more home runs than he did during what now looks like his prime, 2004 through 2006. This year, despite facing pitchers in most of his starts, his strikeout rate is his lowest since he reached the majors to stay in 2002.
Santana remains a fine pitcher, fully capable of winning 15-18 games with a good team. But that guy who struck out more than nine batters per nine innings, won two Cy Young awards and should have won another? I'm beginning to wonder whether we're going to see that guy again.
I opened the game with a fine spot in the lower deck, above and slightly beyond first base, maybe 40 rows from the field. After the second inning, though, a friend was able to move me closer: second row, right behind the plate. So I was
right there when it happened in the bottom of the fifth.
King Felix had been cruising. The Mets didn't get a hit until the fourth -- and a scratch hit at that -- but thanks to a double play, Hernandez faced only three batters in that inning. In the fifth,
Carlos Beltran lined a double to the wall in center field. A few moments later, he stole third and stood on that sack with two outs. Hernandez got two quick strikes on
Ramon Castro. But then Hernandez got cute. He buried a slider in the dirt. Catcher
Jeff Clement blocked it. He buried another slider in the dirt. Clement blocked it again, but this time, the ball bounced maybe eight feet away, to his left and into foul territory. Beltran is one of the smartest baserunners around, and when he saw Clement was confused, he took off for the plate.
Clement eventually found the ball, and you could see them all coming together: Clemente, Beltran and Hernandez. Clement was so close to the plate, there wasn't any point in throwing the ball. He dove toward Beltran. Beltran sprinted plateward. And somehow Hernandez managed to get his left ankle in the middle of everything.
Beltran was safe, and Hernandez was down. After a few minutes, Hernandez threw a warmup pitch and immediately hopped off the mound in obvious agony. But he wasn't giving up. He held up his index finger --
just one more! -- and we all assumed he meant he wanted to try another warmup pitch. But I think he might have meant something else: one more strike, or perhaps one more out. Because either would have given him five innings and made him eligible for the win.
But he couldn't go and was helped off the field while keeping all the weight off his left leg. Supposedly it's just a sprain, and Hernandez "expects to make his next start."
We'll see. It's hard to believe this kid is only 22. He's won 36 games, and he's younger than
Joba Chamberlain and
Evan Longoria and just about every other great young player who comes to mind. It'll be a real shame if something nasty happens to him.
Tuesday morning I'm off to Cooperstown for the second time ever (and the first since 1993). While I'm away, I'll propose this discussion for the Conversation: Why is Willie Bloomquist playing center field for the Mariners, and (more topically) why is Jeff Clement catching while Richie Sexson is playing first base?
Rob Neyer
